One massive upshot of supporting a team whose alumni is a Who’s Who of the sport’s inner-circle legends is that, well, you spend a significant portion of your time cheering for, and marveling at, the sport’s inner-circle legends. At few clubs is this phenomenon as pronounced as it is at FC Barcelona, where, over the past twenty years, La Masia has served as the definitive wellspring of home-grown, world-class talent.
A brainchild of Johan Cruyff, subsequently nurtured by fellow Blaugrana legend – and La Masia alum – Pep Guardiola, between 1998 and 2010, the academy laid the foundation for one of the most iconic eras in club football history, graduating Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Piqué, Sergi Roberto, Pedro, Victor Valdes and, of course, Lionel Messi.