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 |
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 |
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 |
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