Cantera, literally meaning "quarry" inSpanish, is a term used inSpain to refer toyouth academies andfarm teams organized by sports clubs. It is also used to refer to the geographical area that clubs recruit players from. The term is widely used in football but is also applied to other sports, such as basketball. This article, however, is about the footballcanteras. Notable canteras include those ofAthletic Bilbao,Real Sociedad,Real Madrid,Barcelona,Atlético Madrid,Espanyol,Sporting de Gijón,Celta de Vigo,Valencia andOsasuna.
Since 1911,Athletic Bilbao have employed a "cantera policy", which has come to be defined in an official (although not legally binding)signing policy whereby they will only recruit players with some link to theBasque Country. One of the main beneficiaries of the policy has been theSpain national team. Athletic has provided numerous players for it, second only toReal Madrid.
During the early 1920s, theBasque Country was a breeding ground of great Spanish players. It was the first area where the sport really became popular, and the influx of immigrants from all over Spain was also a factor in the region producing dozens of quality players. In 1920, Spain made their international debut and entered a team in theOlympic Games. Of the 21 players in the squad, 14 were Basques, among themPichichi,José María Belauste,Domingo Acedo andFélix Sesúmaga.
Throughout their history, Athletic Bilbao have continued to produce many notable players while adhering to their policy. Among them wereTelmo Zarra, the then all-time topLa Liga goalscorer;José Ángel Iribar, 614 official matches with Athletic and a member of theSpain team when they won theEuropean Championship in 1964; andAndoni Zubizarreta, who made a record 622 La Liga appearances and is also the second most capped Spanish international player. Other notable graduates of the Athletic cantera includeBata,Agustín Gaínza,José Luis Panizo,Andoni Goikoetxea,Julio Salinas,Julen Guerrero,Rafael Alkorta,Andoni Iraola,Fernando Llorente andKepa Arrizabalaga. Theiryouth teams continue to be among the most productive in Spain.
Athletic were not the only club to have a cantera policy — fellow Basque clubReal Sociedad operated a similar policy until 1989. Neither were Athletic the only Basque club that provided players for the 1920 Olympics squad.Real Sociedad,Real Unión andArenas Club de Getxo also provided players. In 1928, these four clubs became founding members of La Liga, demonstrating further the strength in depth of the Basque canteras at the time. The saying "Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación", translated as "With home-grown teams and supporters, there is no need for imports", made sense during these early days.
The ability of the Basque Country to produce great players was made clear during the early 1980s when La Real and Athletic won four Liga titles in a row between1981 and1984. The Real Sociedad team included, among others,Roberto López Ufarte,José Mari Bakero,Luis Arconada andJesús María Zamora.Xabi Alonso, aWorld Cup winner in2010, is also a product ofReal Sociedad's youth system.
AlthoughBarcelona and Real Madrid are well known for regularly recruiting foreign players, both are renowned worldwide for producing local players. Along with Athletic Bilbao (seeBilbao Athletic), both clubs have notablereserve teams (Barcelona B andReal Madrid Castilla respectively) that are predominantly made up of Spanish players.
Numerous senior players have graduated through the ranks of Barcelona'sLa Masia academy, includingFrancisco Carrasco,Ramón Calderé,Guillermo Amor,Albert Ferrer,Pep Guardiola,Sergi,Iván de la Peña,Francesc Arnau,Óscar,Roger,Gabri,Gerard,Luis García Sanz,Oleguer,Pepe Reina,Thiago Motta,Fernando Navarro,Xavi,Cesc Fàbregas,Carles Puyol,Víctor Valdés,Mikel Arteta,Andrés Iniesta,Bojan,Jeffrén,Lionel Messi,Giovani dos Santos,Gerard Piqué,Sergio Busquets,Pedro,Cristian Tello,Thiago,Rafinha,Marc Bartra,Gerard Deulofeu andSergi Roberto, though some of these were recruited from overseas before signing professional terms, so are not "home-grown" in the traditional sense, if in the technical sense.
Similarly, numerous notable professional players have graduated Real Madrid's youth academy, known asLa Fábrica (the factory). In 1966, Madrid won theEuropean Cup with a team of 11 Spanish players and a Spanish coach, marking the first time a home-born team had won the competition. Many great homegrown players have since passed through the ranks, among themLa Quinta del Buitre —Emilio Butragueño,Manolo Sanchís,Martín Vazquéz,Míchel andMiguel Pardeza. Graduates of the cantera also includeIker Casillas,Álvaro Arbeloa,Esteban Granero,Raúl,Guti,Luis García Fernández,Juan Mata,Kiko Casilla,Borja Valero,Rubén de la Red,Dani Carvajal,Álvaro Negredo,Roberto Soldado,Rodrigo,Dani Parejo,José Callejón,Juanfran,Javi García,Álvaro Morata,Jesé andLucas Vázquez. The club has also produced some notable managers, includingVicente del Bosque andRafael Benítez.[1]
As well as producing players from their own regions, both clubs have also recruited young players from throughout Spain and internationally. Recent examples include ArgentinesLionel Messi,Mauro Icardi andEsteban Cambiasso.
Ever since the early days offootball in Spain, one issue forcantera clubs is the poaching or recruiting of their players by other clubs. After the cantera has trained a player, another club will step in with a tempting offer and take them away. The potential of the Basque Country as a recruiting ground for players was recognised by the likes of Barcelona,Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid early on.
Barça, in particular, has a long history of signing players from the region, dating back to the acquisition ofFélix Sesúmaga. Others have includedJesús Garay,Chus Pereda,José Ramón Alexanko,Javier Urruticoechea and, in more recent times,Santiago Ezquerro. During the 1980s and 1990s, Barcelona poached a number of top Basque players, among them José Mari Bakero,Txiki Begiristain,Andoni Zubizarreta,Julio Salinas andIon Andoni Goikoetxea, enabling managerJohan Cruyff to build the legendary "Dream Team" around them.
The successful Atlético Madrid teams of the 1960s also included a notable Basque presence in the form ofMiguel Jones andJosé Eulogio Gárate, both recruited fromIndautxu, andJavier Irureta, signed from Real Unión. Real Madrid has also regularly looked north for players such asRafael Alkorta,Mikel Lasa,Aitor Karanka andIván Campo.
Athletic Bilbao, however, have also been regularly accused of poaching. The Athletic policy of recruiting only Basque-players has seen them frequently recruit from the canteras ofother Basque clubs. In 1995, Athletic signedJoseba Etxeberria from Real Sociedad, causing considerable ill feeling between the two clubs.
By the 1990s, the poaching of players took on a new dimension. Real Madrid in particular have regularly produced quality players unable to establish themselves with their home club. Some critics have argued that this has partly arisen because these clubs continue to use "imports" at the expense of cantera players. As a result, many graduates of the canteras seek their fortune elsewhere and are willing to be poached. Initially, cantera players only moved to other Spanish clubs, but in more recent times, EnglishPremier League clubs have begun recognizing the potential of the canteras. In 2003,Arsenal persuaded Cesc Fàbregas to leave Barcelona B with a much higher salary that Barcelona could not offer due to Spanish contractual law.
More recently, teenage starFran Mérida followed Fàbregas' footsteps and played some time for Arsenal's reserve team before returning to La Liga in 2010 with Atlético Madrid. Another emerging Barça B player, Gerard Piqué, subsequently signed forManchester United, though he has since moved back to Barcelona. Since then, Rafael Benítez, himself a product of thecantera, has recruited Luis García Sanz, Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso andFernando Torres forLiverpool, while Mikel Arteta established himself atEverton. Luis García Sanz, Reina and Arteta all began their career at Barça; Alonso started out at Real Sociedad; and Torres developed in the Atlético system.
Other important canteras are:
Espanyol (youth system):Raúl Tamudo,Sergio,Joan Capdevila,Dani Jarque,Alberto Lopo,Javi Guerra,Sergio Sánchez,André Bikey,Enrique de Lucas,Tintín Márquez,Ricardo Zamora,Jordi Gómez,Albert Serrán,Miquel Soler,Bruno,Miguel Palanca,Coro,Daniel Solsona,Jordi Lardín,Joan Golobart,Víctor Ruiz,Raúl Baena,Dídac Vilà,Joan Tomàs,Miquel Robusté,Javi Márquez,Javier Chica,David García,Eric Bailly,Jordi Amat,Álvaro Vázquez,Jonathan Soriano,Jordi Xumetra andRicardo Saprissa.
Sevilla:Sergio Ramos,José Antonio Reyes,Antonio Puerta,Jesús Navas,Diego Capel,Lolo,Carlos Marchena,Alberto Moreno,Sergio Rico,Luis Alberto andManolo Jiménez.
Valencia:Jordi Alba,Juan Bernat,José Luis Gayà,Paco Alcácer,David Silva,Javi Navarro,David Albelda,Raúl Albiol,Pablo Hernández,Sisi,Jaime Gavilán,David Navarro,Vicente Guaita,Andrés Palop,José Molina,Miguel Ángel Angulo,Juan Sánchez,Gaizka Mendieta,Paco Camarasa,Javier Farinós andFernando.
Atlético Madrid:David de Gea,Abel Resino,Joel Robles,Roberto,Antonio López,Juan Manuel Ortiz,Ignacio Camacho,Mario Suárez,Ibrahima,Rubén Pérez,Mario,Javier Arizmendi,Manu,Diego Rivas,Iván Cuéllar,Gabi,Braulio,Juanma López,Roberto Solozábal,Tomás,Toni,Raúl,Juanito,Koke andFernando Torres.
Osasuna (youth system):José Ángel Ziganda,Ion Andoni Goikoetxea,Iñigo Larrainzar,José Mari,César Cruchaga,Javier López Vallejo,Santiago Ezquerro,Marí Lacruz,Patxi Puñal,Tiko,Pablo Orbaiz,David López,Javier Flaño,Miguel Flaño,Raúl García,Oier,Javi Martínez,Nacho Monreal,César Azpilicueta,Roberto Torres,Mikel Merino andÁlex Berenguer.