La Masia players to match their wits against Europe’s elite in Next Gen Series
As Barcelona teams lined up with La Masia graduates have conquered Europe twice in three years, the current students will be given a chance to emulate the feats of their seniors. The players will take part in the group stages of Next Gen Series and match
their skills against teams from fifteen different clubs.
The Next Gen Series is a Champions League-esque competition for the youth. Teams from England, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926, Netherlands, France, Germany Portugal, Switzerland, and Turkey are set to take part in the elite competition for the stars of tomorrow. The first edition
will consist of 16 teams, while the next one will have 24 teams competing for the prize.
The competition will allow players to go through the rigours of competitive football and experience it firsthand. There will be home and away games followed by the knockout stages, just like the Champions League. This will allow players to face different
styles of play as they compete against teams from across Europe.
The initiative is taken by former Watford Academy manager mark Warburton and TV producer Justin Andrews. About the competition, Warburton said “the Next Gen Series will provide a cognitive environment for players to experience how best to cope with the pressures
of top-level football.”
Grooming of the players will be hastened as they take part in the elite youth club competition. They will get the opportunity of playing in a top competition as they are refereed by top-officials. The players will have greater media exposure and would allow
them to deal with it early in their career.
The next batch of La Masia graduates are going to have a great time next season. Barcelona C – the official name of the team – boast a talented pool of players and it will be good to see them in action. Spanish national team has former Barcelona C players
making the numbers. The Spanish team, that was crowned U21 European Champions recently, should also thank the academy for their success.
All eyes will be on the youthful Catalan side as they take part in the competition. They will be shouldering huge amount of pressure and responsibility as they are being tipped to run away with the championship. The team has been placed in Group One alongside
youth teams of Manchester city, Celtic and Olympique Marseille.
Although they are the top seeds, they still have to be wary of the teams in their group. Celtic won the pilot competition last year, beating http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 3-1 in the final. The youth ranks of Manchester City will be tough on the Spaniards when they lock horns.
The Citizens’ youth academy has produced http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Micah-Richards-c25259 and there is a surplus of talent there. Writing off the French will be a bad idea as they also plan on topping their group.
The competition will provide a good opportunity for the youngsters to show their potential to the world and announce their pedigree on the big stage. This will, however, present a new threat for the parent clubs as poachers will have their scouts view the
games in earnest.
Barcelona have already lost four players to major European rivals and they would not like to encourage such a trend. All in all, it will be exciting to watch the continent’s youth lock horns against each other for the top prize.
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