FC Barcelona B and Real Madrid Castilla are a hit

Their elders are in the bottom of the wave. Both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are not having their best time, for various reasons: less qualitative squad, loss of financial power compared to other big European teams and not always optimal sports management on the part of the management. But among the young people, things are going pretty well. If we have seen several young people from the training center stand out in the first team – Araujo, Fati or Moriba for the Catalans or Antonio Blanco, Sergio Arribas and Miguel Gutierrez for the Madrilenians – the two B teams are doing very well in the league, since they have just obtained their ticket for the playoffs of climb in the second division.

Young shoots from Barcelona and Madrid have thus finished, respectively, second and third in their pool of access to the playoffs. This year, the Spanish Federation has therefore carried out a complete overhaul of its semi-pro and amateur championships. The Segunda B, third division, was thus played on a classic championship, then a second mini-championship of five groups of six teams to designate the teams qualified for the play-offs, namely the first three of each pool (four in group III). Now it’s time for the eliminatory rounds, with semi-finals and finals that will allow four finalists to climb. If the Merengues fell on Ibiza and the Barcelona on UCAM Murcia, or both go up!

Raul and Garcia Pimienta, the future of the two Spanish ogres?

But above all, how to explain such benefits? For many observers, it is especially necessary to turn to the sidelines. On the capital side, Raul’s work has been praised by all observers for some time, so much so that we are already talking about him to take over from Zinedine Zidane in the first team. Before any tactical consideration, the former legendary number 7 of Real Madrid imposes a very strict discipline on his young troops: a ban, for example, from going to meetings with luxury accessories such as these famous bags from major brands, or top helmets. range on the ears. He exercises strict control over the attitude of his players, with humility and respect as the watchword.

And on the ground, what does it give then? No miracle system, but classic: a rather balanced 4-3-3, with the will to be solid behind then to attack intelligently, with rather offensive full-backs and by giving the keys to offensive animation to the players. more technically and creatively gifted. A bit like this Real Madrid which has won so much in recent years in Europe. Talented young people whom we will come back to in an article to be published on Foot 24hfootnews in the next few days. Opposite, Francisco Javier García Pimienta is also a home coach who is called to do great things.

La Masia vs La Fabrica

At a time when Ronald Koeman does not hesitate to innovate tactically, the Catalan is faithful to this 4-3-3 so anchored in the DNA of the club. Under his orders, the Catalan team B plays very attacking football, in the purest Barça style. Tactician, but above all a trainer, since he was notably at the beginnings of the explosion of Ronald Araujo, now an integral member of the first team. Many of them have taken a step forward with him, like Alex Collado, who should be the next La Masia player propelled into A. The former Barça player, who won the Youth League in 2017, had already stranded at the gates of the rise in D2 last season, and this one could be the right one.

Enough to revive the endless debate in Spain: who from FC Barcelona or Real Madrid has the best training center? In these teams filled with players trained at the club but where we also find a few recruits – like Matheus Fernandes and Rey Manaj at Barça or Hugo Duro at Real Madrid – there is in any case a number of significant talents and they will be many to, one day , evolve at least in a first division club. It is difficult to say which of the two training centers is the most efficient, even if it is true that this season, it is especially on the side of Barcelona that we have seen young people trained at the club be the most successful. An opposition in the play-off final in the event of a double qualification could already give us some clues …