Young Messi - cc
It seems that all over Europe, the battle for the championship is very similar. On one side there are the rich teams who buy their way to success, and on the other side are clubs who rely heavily on their youth systems because of financial or ideological reasons.
In Spain we have Real Madrid (moneybags) vs Barcelona (who are still filthy rich, but also possess an amazing academy). In England it’s Manchester City (moneybags) vs Manchester United (homegrown and young talents alongside seasoned professionals). In Germany, Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach (very strong youth systems) are up against Bayern Munich (the richest club in the land with a good youth system – by the way). France has Paris Saint Germain (fueled by Qatar money) vs Lille and Montpellier (both teams base their success on their youth academies).
In Italy it’s the very international Milan vs the very Italian-based Juventus (who faced Catania this weekend with a starting line-up comprised entirely of Italian players).
A similar battle can also be seen in Switzerland, Holland, Austria, Denmark, Israel and more.
What does it all mean?
It means that sides who grow their own organic team can definitely compete against one of the strongest elements in modern day living – money.
It means it is more than possible to compete against money with youth and education.
WHAT TO DO NOW?