RCD Espanyol Cantera

The cantera (quarry) of Spanish professional football club RCD Espanyol is the organisation's youth academy, developing players from childhood through to the integration of the best prospects into the adult teams.

RCD Espanyol (youth system)

Ground	Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Catalonia, Spain
Capacity	1,520
President	Chen Yansheng^[1]
Coach	Xavi Morón
League	División de Honor
2018–19	División de Honor, Gr. 3, 3rd
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

The final category within the youth structure is the Juvenil A under-18/19 team which represents the club in national competition. The successful graduates then usually move to the club's reserve team, Espanyol B, which is also considered part of the cantera due to being a stage in progression towards the senior team, albeit competing in the adult league system.

The academy is based at the club training complex, Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque.

Background

The top football clubs in the Spanish leagues generally place great importance in developing their cantera to promote the players from within or sell to other clubs as a source of revenue, and Espanyol is no exception. Their youth recruitment network is focused primarily around their home region of Catalonia and there are collaboration agreements in place with small clubs in the region.

A significant challenge for Espanyol in their pursuit of local talent is the presence of city rivals FC Barcelona whose global profile, local support base and financial resources far exceed those of Espanyol.^[2] However, the Pericos are easily the second biggest club in Catalonia (population 7.5 million) and they have still been able to produce some players for their first team, even if the very best youngsters in the region tend to end up at Barça.

 

Álvaro Vázquez (pictured playing for Catalonia) is a canterano graduate who joined the club at 14 and made his first-team debut five years later

Espanyol made significant upgrades to their facilities with the 2001 opening of their Ciutat Esportiva ('sports city') and since then their results at youth level have improved significantly compared to the 20th century, with eight regional titles, five Copa de Campeones Juvenil finals and five Copa del Rey Juvenil finals between 2001-2016, compared to just one Copa del Rey final appearance in the previous 50 years, one regional title (1976-85 era) and a best finish of 4th in the nationwide Superliga (1986–94). This run of success in the 21st century was very similar to the achievements during the same period of the FC Barcelona youths, whose academy La Masia is regarded as one of the best in the world for developing great players.^[3]

The training centre is now named after the late club captain Daniel Jarque (died 2009) who was himself a graduate of the academy.^[4]

Progression of players

As per analysis from the CIES Football Observatory, in 2014 Espanyol had four 'homegrown players' (as per UEFA guidelines, three years of training between 15 and 21 years old) still at their formative club, with another 17 at other top clubs across Europe - ranked 13th across all "big five"^[5] league clubs.^[6][7] According to the 2016 report, the figures were six players still at the club and eight elsewhere^[8] This total of 14 was far less than Barcelona (37 players produced) and also some way behind clubs of similar stature such as Real Sociedad (25 players), whose youth team record at national level is slightly poorer than Espanyol. A separate analysis by the same organisation at the end of that season showed that Espanyol's canteranos^[9] participated in 23% of the minutes in the 2016–17 La Liga, where they finished 8th.^[10] The club ranked 22nd in the table of the 98 participants in the Big Five leagues.

A further 2016 study demonstrated that although Espanyol had more players selected for the Spanish national squad at various age group levels than Athletic Bilbao (another club with a renowned academy) in the 21st century, far fewer graduated to the senior Spain side, indicating that the club's youth coaching is effective but the methods are less successful as the players move into adulthood.^[11] Although a long list of former Pericos youths have carved out decent careers in the Segunda División and in foreign leagues such as the Cypriot First Division, it would perhaps have been hoped by the club that more players of the generation would have made the transition from promising youngsters to elite professionals, given the strength of the academy teams. The system is still the envy of many clubs, with a 2012 report highlighting Espanyol's results in contrast to those of Real Zaragoza, a club of similar size who compete in the same regional leagues at youth level, working under financial limitations^[12] (this was prior to the takeover by China's Rastar Group in 2016).^[13]

National competitions

The Juvenil A team play in Group III of the División de Honor Juvenil as their regular annual competition. Their main rivals in the league group are Barcelona^[2] as well as Mallorca and youth-only club CF Damm. The under-17 team, Juvenil B, plays in the Liga Nacional Juvenil which is the lower division of the same structure. The team also regularly participates in the Copa de Campeones Juvenil and the Copa del Rey Juvenil, qualification for which is dependent on final league group position. In these nationwide competitions the opposition includes the academy teams of Atlético Madrid, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid.

International tournaments

It is possible for Espanyol Juvenil to participate in the UEFA Youth League, either by winning the previous season's Copa de Campeones or by way of the senior team qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stages, but so far neither has been achieved - they came close when Villarreal prevailed in the 2015 final of the Copa Campeones after extra time.^[14]

Structure

The first intake of boys from the Province of Barcelona are introduced into the Benjamí teams at around 8 years of age and advance by an age group every season through Aleví, Infantil, Cadet and Juvenil levels.^[15] Players retained after their Juvenil A spell (aged about 18) typically move to reserve team RCD Espanyol B to gain experience in an adult league (Segunda División B level in most years). They can spend up to five years with the B team, often with some loan spells at other clubs included, although the best players usually move up to the senior team within 2 seasons if considered ready to do so, with the remaining B team members augmented by the next set of youth graduates in their ongoing battle to retain their divisional status.

Head coaches

Squad	Age	Coach	Tier	League
Juvenil A	16-18	Luis Blanco	1	División de Honor (Gr. III)
Juvenil B	16-18	Xavi Morón	2	Liga Nacional (Gr. VII)
Cadete A	14-15	TBU	1	Divisió d'Honor Cadet
Cadete B	14-15	TBU	2	Preferent Cadet

Current squads

Juvenil A

As of 31 January 2023^[16]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ESP Marc Marocco — GK   LTU Rimvydas Kiriejevas — DF   CHN Alex Yang — DF   ESP Ian Fornes — DF   ESP José Català — DF   ESP Marc López — DF   ESP Pol García — DF   ESP Hugo Pascual — MF   ESP Marc Delgado — MF   ESP Roger Ciuró

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ESP Arnau Sans — MF   ESP Adrián Barquero — MF   ESP Izan Sarmiento — MF   ESP Pol Cid — FW   ESP Ussu — FW   ESP Sergio Rivares — FW   ESP Javi Hernández — FW   ESP Jordi Coca — FW   MAR Omar Sadik — FW   ESP David Pecellín

Juvenil B

As of 31 January 2023^[17]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ESP Llorenç Serred — GK   ESP Álvaro Pacheco — DF   ESP Ferran Gómez — DF   ESP David Santiago — DF   ESP Bruno Martínez — DF   ESP Xavi Rufo — DF   MAR Rachid Saiah Bouchaiba — DF   ESP Roger Hinojo — MF   ESP Arnau Parra — MF   ESP Rafa Bauza — MF   ESP Bruno Portal — MF   ESP Bomba

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ESP Manu Lara — FW   ESP Arnau Pedrola — FW   ESP Álex Partera — FW   ESP Eloy Gil — FW   ESP Ricard Ortega — FW   ESP Jan Moreno — FW   ESP Hugo Burgos — FW   ESP Lluc Castell — FW   ESP Adrià Alsina — FW   ESP José Borrella — FW   ARG Mateo Sciancalepore

Famous players

Notable graduates who passed through the youth system on their way to establishing themselves with the Espanyol senior side and/or other clubs include:

As of July 2017

players currently at Espanyol in bold, 'graduation' year in parentheses

Paco Flores (1971) Diego Orejuela (1979) Javi López (1985) Jordi Lardín (1992) Lluis Codina (1992) Enrique de Lucas (1996) Raúl Tamudo (1996) Alberto Lopo (1998) Moisés Hurtado (1999) Bruno (1999) David García (1999) Albert Crusat (2000) Daniel Jarque (2001) Marc Bertrán (2001) Jonathan Soriano (2001) Jordi Codina (2002) Carlos García (2003) Biel Ribas (2003) Javier Chica (2004) Sergio Sánchez (2004) Ángel Martínez (2005)

Marc Torrejón (2005) Víctor Ruiz (2008) Dídac Vilà (2008) David López (2008) Álvaro Vázquez (2009) Jordi Amat (2009) Javi Márquez (2009) Alexandru Maxim (2009) Víctor Álvarez (2010) Cristian Tello (2010) Thievy (2011) Sergi Darder (2011) Rubén Duarte (2012) Eric Bailly (2013) Joan Jordán (2013) Pau López (2013) Marc Navarro (2014) Marc Roca (2015) Aarón Martín (2015) Óscar Melendo (2016)

Sergio Tejera, Gerard Moreno and Marc Cucurella spent several years with Espanyol but made their professional debuts at other clubs.

Season to season (Juvenil A)

Superliga / Liga de Honor sub-19

Seasons with two or more trophies shown in bold^[18]

: :Season: :	Level	Group	Position	Copa del Rey Juvenil	Notes
1986–87	1		6th	Round of 16
1987–88	1		10th	Round of 16
1988–89	1		8th	Round of 16
1989–90	1		9th	Round of 16
1990–91	1		11th	Quarter-final
1991–92	1		4th	Quarter-final
1992–93	1		9th	Round of 16
1993–94	1		12th	Quarter-final
1994–95	N/A		N/A	N/A	Did not enter tournaments

División de Honor Juvenil

Seasons with two or more trophies shown in bold^[18]

*Season*	Level	Group	Position	Copa del Rey Juv.	Copa de Campeones	Europe/notes
1995–96	1	3	2nd	Round of 16	N/A	—
1996–97	1	3	1st	Round of 16	2nd in group of 3
1997–98	1	3	4th	N/A	N/A
1998–99	1	3	1st	Quarter-final	2nd in group of 3
1999–00	1	3	3rd	Quarter-final	N/A
2000–01	1	3	2nd	Winners	N/A
2001–02	1	3	1st	Round of 16	Semi-final
2002–03	1	3	1st	Winners	Runners-up
2003–04	1	3	1st	Winners	Runners-up
2004–05	1	3	2nd	Round of 16	N/A
2005–06	1	3	2nd	Quarter-final	N/A
2006–07	1	3	1st	Round of 16	2nd in group of 3
2007–08	1	3	1st	Quarter-final	Winners
2008–09	1	3	3rd	Quarter-final	N/A
2009–10	1	3	2nd	Semi-final	N/A
2010–11	1	3	2nd	Runners-up	N/A
2011–12	1	3	1st	Winners	Runners-up	N/A
2012–13	1	3	3rd	N/A	N/A	N/A
2013–14	1	III	2nd	Quarter-final	N/A	N/A
2014–15	1	III	1st	Round of 16	Runners-up	N/A
2015–16	1	III	1st	Quarter-final	Semi-final	N/A
2016–17	1	III	3rd	N/A	N/A	N/A
2017–18	1	III	5th	N/A	N/A	N/A
2018–19	1	III	3rd	Quarter-final	N/A	N/A
2019–20^[a]	1	III	3rd	N/A	N/A	N/A
2020–21	1	III	3rd	N/A^[b]	N/A	N/A^[c]

1. In March 2020, all fixtures were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. On 6 May 2020, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced the premature end of the leagues, revoking all relegations, declaring each divisional leader as champion and cancelling the Copa del Rey Juvenil and the Copa de Campeones for the season.^[19]
2. Copa del Rey Juvenil not held in 2020–21.
3. UEFA Youth League not held in 2020–21.

Honours

National competitions

• División de Honor Juvenil (Group III): (regional league)
  • 1 1978 (Liga Nacional Juvenil 1975-86)
  • 10 1997, 1999, 2002,^[20] 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016 (current format since 1995)
• Copa de Campeones Juvenil:
  • 1-time winners: 2008^[21] (current format since 1995)
  • 4 times runners-up: 2003, 2004,^[22] 2012,^[23] 2015^[14]
• Copa del Rey Juvenil: (since 1951)
  • 4 times winners 2001,^[20] 2003, 2004,^[22] 2012^[24]
  • 3 times runners-up: 1954, 2011,^[25] 2022

References

1. "Chen Yansheng & family". Forbes.
2. "La mejor cantera de Català" [The best academy in Catalonia] (in Spanish). Falso9Sports. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
3. Smith, Rory (17 July 2010). . The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 July 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
4. "La Ciudad Deportiva honra a Dani Jarque" [The Sports City honours Dani Jarque] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
5. Italy's Serie A, Germany's Bundesliga, Spain's La Liga, France's Ligue 1 and England's Premier League
6. "Big-5 Weekly Post (Training clubs of big-5 league players)" (PDF). www.football-observatory.com. CIES Football Observatory. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
7. "Barcelona top homegrown talent table, according to CIES research". ESPN. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
8. "Revealed! Which clubs produce the most of Europe's top players?". FourFourTwo. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
9. "La inagotable cantera del Espanyol" [The inexhaustible quarry of Espanyol] (in Spanish). Fichajes.net. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
10. "Rankings: Club-trained players". www.football-observatory.com. CIES Football Observatory. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
11. "La cantera del espanyol es tan prolífica como incompleta" [The Espanyol academy is as prolific as it is incomplete] (in Spanish). Goal.com. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
12. "La cantera del Zaragoza y la cantera del Espanyol" [The Zaragoza academy and the Espanyol academy] (in Spanish). El Periódico de Aragón. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
13. "Official statement". rcdespanyol.com. RCD Espanyol. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
14. "El Villarreal conquista su primera Copa de Campeones (2-3)" [Villarreal conquers their first Copa de Campeones (2-3)] (in Spanish). RFEF. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
15. "La cantera del Espanyol en imágenes" [The Espanyol academy in pictures] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
16. "Official site - Juvenil A squad". RCD Espanyol. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
17. "Official site - Juvenil B squad". RCD Espanyol. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
18. Historical Spanish Juvenile Competition Results
19. "Comunicado de la RFEF en relación con las competiciones no profesionales del fútbol español" [RFEF announcement in relation to the non-professional competitions in Spanish football] (in Spanish). RFEF. 6 May 2020.
20. "Equipo Juvenil A - "La joya de la Pedrera"" [Youth A squad - "The jewel of the Pedrera"] (in Spanish). Gran Perico. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
21. "Historia DH Juvenil. 2008 Espanyol y Sevilla campeones" [History of Youth Honour Division; 2008 Espanyol and Sevilla champions] (in Spanish). Vendovos Mareo. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
22. "Historia DH Juvenil. Sporting y Espanyol campeones en 2004" [History of Youth Honour Division; Sporting and Espanyol champions in 2004] (in Spanish). Vendovos Mareo. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
23. "El Sevilla se corona entre campeones" [Sevilla crowned as champions] (in Spanish). Diario de Sevilla. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
24. "El Espanyol se llevó la Copa del Rey juvenil" [Espanyol lifts the Copa del Rey juvenil] (in Spanish). Marca. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
25. "El FC Barcelona derrota al Espanyol en la final de la Copa del Rey" [FC Barcelona defeats Espanyol in the final of the Copa del Rey] (in Spanish). Marca. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2017.