Marc Guiu celebrates his debut goal for Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on 22/10/2023. Photo: Reuters

In Barcelona's three-nil victory over Mallorca in La Liga last weekend, seven starting players were La Masia graduates. The defense featured Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsi, and Eric Garcia. The midfield included Marc Casado, Dani Olmo, and Fermin Lopez. Upfront, Lamine Yamal scored, marking over 10,000 minutes of play for the first team since his debut at age 15 in 4/2023.

Two other academy players, Marc Bernal and Tommy Marques, came on as substitutes, with Marques making his first-team debut. Since Hansi Flick's appointment in 5/2024, eight academy graduates have been promoted to the senior squad.

La Masia is widely considered the world's most successful academy. However, this system has a clear limitation: it rarely produces central strikers for the first team.

The last central striker from the academy to have significant first-team minutes was Bojan Krkic. Debuting in 2007 at age 17, Bojan played 163 matches and scored 41 goals over four seasons. However, two-thirds of his appearances were as a winger. Bojan could not secure a consistent position and was sold to Roma in 2011 when he was just 20 years old.

Another case is Marc Guiu. In 10/2023, he came off the bench at age 17 against Athletic Bilbao and scored 23 seconds later. Nevertheless, at the end of that season, Guiu moved to Chelsea to seek more playing time.

Barcelona's current primary central striker, Robert Lewandowski, will turn 38 next August. His contract expires at the end of June, with no signs of an extension. Ferran Torres, 25 years old, can play as a central striker, but his natural position is a winger. Neither of these players developed at La Masia.

Before Lewandowski joined in summer 2022, Barcelona's notable central strikers included Luis Suarez, David Villa, Samuel Eto'o, Patrick Kluivert, Ronaldo Nazario, and Romario. What they all had in common was that none were developed at La Masia.

Lewandowski scores in Barcelona's Champions League group stage match against Slavia Praha in the Czech Republic on 21/1/2026. Photo: AP

There are two main reasons explaining La Masia's scarcity of top central strikers. The first is Barcelona's distinctive training model. Youth coaches at La Masia teach players to operate in a specific way, demanding high technical skill, creativity, and excellent positional awareness. This applies to every position, from goalkeeper to striker.

Jean Marie Dongou, who joined La Masia in 2008 at age 13, played as a central striker and made three first-team appearances in the 2013-2014 season under coach Gerardo Martino. He stated that at Barcelona, every player must combine well in tight spaces. Even goalkeepers must be proficient with their feet, making the demands on strikers even higher. Training sessions often occur in cramped areas, and youth matches are also designed with this orientation.

According to Jordi Roura, academy director from 2014 to 2021, the excessive focus on qualities fitting the "Barca DNA" sometimes overlooks other elements. He recounted that whenever a prominent central striker emerged at the academy, the coaching staff would often receive comments like, "he only knows how to score goals." Roura believes that scoring is the most crucial factor, but it is sometimes deemed insufficient if the player does not meet Barcelona's full technical criteria and link-up play requirements.

Roura explained that at Barcelona, they seek a striker who can participate in build-up play, drop deep to receive the ball, maintain the attacking rhythm, and perform well with their back to goal. Strikers must score, but they also need to initiate pressure and ensure continuity in play. In this environment, a typical "number 9" from other teams sometimes has to play as a "false 9."

At the youth level, goal-scoring responsibility often falls to the attacking group, creating more versatile players. However, this can lead to a lack of specialist goal-scoring strikers upon reaching the first team. Some players who started as central strikers at La Masia were later moved to other positions, such as Dani Olmo. The 27-year-old currently plays as an attacking midfielder or winger.

The second reason is the unique nature of the position. Roura describes the striker position as "all or nothing." Dongou, meanwhile, suggests that Barcelona lacks patience with strikers. A midfielder can come on for 30 or 40 minutes per match to gradually integrate, but a striker must make an immediate impact. When given an opportunity, they need to score right away.

Dongou admitted that after making his first-team debut, he thought he had achieved his goal. However, it was very difficult to stay in Barcelona's senior squad. At the time, he had to compete for playing time because Lionel Messi often played as a "false 9," and Alexis Sanchez sometimes took on this role. Barcelona did not have a fixed central striker before Suarez arrived in 7/2014.

Dongou further recounted that when Luis Enrique took over the team in 2014, he failed to seize his opportunity during the pre-season due to fitness issues, falling behind teammates in the pecking order. The Cameroonian striker admitted making a mistake by reacting negatively and refusing to train with the first team out of frustration.

After three substitute appearances in La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champions League matches from 12/2013 to 1/2014, Dongou played no further games for the first team. He left the club in 2016, joining Real Zaragoza and subsequently playing in the Spanish second division as well as for clubs in Finland, Greece, and Japan.

In a match on 25/11/2012, ten La Masia graduates started for Barcelona against Levante. When Dani Alves was injured and left the field, Martin Montoya came on, forming an entirely La Masia lineup on the pitch. This is a rare statistic for any top club in Europe.

Recently, the emergence of Cubarsi, Fermin, Gavi, and especially Yamal continues to put La Masia in the spotlight. Flick has also given opportunities to Bernal, Marques, Sergi Dominguez, Andres Cuenca, Toni Fernandez, Dani Rodriguez, Jofre Torrents, and Dro Fernandez — a midfielder who moved to PSG last month.

The most highly-rated central striker in the academy currently is Oscar Gistau, who is soon to turn 18. However, when seeking a replacement for Lewandowski, the most viable option remains to recruit a proven striker at a high level, one who fits the playing style and can score immediately.

According to Dongou, during difficult periods, La Masia often serves as the club's bedrock. Yet, for the central striker position, Barcelona primarily seeks solutions from the transfer market, rather than from their own academy.

Hoang An (via The Athletic)