News
SUN 25.12.2016
The talent is in the ranks; it is just a question of nurturing and trusting in it.
Many of the star players who shine in LaLiga Santander made their way up through the youth categories of the teams which they currently play for. The 21st International LaLiga Promises Tournament, taking place from 27 to 29 December, will bring together 12 clubs in Tenerife with one common denominator: a firm commitment to youth.
If we shine the spotlight on the top four teams in LaLiga Santander – Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Sevilla FC and Villarreal CF – there are several players who ascended through the ranks at their current clubs, developing their character and ability before breaking into the first team.
Alvaro Morata, Dani Carvajal and Nacho werestandard bearers of Real Madrid's La Fabrica for years, achieving promotion to the second tier of Spanish football with Castilla. At Barcelona, there are over half a dozen players who currently lead the charge for Los Azulgranas in LaLiga Santander, having previously done so for the club's youth teams... Before Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique played week-in, week-out in the best league in the world, they strutted their stuff at LaLiga Promises.
Sevilla and Villarreal are no strangers to cultivating young talent either. The Andalusian outfit is the only club whose youth team competes in LaLiga 1l2l3, and they have made a magnificent start to the season to boot. And El Submarino Amarillo fields academy graduates such as Bruno Soriano and Mario Gaspar matchday after matchday, after spending many years in the club's youth system.
Furthermore, this edition of LaLiga Promises also features Real Sporting, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis and Valencia CF, whose youth systems are constantly turning out stars of the future. Jorge Mere, Dani Ceballos, Koke, Saul Ñiguez and Jose Luis Gaya aresome of the latest jewels to have honed their skills in the youth teams of the best clubs in Spain and who are now triumphing in LaLiga.
If we take a look at the European clubs which will attend LaLiga Promises this Christmas, they also set the bar at searching out talent at grassroots level and then developing it. The academies of Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are two of the most prestigious in the world. Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, is a club renowned for its excellence when it comes to fostering the talent of its pupils. The majority of the players who turn out for the German club's first team were trained meticulously until they were ready to make the leap to the elite and Dortmund's faith in homegrown players is absolute.
The commitment of LaLiga Promises to youth football means that future success is guaranteed once again.
Keep up to date with all the latest on the 21st International LaLiga Promises Tournament here
© LALIGA - 2016