La Masia - Football academy of FC Barcelona

"La Masia de Can Planes" or simply La Masia, was built in 1702 and has been dwarfed since the 1950s by Barcelona's massive Nou Camp stadium next door. It has been home to some of the best players that have graced football and Barcelona, including current coach Pep Guardiola, midfielders Xavi, Andres Iniesta, captain Carles Puyol and goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

Players who pass through La Masia are known in Spain as the "Cantera" (quarry). They have with them Barcelona's special brand of stylish, creative, attacking and possession football. This was quite evident for the whole world to witness in the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, where they dismantled Sir Alex Ferguson's English champions, Manchester United 3-1.

"Recruits", the ones who win a place at the "Masia" undergo an intense program of education. These "recruits" are some 60 at a time, from Spain and beyond. It is claimed that the whole program is aimed at producing more rounded individuals, who have a better chance in life if they fail to make it as a professional athlete.

The current philosophy of the academy was proposed by Johan Cruyff in 1979, who himself was a Barcelona legend. His aim was to establish a copy of the Ajax Academy in Barcelona. The aim was to instill a footballing style in the Barcelona blood. The team played to Cruyff's tiki-taka philosophy mixed with total football.

Josep Guardiola, the current Barcelona manager, was one of the first few who graduated from the academy and went on to be inspirational to later generations of La Masia graduates including Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas.

Another aspect to La Masia is regional nationalism. They focus more on developing local talent. Their academy consists of mostly Catalans. This is something which is unique to their philosophy.

All this is paying FC Barcelona huge dividends now. They are the current European Champions. They have the best squad of players. They have the best style of play in football, globally. They are the club that every other team aspires to beat. They are FC Barcelona!