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#3 Ajax
The AFC Ajax Academy has always been the decisive aspect that distinguishes the iconic Amsterdam club from other great and historic football institutions in Europe.
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Perhaps their most famous and truly game-changing academy product was Johan Cruyff, a legendary player who excelled in 1970s as part of an all-conquering Ajax side. He later went on to revolutionize the game as a coach at both Ajax and FC Barcelona.
Cruyff's vision for football, also known as 'total football', forms the basis of the Ajax academy. The system focuses on technical talent, fluid interchange of positions, quick passing and high pressing. As such, Ajax's academy players are almost always comfortable in possession and have strong technical skills as footballers.
The club also has a B team, Jong Ajax, which competes in the Dutch second division. This provides a strong bridge from the academy to senior football. Many current and former academy stars - Ryan Gravenberch, Matthijs de Ligt, Donny van de Beek and so many others - have all played significant minutes for the B team.
Other notable stars currently in Europe that have graduated from the Ajax academy include Sergino Dest, Anwar El Ghazi and Donyell Malen.
#2 FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona's La Masia academy is arguably the most well-known academy in world football.
A constant developer of talent for many generations now, the academy earned global recognition in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, several academy stars were promoted to the team as Barcelona won several trophies during that time. In addition to that, Spain's national team won two European championships and one World Cup with several La Masia graduates in the team.
That Barcelona team had a majority of players coming from La Masia. The likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Pedro, Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets formed one of the greatest footballing sides of all time.
La Masia graduates also found success in other countries, especially England. The likes of Hector Bellerin, Cesc Fabregas, Pique and more recently Eric Garcia and Adama Traore have launched their careers in the Premier League. Some of them even returned to Barcelona later.
With Barcelona struggling due to financial conditions, the club has once again turned towards its academy to pave the way forward. The likes of Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig and Oscar Mingueza have all broken into the first team.
Barcelona will be hoping that the new generation of La Masia graduates can help guide them out of the crisis the club currently find themselves in.
#1 Chelsea
Chelsea's Cobham academy is among the very best in world football and in fact has a strong claim to being the best at present.
The Surrey-based academy has dominated under-age football for the last decade, in England and beyond. They’ve appeared in nine FA Youth Cup finals since 2010, winning seven of them. No club has won more UEFA Youth League titles than they have, having triumphed in back-to-back seasons between 2014 and 2016.
With the funding of Roman Abramovich, Chelsea invested a lot of money in the youth team program and achieved great success.
Cobham graduates are usually well-rounded players. This allows them to enter senior football as a youngster, whether it be League Two, the Championship or a smaller European league.
Over the years, Chelsea’s loan policy has been criticized, but it has always provided young professional players with a valuable opportunity to develop in a highly competitive environment. Ultimately, it helps develop careers and is also a significant revenue generator for the club.
A more legitimate criticism would be the lack of pathway for academy players into the first-team. Over the years, homegrown players were restricted to limited involvement and were constantly shunned for big-money additions.
That changed in 2019, when a transfer ban forced the club to lean heavily on academy players under the guidance of club legend Frank Lampard. He introduced Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Reece James and Fikayo Tomori into the first-team set-up, aligning the senior side with the exceptional academy for the very first time.
The likes of Abraham and Tomori have left the club after falling out of favor. However, both of them have become key members of their new team. Other academy talents like Tariq Lamptey, Tino Livramento and Marc Guehi have also become first-team regulars at other Premier League clubs.
With so many academy players starring in the first-team and across Europe, the Cobham academy is arguably the best in football right now.
