Real Madrid CF: The Most Successful Former Madrid Youth Academy Players

With all the glitz and glamour of La Masia and teams such as Athletic Bilbao, consisting of all Basque players and a squad of mainly youth products, it can be easy to forget the achievements of some canteranos from the Real Madrid Academy.

The philosophies of the Madrid-based club, including the famous Galactico Era, do not revolve around promoting youth like clubs such as Athletic Bilbao or Barcelona.

Only a select few Canteranos actually make it to the Real Madrid first team, and that is often after being sold and bought back. A number are sold and have successful careers elsewhere, but it is often forgotten that they were once canteranos.

Here are a few examples of successful Canteranos.

Current Real Madrid Players

Iker Casillas

Captain of the white side of Madrid as well World Champions Spain. He is the No. 1 'keeper for club and country having capped 579 times for Real Madrid and 121 times for Spain.

He has made his way through the ranks at Real Madrid and is now one of the best goalkeepers in world football, winning four La Liga titles, two Champions League titles, a World Cup, a Euro Cup, three Supercopas and many more.  

Esteban Granero

Also made his way through the ranks at Real Madrid, although he did not make the transition from Castilla to first team.

He was sold to Getafe and after proving his ability with the Azulones, was bought back by Los Blancos for around €4 million in 2009. He has since capped 98 times, winning a Cope del Rey with the club.

Alvaro Arbeloa

Moving from the youth ranks of Real Madrid to Real Madrid Castilla before being sold to Deportivo La Coruna and eventually Liverpool. Spending three seasons with the Merseyside club, he made 98 appearances and was a Champions League runner-up before returning to Real Madrid.

Currently with the club, he has made a total of 81 appearances as well as winning a Cope del Rey.

Antonio Adan 

The possible successor to Iker Casillas, he has only made three appearances this season. After Casillas was sent off against Espanyol, Adan came on as second choice, keeping a clean sheet.

In the following 2-0 win against Levante, he also kept a clean sheet between the posts.      

Former Players

Raul Gonzalez Blanco

Similarly to Iker Casillas and Esteban Granero, Raul also made his way through the ranks of the Academy before being promoted to Castilla and later the first team.

He later moved on to becoming the most capped Real Madrid player of all time (with 741 caps) and the top scorer in history (with 323 goals), as well as club captain for a number as years.

He filled his trophy cabinet with such trophies as: three Champion Leagues, four La Liga titles, four Supercopas, a UEFA Super Cup, two Intercontinental Cups and a number of individual honours.

Currently at Bundesliga club Schalke 04, he has capped 51 times for the German side and helped them to a DFB-Pokal.

Guti

Also made his way through the ranks of Real Madrid, eventually being promoted to the first time. The midfielder went on to become a fixture in the club's starting lineup for seasoning to come, making a total of 526 appearances.

With Real Madrid, Guti won three Champions Leagues, five La Ligas, four Supercopas and more. He currently plays for Besiktas in the Turkish Super Lig, winning the Turkish Cup this season.

Seasoned coaches, Vicente del Bosque and Rafa Benitez, are also former Canteranos. Del Bosque coached Spain to their first World Cup, and Benitez led Valencia to two La Liga titles and Liverpool to an FA Cup and Champions League title. 

Elsewhere in La Liga

Juan Mata

The World Cup winner spent about one year in Castilla after being promoted from the youth ranks. The talented winger was bought by Valencia in 2007 and has since made 172 appearances, scoring 46 goals.

He has helped Valencia to a Copa del Rey, as well as assisting in Spain's World Cup triumph and most recently, the Euro U-21 Championship.

Roberto Soldado

After many successful seasons in Castilla and two with the first team, the striker was sold to Getafe, where he made 66 appearances scoring 33 goals.

Valencia then purchased him for an estimated €10 million in 2010, where he has gone on to make 44 appearances, scoring 25 goals.

Daniel Parejo

Recently purchased by Valencia, the central midfielder spent two seasons in Castilla before heading off on loan to Queen's Park Rangers. In 2009, he was purchased by Getafe and has since made 80 appearances.

In the 2009-10, he help the club to the Europa League qualification spots for only the second time in their history.

Over the winter transfer window, there was speculation Real Madrid would use the buy-back clause in Parejo's contract, but nothing came of it as he moved to the East of Spain with Valencia.