Ranking The Best Football Academies in Europe’s Top Five Leagues

Asides from the glitz and glamour, the trophies and the financial statements, the facilities and the architectural marvels, and other considerations, major football clubs can also boast about their academies.

What appears to be an elementary part of a football club ecosystem has over time served as a saving grace for many clubs.

These academies can act as a source of steady finance and sometimes a last resort for major funding - as has been witnessed with Ajax Amsterdam and lately Benfica.

Football academies, which are a modern delight for many clubs in the 21st century, have an importance that cannot be over-emphasised.

Many greats, including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have been traced to football academies in Spain and Portugal respectively.

While several professional football players may have started low on the totem pole, the opportunities given by academies have often been essential in helping these players fulfill their full potential.

Sports Brief has considered the long list of academies in Europe, drawing up a list of the best football academies in each of Europe’s top five leagues, solely based on the quality of players they have produced since the turn of the century.

Athletic Club (Spain)

The sleepy town of Lazema, in the Basque region of Spain, boasts a legendary club with what is a seemingly unusual mode of operation. Athletic Club remains the only European side solely reliant on talents from its academy - La Cantera and the Basque region.

The age-long tradition of the club was born 14 years after being founded (1898). Athletic Club was accused of fielding ineligible foreign players in the 1911 Copa del Rey, so they decided they would only pick players born in the Basque Country or formed locally, as per The Guardian.

Their current crop of first-team players consists of a minimum 18 players from La Cantera, including Iker Muniain, Markel Susaeta, and Inaki Williams - but excludes players who are from the Basque region in Spain.

Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte, and Chelsea’s goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga trod a similar path in the past, before moving to another club in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

Southampton FC (England)

Even before their Premier League promotion in the 2011-12 season, the Saints have been nothing short of sensational in regards to churning out exceptional talent.

Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, Toby Alderweireld, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez, and James Ward-Prowse among the host of talent to have come through the youth system of the club located in Hampshire, southern England.

The Saints Academy and the path to first-team football for youngsters from the academy were further bolstered by the decision by former club chairman, Nicola Cortese in the summer of 2009.

Inspired by Barcelona’s La Masia, the Italian invested in the club’s infrastructure and their young players.

Southampton has since gone on to make major sales of their academy produce, including Luke Shaw to Manchester United in 2014 for a fee in the region of £33.75 million, Morgan Schnedrlin to Manchester United for £31.50 mil, and Adam Lallana to Liverpool for £27.90 mil.

Olympique Lyonnais (France)

France is one of the greatest footballing nations on earth, so it is of little surprise that numerous clubs in the country boast reputable academies.

Honourable mentions must be given to LOSC Lille, Stade Rennais FC, and Saint- Etienne, although the Lyon academy is arguably the best in the country.

A sizable portion of players that came through the academy are currently featuring in the squad: Anthony Lopes, Houssem Aouar, Rayan Cherki, and captain Alexander Lacazette.

There are others who came through the Lyon academy but have left and achieved success elsewhere, including Karim Benzema, Nabil Fekir, Anthony Martial, Samuel Umtiti, and Corentin Tolisso, to name a few.

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Many are still of the opinion that if Lyon and the Ligue 1 at large didn’t experience their fair share of financial struggles - which led to them selling a few of these players - they would’ve won several more titles than they have currently.

CIES Football Observatory conducted a study in October 2018 and they found that Olympique have produced the second-highest number of players in Europe’s top five leagues, behind only Real Madrid.

According to the club’s estimation, 8-12% of the players in each age group who come through their system sign professional contracts, either at the club or elsewhere, compared to an average of 5-6% in the rest of France.

Atalanta BC (Italy)

The side from Bergamo has been one of many football revelations in Italy over the last decade. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side has translated the success of their first team into their academy.

Valued at an estimated £221 million, the Zigonia Academy has been immensely beneficial for Atalanta and Italian football on a large scale, producing talent including Alessio Tacchinardi and clinical finisher, Giampaolo Pazzini.

In modern times, the academy has produced talents including Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni, Sassuolo’s shot-stopper Andrea Consigli, and former Juventus forward Dejan Kulusevski.

Also, former Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli, Mattia Cladara, and Inter’s Roberto Gagliardini are among a few recent players that came through the ranks in Bergamo.

Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a strong record of producing top talent, with Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz being among the most recent success stories.

Players like Gonzalo Castro, Danny da Costa, Dominik Kohr, and Bastian Ozcipka all came through the ranks of the £213 mil-valued academy.

Recently, the club has had the likes of Toni Kroos, Arturo Vidal, Kevin Kampl, Christoph Kramer, and Benjamin Henrichs spending developmental years among its ranks.

One of the key pillars of Leverkusen’s talent development philosophy is an intelligent upbringing, according to Gilbert Gorges, the Head of Match Analysis at the academy.

The German side adopts the same football philosophy and implements the same training methods from the academy all the way through to the first team.

Leverkusen's DNA is dominance on the pitch with high ball possession and also the creation of high-quality goal-scoring chances. Little wonder the club opted for former Real Madrid Academy coach, Xabi Alonso to lead their young first-team squad.

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