Football Academy Quotes

There won't be more Messis, and we don't expect there to be more, as there won't be another generation in La Masia like the one with Xavi, Busi, Puyol, Iniesta and me.

You can never know if there will be a second Cruyff, someone with a great personality who can grow up and make it into the squad of the club they love. But what is certain is that, in the Champions League, there will be big clubs producing these players forever.

Every coach wants to train Manchester United; it's one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Obviously, everyone looks at whether we bring young footballers into the first team, that's one of the goals. But I wouldn't discard someone who is successful in life, that's big. The hall of fame in the academy should be a wide variety of stories.

I was about five or six when I went to the little foundation camps. I got into the academy when I was nine, and I've gone through every age group since and into the first team.

He is an example of a La Masia player. Technically he is unbelievable.

When I first arrived at Napoli, I was the ball boy, which meant that I got to watch as the legends trained. Then, once I joined the youth team as a young teenager, I was a midfielder just like Tardelli.

If I could, I'd change the way I came up through the football ranks. I'd love to have had an academy life the way the boys have it. I think female footballers would be so much better for having that opportunity, and we'd be more effective because we would be better players.

I can remember when I was a 17-year-old at Swansea and Terry Yorath and Tommy Hutchison were in charge.

It's not easy to break into an Arsenal team from youth.

When I was playing for Chelsea and Arsenal, we had a young team but also experienced players. You still have space for the youngsters to play, they just have to be strong mentally to compete every week.

I want to be a footballer. I don't want to do anything else.

When I came to PSV, I signed when Eric Gerets was coach there.

I was very close to joining Manchester United.

If you want to improve the football, of course you need to put attention on the academy, on the school, the facility.

Growing up as a kid, I played for Wallsend Boys Club, a famous boys club. I had such a good childhood and upbringing there.

Me being at Coventry, instead of a big Premier League club, probably helped me develop. You don't get put in the academy system, playing Under-18s and Under-23s.

I run an academy in Spain for young footballers who are released by their clubs and who, in my opinion, deserve a second chance. It is a rewarding job for me, but one that also reveals many of the faults in the English game.

You look at a club like Chelsea, and you know it won't be easy to get into that team. Sometimes you have to go away, play regular first team football, and show Chelsea that you are ready to play for them.

I signed as an 11-year-old for Everton. I broke into the Under-18s at the age of 14, then the reserves at 15, then I was in the first-team squad at 16.

I've played for England Under-21s, in the Under-20 World Cup and I've been part of the play-offs in the Championship. But in terms of helping my career and getting me ready, going to Cheltenham Town was a massive experience.

I played for Barcelona, for Ajax, where it's important to develop and integrate young talent.

Both Atletico and Real Madrid called my dad, but at that time, I wasn't doing too well at school, and they wouldn't let me go until my grades improved. They both called back, and since Atleti was closer to home, I joined their football academy. It was the start of a period where I stopped enjoying football - I lost the love for it.

I began my journey as a 16-year-old boy at the Arsenal's academy, trying to one day become a first team player, going out for evening runs in East Barnet with Jack Wilshere.

It sounds elementary, but I've seen some really talented kids leave Barca because they wouldn't listen or thought they had become a professional before they did. If you are not good in a group then you don't have a place at Barca.