Do Good Youth Academies Make for Premier League, La Liga and Serie A Success?
There is no formula for success, in every league, the champions are never set in stone, there are favourites and then there is everyone else. However, when strengthening the team, good young players are hard to come by and even more expensive to acquire.
Youth academies are commonplace and the best teams have the ability to bring in the best youngsters and mould them into world class footballers. Already names like Ajax, Barcelona and Arsenal come to mind, but which of the biggest teams have the best success at attaining silverware?
I'll look at the recent champions of the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A and how they've balanced youth and experience, as well as looking into the other notable factors to their success and detriment. However, I'll only look at the more recent champions and the current squad as players who don't play for the club anymore can't help to win anything this season
Barcelona: Supreme Excellence Is Breaking the Enemy Resistance Without Fighting
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The Awards
Where else to begin but at the top, the only team to ever achieve a sextuplet of domestic and European silverware, boasting 7 World cup winners and the Ballon D'Or winner, for 2 years running. The current reigning champions of La Liga and holders of the Spanish Super Cup, they are currently leading rivals Madrid with a 4 point lead, the title is essentially theirs to lose with the Copa Del Rey also within their grasp.Favourites for this years Champions League they'll have to face Arsenal to make the last 16 but will be looking to repeat their elimination of the London side after last years clash.
They also feature 6 of UEFA's team of the year with the captain in Carlos Puyol, despite not making it into the final, losing to eventual winners, Inter Milan, as well as boasting VII of FIFA World XI. Unsurprisingly it is the same 6 players Carlos Puyol, Gerard Pique, Andreas Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi and David Villa .Only 4 Barca players made it into the FIFA All Star team, with Messi and Pique missing from the usual suspects.
The Team
You can argue that Xavi and Puyol aren't youngsters but are the prime example of the result of a successful academy, it has been part of Barcelona's ethic to develop their own stars and only buying established talented players to reinforce the areas the areas that are needed, in recent seasons their strike force has changed dramatically boasting several of the best strikers in the world.
Depending on who is assigned the 3rd midfield slot, their starting 11, boasts 7 players form their own academy with several more on the bench. Built around the spine that served them well for the last few years with Valdez, Puyol, Xavi and Iniesta with Pique and Messi added from their academy, though Pique had a stint at United.
This season, it's easy to see where the players have influenced the squad in every department. Defensively, they've only conceded 11 goals in the league, with Pique and Puyol adding a goal each at the other end and Pique also picking up an assist. In midfield, Xavi bringing in 3 goals and 4 assists and Iniesta scoring 6 and making 3 assists. Busquets making 15 appearances has added a goal and a assist as well and up front Bojan has scored 3 goals and made 2 assists in the same amount of appearances. Pedro has an impressive 10 goals and 8 assists with jeffren adding 1 goal in his 2 appearances this season. As expected, in 16 appearances Messi has amassed 18 goals and 15 assists to garner even more praise form the critics after his heroics in recent seasons.
The Departed
Their most famous player to leave is Cesc Fabregas, having left at 16, he combines Barcelona's and Arsenal's playing styles of quick, technical football. Naturally gifted, he has become a world class player though periodically lined back to his club, the search for silverware may prove too tempting. A natural heir to Xavi over Iniesta, who's much more attacking, he is a talisman able to turn the tide of a game and dramatically improve the team around him.
As mentioned before Pique had a stint at united but was used sparingly until his return, At united, he showed glimpses of his ability but only upon his return did he reaffirm his position as one of the best defenders in the world.
The Education
Barca's style of football is built around possession, movement and possession, sometimes known as 'Tiki- taka', controlling the flow of the game and forcing teams to try to win possession. Ingrained into their youth ranks, it forms a standard of play with their famous 433 formation, allowing players to progress into the first team.This mentality obviously finds it way through international level with Xavi and Iniesta dictating play.
The Form
At the moment they are in great form, despite losing against Betis, they've only dropped 5 points all season, drawing and losing once. In La Liga they've amassed 61 goals and conceded 11 in 19 games with a 4 point gap over Madrid. Qualifying top of their group stage with 14 points with 4 wins and 2 away draws to Copenhagen and Rubin Kazan. The Liga is theirs to lose but will have to face Madrid away and contest Mourinho's home record.
The Development
Barca like to reinforce with established players and their influence varies with each of the transfers. In Dani Alves, they took the attacking Brazilian from Seville, he had already shown his pace and power at right wing back but at Barcelona he has become one of the best right backs in the world, his attacking play complimented by Barca's defence and propensity to move the ball around with slick precision. David Villa has simply become one of their best players and while he was arguably world class at Valencia, he has the quality of Barcelona's players behind him and a partner in Messi.
With a congested midfield of Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Keita, Mascherano's transfer seemed perplexing and has often found maintaining a strong run in the team difficult. A very good player but one who cannot compete against the team player in Keita and the more promising Busquets. Ideally played as a defensive midfielder with a eye on allowing Xavi to move more freely,he may look elsewhere for guaranteed first team football.
The Manager
In his third year at Barcelona, he has already achieved so much success with his team, winning every competition he was involved in, in his first season. He may have inherited an amazing team and a very amazing player but his winning ways have cemented him as one of the best managers around. Though there is talk that his credentials would be called into question if he managed a weaker team, it's unlikely Barcelona would fire him any time soon.
He brings experience as a player at Barcelona and has the faith of the players around him but interestingly, would any players leave if he ever left? Barca would always looks to recover but a lot of their players are faithful to the club, I would imagine only team in the world could afford Messi.
Real Madrid: None Can See The Strategy Of Which Victory Is Evolved
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The Awards
The 2008 champions have the unfortunate experience of having to be in the same league as a Barcelona team playing at their very best. The back to back champions from 2006 - 2008 have failed to acquire any silverware since, placing 2nd ever since but have undergone a overhaul in players after the last remnants of the Galaticos were gradually filtered out, with the exception of Iker Casillas.
With 5 World cup winners, only 2 were in the starting 11, both of which, Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos made it into the FIFA All Star Team. While Iker Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo both made it into FIFA World XI and EUFA's team of the year, with Mourinho as the manager of the team. However they've not won the champions league since 2002 and failed to reach the final since.
The Team
The squad has faced many re-hauls under Pellegrini and Mourinho, with the latter bringing in several midfielders to bolster the team. However Madrid have a preference of bringing in talented teenagers over bringing through youth players with only Casillas and Granero being part of the set up. Mourinho also has preference to talented players in their 20s over teenagers.
Casillas had enjoyed the number 1 jersey since 2000 being part of the champions league winning team and a ever present in the squad since, gaining the captains armband. An integral part of the team, Madrid have never had the need to replace him only the back ups he outlasted, being part of a stern Madrid defence conceding only 17 times and 5 to a certain rival. He was recently named the top goalkeeper of 2010 by the International Federation of Statistics
Granero had only made the first team last season after returning to Madrid after a stint at Getafe but has found himself unable to assert himself as a regular with the likes of Di Maria, Ronaldo and Ozil all ahead of him in the wing slot. In his 7 appearances he has scored once and also assisted once.
The Departed
Unlike many teams at the top, Madrid's team is ever changing with a number of players failing to meet expectations or become tired of the current regime. They have a propensity to sell players who do not make it with buy back clauses to recall those that do. The list is long with only one recent recruit good enough to make it to the 1st team in Granero.
Juan Mata and Alvaro Negredo were sold off to Valencia and Seville respectively, establishing themselves as 1st team players. Madrid's transfer policies which are deep rooted into the elections and promises of the club president, meant the purchase of big name players often meant youth players were effectively deemed surplus.
The Education
With the revolving door of managers at the club and the ever changing team dynamics means that there is no identifiable style of play. Under Mourinho his current team possess a wealth of attacking technical talent, with established superstars in Kaka and Ronaldo but also with future prospects like Di Maria and Ozil. Mourinho values his defence and had brought in Carvalho to bolster the defence after the transfer of Metzelder left the squad light. The current style is very much dictated by attack, but the Madrid fans are infamous for requiring entertaining and winning football, which is not always the case with the cautious Mourinho.
The Form
With 15 wins 3 draws and a single loss, they still find themselves 2nd to a Barcelona side who's victory at the Nou Camp proving to be decisive, with the return leg, their best hopes of reclaiming the title. In the champion's league, they finished top of their group only drawing once away to AC Milan, with the prospect of playing a weakened Lyon squad to reach the final 16
The Development
While their academy may not be getting much attention, being one of the biggest teams in the world means they have ability to bring in the very best players. Ronaldo has been phenomenal but to say he has improved is difficult to prove, having left United after hitting his best form, can we really say he's improved, if not continued his fine form?
A lot of players have failed to make the grade and have been subsequently shipped off, but their best and possibly worst lies in their fullbacks. Both acquired as 19 year olds with much praise attached, on the left we find a Marcelo who is often seen as the weak link in the squad. As a defender he does not bring the quality in defence that can be relied on and has shown decent link up play marred by a selfish streak in the final third. Often questioned as to why he hasn't been replaced many managers have chosen to keep faith in him with a lack of worth replacements. Madrid's leanings towards bringing in the best in a position that has very few world class players meant Madrid have been consistently linked to the likes of Evra, Cole and Cissokho who would all command massive fees and not be allowed to leave easily.
On the other hand is Sergio Ramos, a player who has cemented himself at club and international level as one of the best right backs around. Solid at the back but has a penchant for bombing down the right wing, he often sacrifice's his defensive duties for his attacking but not many seem to care. While possessing the same qualities at Seville, he has improved immensely, while not rounding out his weaknesses, he's improved his strengths adding experience at the highest level.
The Manager
Having won the treble at Inter Milan claiming the champions league in addition to both domestic trophies, he is not without expectation. His demands excellence from his players and is rewarded with respect, while he has fallen out with several players who do not meet to his standard or fail to respect him, his legacy at Chelsea is still felt today. He brought the best out of his team but he always guaranteed a result, his cautious play often at the mercy of his critics.
However a home record of 145 matches unbeaten in the league spanning 4 teams is something that will never be equalled, considering his loss before the record was his only one. He is a natural winner with silverware in every season since he began managing in 2002, amassing 17 cups and titles in those years with two European trebles.
His defensive approach allows him to grind results regardless of form and while his side currently has conceded 6 more than Barcelona, 5 of them were from the same opponents. As an effective coach, his real abilities lie in his man management, a distinct trademark unity between the players and the coach. His eyes will be on the return leg of el Clasico eager to regain points but he will find himself against an almost supernatural opponent in the mercurial Lionel Messi.
Madrid is famous for the internal politics at the club and with the fiery Mourinho increasingly under fire as less and less points are available, in the past managers have won the league still to be fired as they've not won it in a certain way, I have no doubt the fans are behind Mourinho but if he is unable to quench the thirst of the baying public, he may look elsewhere for projects with a return to England touted.
Inter Milan: Invincibility Lies in Defence, The Possibilty Of Victory in Attack
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The Awards
The team has earned the right to be called the best team in Italy and Europe after their dominating season under Mourinho, taking out a great Barcelona side though still not seen in the same light. A European Quadruple, under Mourinho with Benitez adding a fifth with the World Club Championships and a 4 year stranglehold over the Serie A after the crumbling of great rivals AC Milan and Juventus, under differing circumstances. A team of champions that has changed little but has a preference of experience and fortitude over youth and energy.
Sneijder and Maicon lead the way for individual honours with both featuring in the FIFA World XI, UEFA team of the season and World Cup All Stars team, with Lucio making the UEFA team. They can also take pride in taking all the individual honours of best defender, midfielder, striker and manager for their success.
The Team
With a team boasting so many players just over or under 30, it will come as a surprise to some that of the regular team, Sneijder at 26 is one of the youngest, while there are some teenagers in the squad not many play often or at least under Mourinho, Benitez has given more time for Coutinho though Santon has found himself on the bench more often than not.
Looking at squad, as far as I can tell only Santon has graduated through the youth academy with many of the players transferred from around the world, though Zanetti and Cordoba both arriving in their early 20s from South America. That said Santon generally labelled as talented has failed to break into the squad with competition from Captain Zanetti, Maicon, Chivu and Cordoba, all ahead in the pecking order, such is their versatility in defence.
The Departed
I'm pretty much at a loss in trying to find players who came from the academy and cannot remember any from recent seasons.
The Education
Inter often play a tight midfield and defence allowing Sneijder to dictate play and find the forwards, with the wings backs begin allowed to move forward to assist in midfield. I've not seen much of Inter since Mourinho left but under Benitez Inter do not look as solid though have conceded the 2nd least amount of goals, they were terrorized in Europe by Gareth Bale.
The teams players abilities vary and depending on who is starting, the team takes different approaches, they have a natural finisher in Milito who prefers to lurk around the box but Eto'o moves with pace and like to move around, dictating the directness of their play.
The form
Currently 4th, 6 points behind and with a game in hand, which would put them 2nd if they win, Inter are being closely tracked and a dip in form could cost them a Champions League spot. There is not much daylight at the top with the top 4 holding similar win,draw and loss records with a slight deviation in goals scored and conceded.
In Europe they faced a massive challenge against a quicker Tottenham side losing out top spot for the debutants. Having won all their home games they suffered a draw and 2 losses away from home and a lowlight of a 3-1 battering at the aforementioned Spurs.
The Development
Julio Cesar may have been in his mid 20s when he signed for Inter but he's become one of the most consistent and best goalies in the world. In his native Brazil he was already an international and fan favourite but he has become the foundation for Inter's defence.
Zanetti and Cordoba both arrived from South America with big reputations at a young age, much was expected of them and for much of the last 10 years both have become regulars in the squad named captain and vice captain respectively, racking up over 800 appearances combined.
In 2006, Maicon was signed from AS Monaco with a reputation as strong right back who charged down the wings, the fact he won the right back slot from Zanetti proves his talent. During his years at Maicon, he has become one of the best right backs in the world at both club and international level. His performances in big tournaments being equally adept at scoring and assisting big goals.
The Manager
Having inherited the best team in Europe, as the Champions league title allows, Benitez finds himself in the shadow of a greater manager. Unable to regain the fortitude and fear created by Mourinho he has been under fire by the owners, winning the World Club Championships recently hasn't improved his chances greatly.
With a reputation for fielding different squads and lost in tactics, he has often found himself on the wrong end of bad results, which resulted in his dismissal from Liverpool. Though he enjoyed success in Europe with one of the greatest Finals, domestically his form has cost him. When he was stringing together results and pushing for title contention, their hopes would often diminish leaving him mystified.
That is, in no small part due to his transfer dealings in which he has uncovered many talented players Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Mascherano, he often gambled wrongly on inexperienced talents leaving a longer list of flops. His concentration on the youth academy has yielded little results at Liverpool, leaving a incomplete team with world beaters and very average players.
His preference of zonal marking has come to light many times and his teams often lack imagination with virtually none of his wingers being able to find much success. He may only be missed at Liverpool as they've yet to find a quality manager to replace him.
Manchester Utd: Good Fighters Put Themselves Beyond the Possibility of Defeat
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The Awards
Looking for their fourth Premier League title in 5 years, added to 2 year holders of the Carling Cup and winner of the 2008 Champions League, Fergie has forged a winning team with a winning mentality. The teeam will need to look hard for individual accolades with Evra making the FIFA and UEFA team of the year in 2009.
The Team
The obvious academy products are Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville part of the many title winning seasons under Fergie since the Premier Leagues inception. Long serving team players in Wes Brown and John O'Shea have taken team roles filling in when needed and deputising for the injured. All highly decorated but are no longer part of starting 11 of a fully fit squad. Evans and Gibson represent future prospects for the club, being slowly integrated into the team, mainly deputising for the first team and a good run in the domestic cups.
This season, Ryan Giggs at 37, has scored once and made 2 assists in 12 appearances in the club after the injury to Antonio Valencia, in the same amount of games Paul Scholes can add another goal and assist to his tally.
The Departed
A lot of players who didn't make the grade became average players at other clubs with one of the most to leave in recent years to make his name elsewhere is Ryan Shawcross. Unable to break into the first team finding competition in Vidic, Ferdinand and Pique, he moved to Stoke, helping the side to promotion and avoid relegation the year after. As the new captain for his side, the powerful centre back has all the makings of a future England international with Capello looking to reform the England side, it is likely to be sooner rather than later.
The Education
At times I find it hard to describe united's style of play, the players all possess a high level of technique and like to attack down the wings sending in crosses or cutting in, he also likes technical strikers with midfielders who can defend and tackle well. Like Mourinho, Fergie favours a strong defence with tall centre backs and quick wing backs but it seems trivial when most teams do the same. One thing for sure, they possess a never say die mentality which equals a winning mentality with the confidence to dominate teams at the ir best and grind out results at their worst.
The Form
In any other season, United would find themselves behind the competition, yet they find themselves unbeaten and at the top of the Premier League with with a potential 5 point lead over 3rd place Arsenal with their game in hand. They find themselves 2nd in the goal scoring ranks with only Arsenal ahead by 2 goals and joint 1st for goals conceded at 19 in 21 games. Helped somewhat by the fact their main title rivals have all lost at least 4 times, the league is currently theirs to lose but will have to go against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool before the end of the season.
Having been outed by a determined West Ham side in the Carling cup, United have fared better in Europe finishing top of their group unbeaten suffering 2 home draws on the way to final 16 against a tricky Marseille side.
The Development
Where to begin with likes of players like Rafael who are breaking into the squad, Evra who has become one of the best left backs in the world and Rooney who despite his recent form is the current vanguard for his side, the best example may be Nemanja Vidic. Plucked out of the obscurity of the Russian league from Spartak Moscow, he has become one of the best defenders in the world and captained United towards Premier league and Champions League glory.
While the best player to come out of United in recent years has been one Cristiano Ronaldo, easily of the best players in the world with very few weaknesses in his game, his talent was somewhat known by many teams keeping tabs on him but not many can say they heard of Vidic before he came to Old Trafford.
The Manager
His tenure at United has seen many changes and many legends have come and gone but the Premier League's greatest manager still proves at 69 he is still at the top of his game. He's created a team after team of champions and witnessed many changes in the league yet always found winning ways.
One of his greatest skills is his man management, bringing the best out his players and a ruthlessness that pushes the team despite the odds up until the final whistle. He's brought in a mixed contingent of players, though recently focused towards youth, allowing them to gain experience with the more experienced players. More often looking abroad for young european talent to fill in the gaps of the youth system.
Chelsea: A Clever Fighter Is Not One Who Not Only Wins, But Wins With Ease
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The Awards
The current Premier League and FA cup holders, have seen a resurgence in their rival United and backroom politics which led to Jose Mourinho leaving has set a 3 season gap with multiple managers coming and leaving picking up only one piece of Silverware in 2009 with Guus Hiddink's FA Cup win. Though the new manager Ancelloti, lead the team back to winning ways with a domestic double and a Community Shield win.
With only Ashley Cole making the UEFA team of the year, as a casualty of of the dominance of Barcelona's stranglehold over everything shiny in football. In Europe, they came close to winning the 2008 Champions League before losing to United in penalties. The low light of which was when the deciding and possibly winning penalty was taken by Terry rather than Anelka, who promptly missed before Anelka did the same.
The Team
Frank Arnesen's ill fated youth academy saw a surge in youth talent, which after the tapping up scandal surrounding Gael Kakuta saw a temporary transfer ban imposed on the club. While there is a lot of young talent in the squad, John Terry is probably the best player to come out of their youth set up. Though as part of the youth surge players like Van Aanholt and Bruma border on definition as they were all snapped up from other youth academies. However, it really depends on your definition of academy product as he arrived at Chelsea as a 15 year old from West Ham. Either way, John Terry has become a talisman for club and country, known as one of the best defenders in the world despite his extra curricular activities.
However Josh McEachran, may prove to be a positive light in a somewhat troubled youth set up, while he is on the fringes of the first team. He has seen a few opportunities to shine this season and with 5 league appearances and an assist, he will be looking to break into the first team, he has appeared in all of Chelsea's Champions League games this season.
The Departed
With the figure spent on youth players and the academy being difficult to pinpoint with many of them being undisclosed but is believed to be over £20million since the project began. Few have made the grade and disappeared into anonymity. I really can't think of any that have found success, as if the youth academy only came to exist when Abramovich appeared.
The Education
As with many of the clubs listed, Chelsea has seen many mangers in recent seasons, the team has often changed from 433, 451 or 442 depending on the strikers available and injuries. Solid at the back which has seen little change until recently, Mourinho set up the midfield to have Lampard in an advanced position and Essien to clean up the midfield, with a number of players playing a starring role as the third central midfielder. Usually the team is based around Drogba as a target man with Malouda out on the left making crosses and Anelka on the right cutting in. This seaosn has seen a change of dynamics as a number of first team players have been in and out of the injury room and at time found the team stretched with little depth in their substitutes after a summer clearout in midfield and the loss/ failure to replace Carvalho. At their best the formation performs well as it allows the midfield and strike to advance and attack but then defend with the wingers coming back leaving Drogba up front to hold off the defence.
The Form
Domestically, Chelsea has seen a very bad patch after the dismissal of Ray Wilkins, though have begun to find their feet in recent weeks, while not looking like the Champions they were at the start of the season.After 22 games, the current champions are 7 points behind the leaders, who posses a game in hand, with only a point seperating them between 5th place Tottenham. Suffering 6 losses, the most of the top 6, it is unlikely they will win the league 5 points off 3rd place Arsenal and needing Manchester City to also falter. In Europe, they were top of their Champions League group, with only one away loss to Marseille after already securing top spot, they encounter a easy route to the final 16 in Kopenhagen.
The Development
A success story in their dominant spine, saw Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba become world class players, highlighted by Mourinho's era in charge. Cech saw many clean sheet records made and broken for the club and established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Lampard's injury this season had initially been forgotten as Chelsea started brightly but found themselves toothless with their driving force in midfield. His displays and consistently for the club saw him become the highest scoring midfielder in the Premier League ever with 131 goals and find 82 assists as the 2nd highest assister.
The Manager
Ancelotti had started the season brightly but saw a massive slump towards midseason leave the team 4th place. At times, the team have looked uninspiring leaving the manager looking perplexed as to why they are failing to collect the 3 points, though has amicably taken the blame for his team, while the team have insisted they were at fault. With Abramovich lurking behind the scenes, Ancelotti's job has come into question though a recent gain in has dispelled rumours for now.
In terms of style, Ancelotti has taken the team built by Mourinho and played to their strengths, allowing Chelsea to attack and dominate teams as they so often did. His transfer dealing have caused much of his recent despair as he inherited a team with a lot of deadwood only to find himself lacking substitutes when big injuries occurred.
The played with much confidence, possibly helped by playing easier ties, at the start of the season but have been found a shadow of themselves. The confidence has deserted them as their star players failed to shine. However, unlike previous managers, the team are fully behind him and it will only be a matter of time before they regain form though the damage has been done and retaining the title looks impossible.
A Skilled Commander Seeks Victory from the Situation and Does Not Demand It
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Every club is different in it's roots and history but success may defined by a title but it has many ingredients and almost as many external and internal factors. No club can guarantee success but champions prove themselves, time and again.
Looking at the various teams, the academies often yield few results with many being passed on in favour of established talents. Barca can boast some of the best player sin the world but others fail to intergrate them. Admittedly united have the likes of Scholes and Giggs but have been hard placed to replace them. I could've added Arsenal in as a contender with the number of academy products but they have not won a major trophy in a long time and would be biased to do so.
Many of the teams are only starting to integrate their own academy players but only Barcelona heavily rely on their youth products and have been the most rewarded in recent seasons. There is no perfect academy capable of bringing talented players in every position but teams have relied not on big name transfers but bringing in talented 18-20 year olds and developing them into future stars. There is strong evidence of loyal players coming from various teams being part of the team at a young age showing their allegiance throughout their career. But they often face much younger competition and leave, not content without a starting space but most have become part of the Old Guard and become a reliable reserve providing experience at the very highest level.
The youth policy has often been dictated by the manager choosing to have faith in some talents rather than other depending on if they have the quality. Of all the managers listed only 1 has had a manager for more than 3 seasons and Mourinho has managed three of them, worked at Barcelona and there is a possibility of him succeeding Ferguson. The Midas touch possibly? All the managers have won the Champion's league and two having the honour of winning it twice.
The winning formula is hard to define in terms of youth as 3 of the team barely have academy presences. However, the development of great players has lead to their success, talented youngsters have become world class players at the club, though often commanding a hefty transfer fee. Arguably academy players may have no place at larger clubs if they cannot fulfil their potential. A lot of the players in the starting 11 have come from other academies, though not many are champions and often face the predicament of being seen as a feeder club though profiting in the process.
Notes
I've fought the urge include contenders like Ajax, Munich, AC, Arsenal and Manchester City mainly due to the fact I'm OCD and would have to research everything, luckily I'm also lazy. Plus the majority of the teams haven't won much silverware in a while.
I also thought of including players like Totti and Gerrard who have been at their boyhood team for years but this is much,much harder to research.
Special thanks to Will Cookson, for helping inspire me tow rite the article
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