6 L Youth Development

by Klaus Pabst, youth coaching director, FC Viktoria Köln

Where stars
Barcelona’s
How one of the world’s top teams
trains the best soccer brains
Images
All photos: Getty

They’ve produced some of the Things are different here shake hands with the ref on his way off the
biggest names in the game: In It’s not just that Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and field. Youth players can emulate their idols
the rest of FC Barcelona’s stars possess on the first team, but they also need to be
2010 all three finalists for FIFA’s outstanding soccer skills—their conduct their own players, with their own strengths
Golden Ball Award—Messi, Ini- on the pitch, too, is a welcome departure and weaknesses. After all, there can only be
esta and Xavi—were graduates from the behavior of some other supposedly one Messi!
elite players. But if you believe Barcelona’s
of FC Barcelona’s legendary youth coordinator Albert Puig, there’s noth- The Dutch school
academy. In 2011 Messi kept ing surprising about that. As he puts it: “Our If you’re looking for the secret of Barcelo-
the crown, Xavi came in third, coaches’ first priority is to help the boys na’s youth development success, you won’t
learn how to act. Second is showing them find it on the pitch—or not just on the pitch,
and “Barça” won the Champi- how to become good players.” anyway. It’s a concept lived by the whole
ons League with seven players At FC Barcelona, these challenges rate high- club and everyone on staff.
from its own youth teams. Late er than player quality. Respect, modesty, And the Dutch influence on this concept is
discipline, selflessness, teamwork, fair play, unmistakable: All the basic principles of the
last year, longtime SIS writer dependability, politeness—these are the training philosophy Ajax Amsterdam revived
Klaus Pabst got to visit the Cata- qualities their coaches value and model.So in the 1990s are there. That philosophy
lan club’s training facilities and after scoring a goal, for example, players are starts with the idea of “total football” invent-
expected to celebrate as a team but not to ed by Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff, and
study the foundations of its in- overdo it, out of respect for their opponents. with two key questions: How do we want to
credible success. If a player gets a red card, he’s expected to play soccer, and how do we achieve it?
 Success in Soccer 2/2013  Tactics: Team 7

are born:
academy

It’s all about the 4–3–3 10 percent are foreigners. Not everyone formation, i.e. without “real” defenders. The
The 4–3–3 formation provides a foundation lives at La Masia, by the way: The building three players in the back correspond to the
for all of Barcelona’s teams, from the pros only houses 80 players, and a quarter of 6, 7 and AK from the 4–3–3 (defensive
down to the U8s. Offensive and defensive those are basketball or hockey players. midfielder and right and left wingers). The
strategies are always the same, and the two players in front of them are attacking
mechanisms at each position are identical. Formation and field: U12 and under midfielders 8 and AT, and the player in
So positions from the 4–3–3 show up in all From U8 through U12, teams play 7 v. 7 front is forward 9. On offense, four play-
training activities, even for the youngest with six field players and one goalkeeper in ers attack while two (6 and 7 or 6 and
players. Player numbering is standardized, a standard half, using the sidelines as end- AK) cover the backfield. So when it’s time
running from back to front and right to left lines and the centerline and six-yard-line as to transition to 11 v. 11 on the “real” field
within each section of the team (see Info 1 sidelines. Games consist of four 15-minute (starting at U13), everyone is already pre-
on pages 8–9). quarters, with teams switching halves dur- pared for offensive positions 6 through AK.
The 4–3–3 has an influence on scouting as ing the longer halftime break.
well: Players who sign a contract or are ac- Players U10 and under do not play offsides. Playing for possession
cepted to La Masia have to fit into the sys- The rule is introduced at U11, but in a slight- On offense, all of FC Barcelona’s teams
tem. Final position assignments are made as ly different form similar to the offside rule in are trained to spread out in all directions,
early as U13. And speaking of scouting: Just hockey: There are marked offside lines 15 so most of the action takes place in the op-
under 70 percent of the approximately 250 yards in front of each goal, and attackers position’s half. Players are so technically
players at the academy are Catalans, mean- can only cross these lines if they’re dribbling skilled for their age level that they can they
ing they come from the region. Roughly 20 or chasing a pass. can maintain possession while confidently
percent come from other parts of Spain, and All of the younger youth teams play a 3–2–1 shifting the point of attack again and again,
8 L Youth Development

1 Training game formations (all based on 11 v. 11)

Info

9 7 9
11 11 7

10 8 10 8

6 2 6
5
4 3 4 3

1 1

11 v. 11: 4–3–3 formation 9 v. 9: 2–3–3 formation

opening up gaps to be exploited by forward passes or dribbling runs. All teams are expected to use these tactics in match play. Whether
Attacks are launched by the goalkeeper, who plays ground balls to they win or lose is secondary, although this playing style does seem to
inside defenders 3 and 4 or defensive midfielder 6. It’s not unheard of lead almost automatically to success. Not until U19 are they expected
for the inside defenders to start out on the endline outside the penalty to lead the national rankings. Info 2 below shows FC Barcelona’s cur-
box in order to get past the opposition’s defense and create more rent lineup of youth teams.
space for the attack.
An (almost) perfect simulation of match play
Opposition in possession? Never! All training concepts and activities are formulated by youth director
Because Barcelona’s teams tend to play high up in the opposition’s Guillermo Amor on the basis of this overall philosophy, while Coach
half, when they do lose the ball they need to go after it immediately, Puig regularly monitors and reports on their implementation on the
putting maximum pressure on their opponents in order to win it back. practice field. Each team’s head coach is a full-time employee, of
Primarily, they’re trying to make it hard for the other team to play a course, and some are former Barça players. Amor and Puig meet with
through pass or a flighted ball to the other side—the most direct ways the coaches every morning to discuss an agenda strictly limited to
for them to get the ball past their own defenders. soccer issues.

2 Teams and players by age level

Group Birth year Age level Team size
Info

Benjami 2006 U8 12 players

2005 I+II U9 12 players each
2004 I+II U10 12 players each
Alevi 2003 I+II U11 14 players each
2002 I+II U12 13 players each
Infantil 2001 U13 20 players
2000 U14 21 players
Cadet 1999 U15 23 players
1998 U16 21 players
Juvenil 1996–97 U17 23 players
1995–96 U18 24 players
Barça B 1994 U19 26 players
 Success in Soccer 3/2013  Tactics: Team 9

9 9
11 7 11 7

10 8
6

4 3

1 1

7 v. 7: 2–1–3 formation 6 v. 6: 2–3 formation

In terms of technique, the coaches look for confident ball control and The program concludes with races, chase games and games of tag
both-footed play, with a special emphasis on good heading in recent for muscle activation. Boring endurance exercises like running laps
months. In terms of tactics, the main question is how well players are strictly forbidden!
understand the game: Are they playing effectively? Can they indepen-
dently choose between solo and combination plays? Do they respond Possession training: Rondos and more
creatively to game situations? And in terms of fitness, right now the The numbers-up games known as “rondos” (see Info 3 below) are a
most critical factor for all players is speed (movement, running, sprint- hallmark of Barcelona’s training program. These games (4 v. 1, 5 v. 2,
ing and game action speed). Strength and endurance don’t enter the 7 v. 2, 8 v. 2) are played at extremely high intensity in spaces so tight
picture until players are older. that the players on the outside are often only a yard away from each
other.
Warm-up: Short and sweet Other activities include possession and turnover games as well as
All teams share a standardized warm-up program: A short group games and exercises involving shooting. Every practice ends with a
warm-up run is followed by running techniques, calisthenics and training game in formations based on the 4–3–3, even if it’s a 6 v. 6
quick sprints. For ball training, players pass back and forth in pairs. (see Info 1 above).

3 Playing the rondo

FC Barcelona’s players have a different name for the warm-
Info

up game we know as “keep-away” or “monkey in the

middle”—they call it “rondo.” Their 4 v. 2 version of rondo is
typically played on a field about eight yards square. But 4 v. 2
is just the beginning: Around La Masia, it’s not unusual to see
players playing 8 v. 2 or even 10 v. 2. Also, rondo fields tend to
be extremely small—for example, 10 v. 2 on a
6 x 6-yard field!
The reason has to do with training objectives: Whereas other
teams play keep-away to train a variety of tactics such as
getting open, passing to space, etc., at Barcelona the focus is
on lightning-fast short passes under opposition pressure.
10 L Youth Development

Possession games
Ball hunters U12/U13
1
Setup and sequence
Game

• Divide players into two teams, A and B.

• A’s players dribble inside the penalty box (one ball each). At the
coach’s signal, B’s players try to knock the balls out of the box.
• If a player’s ball is knocked out, he can still play combinations.
• Teams switch roles after each round.
• Which team can keep possession longer?
Tips and corrections
• After losing the ball, players should immediately switch gears and
show for passes.
• Both teams should spread out in all directions and fill the box.
• Ball hunters should move fast and pursue opponents aggressively.

6 v. 4 with four teams U14/U15

2
Setup and sequence
Field 1 Field 2
GAme

• Four teams of four play on two 15 x 15-yard fields (10 yards apart).
• Team A starts out on defense on Field 1. B and C line up along the
sidelines of the two fields. Two of D’s players stand on Field 1’s
sidelines and the other two (alternates) stand between the fields.
• Teams play 6 v. 4 keep-away in Field 1. After a prearranged num-
15 y

ber of touches, one outside player shifts play to Field 2 by passing

to an alternate. Team A switches fields at the same time.
• Teams switch roles if A wins the ball.

15 y 10 y 15 y Tips and corrections

• Outside players should minimize touches and use the whole field.
• Transitions after turnovers should be quick.

7 v. 7 + 4 U16/U17
3
Setup and sequence
Game

• Mark out a 30 x 25-yard field. Divide players into two teams of

seven plus four neutral players (including the two goalkeepers).
• Six attacking players (Team A) spread out around the outside; the
seventh stands in the middle. Defenders (B) spread out as well.
• The neutral players form a line down the center of the field.
25 y

• Team A and the neutral players play keep-away against B, trying

to shift the point of attack across the field in both directions.
• If B wins the ball, teams switch roles immediately.
Tips and corrections
• Attackers and defenders should spread out across the entire field.
• Defenders go after the ball aggressively and close down space.
30 y
 Success in Soccer 3/2013  Tactics: Team 11

Shooting drills
Combination and shot U10/U11
1
Setup and sequence
exercise

• Players take positions 7, 8, AT and AK in front of a goal with

goalkeeper. Two defenders stand outside the box by 8 and AT.
• The coach stands in the middle (position 6) with extra balls. He
passes to 7, who dribbles forward toward the near defender.
• 7 then decides whether to try to beat the defender 1 v. 1 or play
a wall pass with 8.
• 8 runs in front of the goal, ready to score on a pass or rebound.
10 8 7
11
• Next, the sequence repeats with AK and AT.
Tips and corrections
• 7 and AK should show for passes out on the wings.
• Each attack should end with a shot.

Pass to 7 and 11 U12/U13

2
Setup and sequence
exercise

• Mark out a 40-yard-long field the width of the penalty box, with
one goal. One goalkeeper stands in the goal, another in the box.
• Teams play 6 v. 6: Team A plays positions 6, 7, 8, 9, AT and
9 AK, while Team B plays 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 and AT.
11 7
• Team A tries to pass to either 7 or AK as they run into the pen-
alty box, where they play 2 v. 2 against the goalkeepers to score.
• Goalkeeper 2 defends like a field player (no hands).
8 • Team B is not allowed to follow 7 and AK into the penalty box.
10
Tips and corrections
6 • Attackers should shift the point of attack until they can pass.
• Once inside the box, 7 and AK should try to score immediately.

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