Barca v Chelsea Round2

[Dodge]

I think his point was that there wouldn't be too many people unhappy if barca won it as at least they play good football. Of course most people (Irish anyway) will back the under dog)

BTW barca have only won it once (14 years ago...)

[NeilMcD]

Do not entirely agree with you on that point.
Of course nobody will argue with you over the fact that Barca have a strong squad, that their kind of playing is attractive not only to their fans but also to many neutrals. I think the point OF wants to make is that thanks to money you can (or at least you have the power) to attract big names which, of course, makes it much more easy to make it to the end. I got many friends who for sure will support teams like Villareal, Lyon or Benfica not because they themselves support smaller teams or play for smaller teams but those three clubs (Benfica perhaps being a little exception) have put many effort over the last couple of years to invest in youth and home grown talent.
That's also a reason why FC Porto deserved their title 2 years ago.
What's the point of spending 2 nights a week in front of your TV to see the same teams winning over and over again the CL ?

Porto have one the European Cup more times that Barcelona. I think that Barca have invested in home grown talent also. Puyol, Messi to name but too but there is a whole load more. I think Lyon are a joy to watch so I would not mind seeing them win. To be honest my original post was that Barca would be the neutrals choice and while there may be the odd exception of people going for Villareal, not sure why as they play pretty defensive football and have just as many foreign players as Barca do.

[wws]

Messi is an argie

[NeilMcD]

I know that but he has been at the club since he was 9.

[NeilMcD]

When they say homegrown or invest in youth talent I think Messi can fall under that category.

[klein4]

9??? thats messed up..
you have dug your own pedantic grave there anyway Neil.
he isnt from barcelona so he isnt homegrown talent. .
and is there that many actual homegrown players at barca? seemed a lot fo foreign players there as far as I could see...

[NeilMcD]

Not if you read the thread Klein. I was responding to London irish who said that Villareal and Porto have more homegrown players or invested in youth development than the likes of Barca have.

In the sense of bringing your own playes through well Messi is homegrown. If he was born in Madrid it would still not be homegrown so. Do we want the player to be born on the Nou camp and his mothers legs akimbo on the penalty spot. Homegrown in club footballing terms means been brought through the youth structure etc not the place of birth.

[klein4]

In the sense of bringing your own playes through well Messi is homegrown. .

Are you inventing your own language here or what? homegrown means homegrown...

[NeilMcD]

Ok so define a homegrown player in relation to club football then.

Is David Beckham homegrown for Man Utd as he was born in London

Is Gary Neville homegrown for Man utd as he was born in Bury

You can take this to the nth degree. To me homegrown in the context of producing players is a player that is developed by the club before they are a pro and makes it to the 1st team. Place of birth is not an issue because where do you draw the boundary of the place of birth

[wws]

Messi made his first team debut for Rosario when he was 8.

[NeilMcD]

What team was that though was it the senior team.

[Karlos]

Are you inventing your own language here or what? homegrown means homegrown...

not according to new UEFA rules.

Players such as Messi, Senderos etc are considered homegrown due to the number of years spent in youth development at a given club.

In a football sense the term 'homegrown' isn't linked to nationality according to both the World and European Governing bodies of the game.

[klein4]

liverpool to go out and arsenal to win competition outright.....

And also there are rules in england about where you can get your academy players from...so are uefa rules better than FA rules?????

[klein4]

What team was that though was it the senior team.

My God Neil!!!
Are you making a joke?????

[Dodge]

I know that but he has been at the club since he was 9.

No he ****ing didn't...

[NeilMcD]

Well in an interview he did for a a Uefa magazine programme he said that he was training with Barcelona since he was 9 and they have been giving him growth hormones to help him grow. He visited Barcelona regularly as a kid to train and meet the players. Pretty much the same way Beckham did also. In my view Messi is considered as homegrown as far as Barca is concerned the same way that Beckham is and Neville is for Utd and Senderos is for Arsenal. As karlos said nationality has nothing to do with this as its clubs we are talking about.

[NeilMcD]

My God Neil!!!
Are you making a joke?????

I am asking the question. The guy said He was in the Rosario 1st team at 8 so wondering what relevance that has to do with the thread.

[Dodge]

He joined Barcelona when he was 13. He was signed by them in Argentina. One of the main reasons his family moved was the medical support

[NeilMcD]

Did I say he signed for them at 9 no, I said that he was at the club from 9 which is fact.

[Karlos]

liverpool to go out and arsenal to win competition outright.....

And also there are rules in england about where you can get your academy players from...so are uefa rules better than FA rules?????

The FA have rules regarding players under a specific age (14, I believe) only being able to sign for a club within their catchment area. Uefa rule governs players trained during competitive developmental years (typically 14 and up) for a particular length of time at a club (e.g. Messi at Barca). The FA being members of UEFA will follow that rule.

In terms of football going forward, at Arsenal for example the likes of Fabregas, Sendreros, Lupoli etc will qualify as homegrown players despite starting their careers elsewhere and holding a different nationality due to years spent in youth development.

I'm open to correction on any of this but that's my undserstanding of the rule.