Interviews
SUN 10.07.2016
As academy director, Pablo Blanco (Seville, 16 December 1951) is one of the chief architects of the success of the Sevilla FC youth system. After playing for the club for more than a decade, Blanco swapped the pitch for the office, where he has spent years overseeing the academy of one of the most decorated clubs in Europe. He is the perfect person, therefore, to shed light on the story of the Andalusian outfit's youth team, Sevilla Atletico, who have been promoted to LaLiga2.
Question. What's the key to the Sevilla academy's success?
Answer. I think the key is the continuity in the club's hierarchy, from the board down to the sporting director and the youth coaches. That continuity, coupled with the stability Sevilla boast right now, is a cornerstone of the academy's success.
Q. What does the academy mean to Sevilla?
A. Sevilla have always placed a lot of faith in their academy. In fact, in the toughest of times, the academy has got the club through some difficult financial situations. Historically players like [Carlos] Marchena, Jesuli, Nando and Gallego [Paco Rodriguez], or more recently Sergio Ramos and [Jose Antonio] Reyes, have solved a lot of problems for the club, both on the pitch and financially speaking. Now the club is on a sound footing, which has only reinforced the strength of our prolific academy.
Q. How are players recruited at the lowest levels?
A. The process starts in the recruitment department, which is a football club's most important department. If you fail to recruit talent from grassroots sides, then you'll be hard-pressed to put together strong teams in your academy. If you recruit well, you can develop well. And if you develop well, there is a steady flow of players to the first team. It's true that these days our academy graduates tend to pass through Sevilla Atletico as a stepping stone, because we're aware that the gap to the first team has widened with the number of trophies they have won and the step up has become a bit trickier. Sevilla Atletico are purely a development team, full of home-grown players.
Q. How much of the first team's success can be put down to the work done at academy level?
A. It's a joint success story. It's interesting that the academy has mirrored the first team's success. The youth set-up hasn't been left adrift amid the first team's success. For instance, the Under-16s are Spanish champions. The academy has enjoyed success hand in hand with the first team.
Q. What's Sevilla Atletico's goal in LaLiga2 this year?
A. There is a clear goal: consolidation. It's an extremely tough division, all the more so for a youth team. This side will have the beating of others with their desire and physical, technical and mental attributes, but are likely to be at a disadvantage in terms of experience. The priority is to further the players' development in a challenging division and, of course, to stay up.
Q. What values are instilled in players while they develop at the Sevilla academy?
A. All sorts of values. Their education is continuous. They learn about respect, consistency, effort, hard work, discipline, organisation… and they're taught to compete on the pitch. There is no development without competition or competition without development. And then there is also one very important specific value where the club is concerned: loyalty to and love of the club. Only at Sevilla do all the players know and sing the club anthem.
Q. What odds does an academy youngster have of breaking into the first team?
A. Fortunately, a very high percentage make it. Some 70% of the current Sevilla Atletico squad came up through our academy and many of them joined the club at a very young age, at Under-10 or Under-12 level.
Q. What does having their youth team in LaLiga2 mean to Sevilla?
A. It's a source of pride for Sevilla Atletico to be the only youth side or B-team in LaLiga2. It makes me personally proud as a Sevilla fan. Having two teams playing professional football isn't a historic achievement, but it is a huge joy and a massive badge of pride.
Q. How would you define Sevilla Atletico?
A. They all really pull together as a team. Togetherness is the best word to define this Sevilla Atletico side. They're a very tight-knit group.
© LALIGA - 2016