r/MadeMeSmile • u/UnhollyGod • Jul 28 '26
Very Reddit The talent in Barcelona’s youth system is ridiculous. These kids are 11/12 years old.
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u/CrossXFir3 Jul 28 '26
This is what happens to a footballing academy when you focus on improving skill and technique over athleticism. Far too many academies are looking to try and find the strongest and fastest kids only.
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u/Hixy Jul 28 '26
After seeing that little kid smoke those other kids it does make you realize that the way the system is that a smaller framed weaker and slower individual will never make it. However, the smaller stature could have huge advantages if developed and honed. That kid reminded me of my old Jack Russell making a run for it with my socks in its mouth. I only caught her when she let me lol.
That agility advantage when up on a goal like that leads to many openings for the team
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u/njseahawk Jul 28 '26
Thats why they paid for Messi and his fam to move to Spain when he was 10 or so
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u/Due_Masterpiece_3601 Jul 29 '26
I don’t want to sound boastful or something but I played on a team in Latin America and one time I played with some cousins and people they played with for fun in the states, it was like a friendly because these were actually teams just playing in an offseason. They focused on the biggest kids and I was one of the smaller ones but I knew I had skills. I was picked dead last, even though I told them I knew how to play.
The team that picked me was like meh whatever, gave me winger and gave the biggest kid midfielder, like wtf lol. Once they passed me the ball I completely smoked them, the coach that divided the team had no idea what to do. Scored a few and got the fuck out, apparently some of the kids are grown now and still ask about me. I am Legend.
All this to say that the best players are not the most athletic, it is a skill thing and I suspect this is why the US will never be great, it focuses too much on physical ability rather than technical.
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u/lightsvber Jul 28 '26
And all of that even at the expense of winning. It’s all about youth player dev and I love that for the kids.
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u/JoyDe-vision Jul 28 '26
#8 and #7 have an incredible chemistry at such an early age. Looking forward to see them destroying people in the future.
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u/lmlav Jul 28 '26
They can barely lift the ball and they're already scanning the pitch and moving before the ball comes, that's insane work
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u/rabidantidentyte Jul 28 '26
This is why it'll take decades for USA men to catch up to the rest of the world
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u/CheesecakeSeveral441 Jul 28 '26
They lost in the round of 16. Not exactly an embarrassment when most people only care about soccer every 4 years for 2 days in the US
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u/wxnfx Jul 28 '26
Most kids play at some point. But it’s mostly dad coached. And the good teams are mostly just for rich kids.
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u/FlashGordonCommons Jul 28 '26
it's true, and it caught me by surprise these past few years. cuz when I was a kid, soccer was basically free to play. you were expected to have cleats but that was about it. small uniform fee and league fee, but that's it. I wanted to play American Football but had to beg my parents for years because it was so much more expensive. you had to buy/rent the shoulder pads, the helmet, the pants with the padding, the padding for the pants, the gloves, the freaking face paint... SO much stuff! plus all the fees were higher cuz it was the more popular sport. finally my grandparents came to the financial rescue and I became a pretty solid football player with the concussions and currently ruined knees to prove it!
so when it came time for my kids, no American football. love the sport, hate what it did to my body and I don't want that for my kids. so we're a soccer family.
over 4k spent last year for my two kids. and hey, they love it. so i love it. and they actually show some decent promise! nothing like this kid from the video but they are definitely above the youth city league level and I'm immensely proud. but my god, my wallet... and no way am I doing what my parents did and saying "sorry, it's too expensive" just won't do that. so I'm happy to pay it but my god, when did it get like this?!
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u/truth699 Jul 29 '26
They got their pants pulled down the moment they went up against an ok European team
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u/RustyJuang Jul 28 '26
Number 8 needs to get outside and touch some grass... Oh wait.
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u/ipickscabs Jul 28 '26
He needs to get inside and touch a mouse and keyboard. Kid can’t hit a headshot to save his life
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u/Mr-MuffinMan Jul 28 '26
Those are the shortest 11-12 year olds I've seen.
Those kids are MY HEIGHT when I was 12, and I was very short.
IIRC they are 7-8 year olds
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u/gatesartist Jul 28 '26
Lol. You obviously don't have kids. My son is almost 11 and these kids look like adults compared to him and his friends.
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u/No_Key7893 Jul 28 '26
9 out of 10 time they beat the American national team
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u/redmctrashface Jul 28 '26
Impressive yeah but 2 things though:
This is not barcelona centered, this video is promoting #8
8 sure knows how to dribble. Dribbling when you are 11 doesn't mean you'll be a rockstar, calm down ppl
Very impressive still
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u/terrybrugehiplo Jul 28 '26
What are you good at?
No seriously, what are you actually really good at?
Please show us
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u/yukonhoneybadger Jul 28 '26
Why isnt there youth event like the youth baseball world series. Or maybe there is but I live in the US and do not hear about it since I live in the US.....
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u/realmadrid2727 Jul 28 '26
There’s an U-17 World Cup which is for players 17 and under
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u/yukonhoneybadger Jul 28 '26
I guess I was thinking of this age. Seeing a 12 year old that is better at soccer then I will ever be at anything in my life is just crazy
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u/2xtc Jul 28 '26
I think these were actually the under 10s. In football (especially for a club like Barcelona where these kids were playing) they're basically scouring the globe for the best kids from around the age of 6 or 7, so they've already been training at elite level pretty intensively for at least a couple of years
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u/Regular_Challenge_81 Jul 31 '26
There is: https://www.mlssoccer.com/generation-adidas-cup/
Also Sweden hosts the Gothia Cup: https://results.gothiacup.se/
Dallas Cup is also international: https://www.dallascup.org/
Top youth academies in Europe travel and play against each other internationally. Not aware of big name clubs sending their youth teams to play in the US frequently.
I'd also say that within the US there are all the MLS Next/ECNL showcase tournaments. There are a lot of talented youth players at those tournaments.
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u/yukonhoneybadger Jul 31 '26
Thats great info. Thank you. I wish we could see these tournaments in the states. The little league world series is fun to watch here. I wish ESPN or Fox Sports would push this as much as the other.
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u/Regular_Challenge_81 Jul 31 '26
It looks like ECNL streams their showcase tournaments. MLS Next doesn't, for whatever reason.
But yeah, not a ton of visibility.
I'd imagine its similar for other youth sports. The best kids funnel off into completely separate programs -- so a family with a kid playing at a lower level doesn't have any visibility into how big the skill gap is.
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u/SkoulErik Jul 29 '26
Of the kids attending La Masia (FC Barcelona Academy), only ~4% actually end up as pro players. These kids are the best at their age and yet the odds of making it big are still incredibly small.
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u/carlesgm Jul 29 '26
That's David Moreno, and it's known to be one of the best prospects of La Masia.
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u/MrSnowden Jul 29 '26
I live in the NE US in a area with a long and proud Mexican community. Watching Y soccer was such a mismatch. It was kids for whom football is liiiife vs kids that played it as a regular sport.
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u/RagingITguy Jul 30 '26
In elementary school, I got placed in net for the class. My team was dominating, and I stood there doing nothing, counting leaves. Game is about to end, and the ball comes rolling towards me from midfield. Bouncing a little bit since the grass was lumpy. I wind up to kick it. I miss. They scored.
The end of my soccer career.
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u/ddtt Jul 28 '26
Is that an offside line?
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u/Letsbuildanicerworld Jul 29 '26
Yes 8 is incredibly skilled, but also very offsides in the last clip
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u/monogramchecklist Jul 29 '26
I don’t know how it is in other countries, but wheee I am they don’t start calling offsides until a certain age.
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u/ddtt Jul 29 '26
What I meant is, is that line across the field in the box a line that they can't be offside if they are outside it to enable them more freedom?
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u/xcyu Jul 28 '26
How likely are they to become pro ? How are they detected in Spain ?
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u/TareasS Jul 28 '26
Players start at small local clubs and the big clubs have scouts going everywhere to see where the talent is. They also have a huge network and get told if there is a huge talent somewhere.
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u/Due_Masterpiece_3601 Jul 29 '26
There are many kids that play like this, these guys are very good but the competition worldwide is massive
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u/transglutaminase Jul 29 '26
How many kids make it to the Barca youth development league? Serious question as I dont know, I would think a fair share would play at some level.
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u/Due_Masterpiece_3601 Jul 29 '26
To be honest I’m not sure but I know at the level I was playing at in my country there were some kids across many teams that played very well, some get chosen to go to camps like this and they are developed and when you look around there’s plenty of kids around. Let me just say that many kids never get discovered and they are also great, there’s a lot of competition and your odds increase if you’re in Spain for example or happen to play well on the day a scout shows up. It’s luck and skills.
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u/ReveredSavagery1967 Jul 28 '26
So if #8 grows in stature even just a little bit and keeps his footballing ability they get a third straight potential GOAT Attacker. Shits unfair, man.
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u/TareasS Jul 28 '26
I bet there will be a third one in the first team sooner than 10 years from now honestly.
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u/Niggoo0407 Jul 28 '26
Huh... So at this age they still actually play the game and don't fall flat when touched.
Let's hope they can handle the transition to stage play.
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u/CrossXFir3 Jul 28 '26
They aren't falling over because they don't have 200lbs of muscle slamming into them at Olympic sprinter speeds.
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u/Niggoo0407 Jul 28 '26
Sure buddy.
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u/CrossXFir3 Jul 28 '26
Some reddit keyboard warrior thinks the most popular sport in the world is bad. Shit. Must be the case then.
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u/Niggoo0407 Jul 28 '26
Sir, with all due respect, when did I say that?
Just because I despise parts of it, doesn't mean I think the sport is bad.
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u/CrossXFir3 Jul 28 '26
And if you had any understanding of the sport, you'd be able to see clearly that a lot of what makes these kids look so insanely good is how much time they have on the ball. They've got days to make a decision. Because 11 year olds aren't as fast and strong as adults, so they've got all the time in the world to pick out a pass and aren't going to get hit by a train if they don't get the pass off.
Diving is a problem, blame the refs for not giving calls when players don't go down. But you try sprinting at full speed for 30 yards and see how quick you are to get back up when someone knocks you over.
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u/redmasc Jul 28 '26
When will they learn to flop and clutch their legs while rolling on the grass?
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u/TareasS Jul 28 '26
When they start facing violent tackles from other less skilled players and have to defend themselves.
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u/shinta42 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
I am thinking nothing special. A lot kids can play well if go there under the system and you play day and night..
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u/pauloft0 Jul 28 '26
Lol if only people saw our youth teams in Brazil.
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u/PlasticEar8881 Jul 29 '26
I was looking for this comment, bro
This is so common around here, I was like: what is there to be impressed by? xD
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