La Masia Goalkeeper Alumni who have been the First Choice in Camp Nou since 1970s

 

The number of La Masia shotstopper alumni who became the mainstay in Blaugrana has been surprisingly low since the 1970s.

La Masia has been considered one of the most highly reputable football academies in the world for years. Since its official establishment in the late 1970s, it has been producing world-class players who have been the mainstay in Camp Nou and other clubs. 

Barcelona's most notable golden era in the 2000s till mid-2010s relied heavily on the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodriguez, Jordi Alba, Carles Puyol, and Victor Valdes as they clinched UEFA Champions League titles four times and 10 La Liga titles. In the previous era, they had Pep Guardiola, Albert Ferrer, Sergi Barjuan, Abelardo Fernandez, Aitor Beguiristain, and Guillermo Amor in the 1990s, followed by Ivan de La Pena, Oscar Garcia, and Gabri. 

From those names above, it is quite surprising to see only one goalkeeper from La Masia survived as the club's mainstay in three different eras. Victor Valdes has been so far the best and most successful shotstopper promoted from the youth team and was able to cement his place in Camp Nou. Valdes had been the first choice from 2002 to 2014 and is still the record holder in the Ricardo Zamora trophy. The former Manchester United goalie won it five times.

The current Barcelona shotstopper, Inaki Pena, has been given a chance to step up and proven his worth, so he deserves a spot as the first choice in the future. However, such would not be without a challenge. He is likely to fight for his spot between the sticks in the coming days against Barcelona's new signing, Wojciech Szczęsny. The former Polish international is still 34 years old but has longer experience playing for the elite club. Their ‘battle’ is set to begin within a few weeks. Should Pena succeed, he could follow in the footsteps of Valdes. Yet, once he fails, he could be heading to the exit.

So, had there been any other ones who became the first choice on their own home turf? Surely there were, but not many. Here are those who managed to be the main goalie in the legendary Camp Nou, apart from Valdes, since the 1970s, when the academy was formally founded.

Salvador Sadurni 

He might not have been the official La Masia alumni yet, but he began his career in Blaugrana’s youth team before getting a promotion to the senior side in 1960. At first, he was sent on loan to Mataro for a year. 

Sadurni slowly became the mainstay in the first team after being the understudy of Jose Pesudo and Miguel Reina, the father of Pepe Reina. He then helped them snatch the Inter Fairs Cup (the predecessor of the UEFA Cup) in 1966 and La Liga 1974 under the tutelage of Rinus Michels. Moreover, the Catalan goalie was also awarded the Ricardo Zamora trophy, the prestigious accolade for La Liga goalie, three times, in 1969, 1974, and 1975.

During his spell there, he featured in 330 games and kept clean sheets in 127 matches. Unfortunately, he was not the first choice in Spain. Sadurni only earned 10 international caps in his career.

 

Seasons with most games (+15 games)	Number of matches in La Liga	Notable matches
1963/64 1964/65 1966/67 1967/68 1968/69 1973/74 1974/75	22 30 28 28 30 30 24	-Inter Fairs Cup semifinal 1966: Barcelona vs Chelsea 5-0 -Inter Fairs Cup final 1966: Real Zaragoza vs Barcelona 2-4

Pere Mora 

He was mainly Sadurni and Pedro Artola’s understudy during his stay in Camp Nou. He was promoted to the senior team in 1968 but had to spend his first two seasons on loan with Mestalla and Oviedo until 1970, plus another loan with Elche for two years from 1971 to 1973.

Mora finally had his chance in 1973/74 by making his debut in a notable big away win in El Classico. He helped keep a clean sheet as Johan Cryuff and Co. ran rampant in a 5-0 victory. The Vilaplana-born shotstopper featured more regularly in the following three seasons, with the most games in the 1975/76 campaign. Mora made 26 appearances in La Liga. He also played in the Copa Del Rey final against Las Palmas in 1978.

Overall, he made 99 appearances with 32 clean sheets for the Catalan side before moving to Rayo Vallecano. Besides winning the domestic cup in 1978, Mora was also part of the squad when Blaugrana won La Liga 1974, Copa Del Rey 1971, and Cup Winners Cup 1979.

Seasons with most games (+15 games)	Number of matches in La Liga	Notable matches
1975/76 1976/77	18 26	-La Liga 1973/74: Real Madrid vs Barcelona 0-5 -La Liga 1975/76: Real Madrid vs Barcelona 0-2 -Copa Del Rey 1978 final: Barcelona vs Las Palmas 3-1

 Carles Busquets 

The father of Sergio Busquets was considered the pioneer goalkeeper with technical skill in Spain. His footwork received praise from Johan Cryuff, who named him as the first choice in Barcelona in his last two seasons in charge, 1994/95 and 1995/96. Carles had to wait for four years to become the mainstay, as he was initially a second fiddle to Andoni Zubizarreta, who left the Catalan side in summer 1994.

The goalie, who once was a forward, made 32 and 37 appearances for the first team in those two trophyless seasons. Barcelona only finished fourth and second, which forced them to miss the Champions Cup. Overall, he played in 117 games for the first team with 40 clean sheets. Carles eventually lost his place when Cryuff resigned. Bobby Robson and Louis Van Gaal preferred their own new signings, Vitor Baia and Ruud Hesp.

Seasons with most games (+15 games)	Number of matches in La Liga	Notable matches
1994/95 1995/96	32 37	-La Liga 1994/95: Barcelona vs Real Madrid 1-0 -La Liga 1975/76: Barcelona vs Real Madrid 3-0 -UCL 1994/95 Barcelona vs Manchester Utd 4-0

 Pepe Reina 

The current Como goalkeeper was once part of the Barcelona squad during their dark days. Unlike his father, Miguel, who instantly became the mainstay in the 1970s, he had to wait for two years to play on the first team regularly. Thanks to the long-term injuries of Richard Dutruel and Francisco Arnau, Reina had been promoted and earned the spot in the line-up back in 2000.

The former Liverpool, Bayern Munich, and Napoli man only stayed in Catalonia till 2002, as he was informed that he was not part of the team’s plan following the arrival of the late Robert Enke from Benfica. The 42-year-old shot stopper played in 49 games for Blaugrana and made 18 clean sheets but did not lift a single trophy there.

Seasons with most games (+15 games)	Number of matches in La Liga	Notable matches
2000/01 2001/02	19 16	-La Liga 2000/01 Real Madrid vs Barcelona 2-2 - UEFA Cup 2000/01 semifinal: Barcelona vs Liverpool 0-0 -UCL 2001/02 Barcelona vs AS Roma 1-1