Week three of The Footballing Pipelines and we’ve turned our attention to the Spanish. As Gary Linton explains, just as you were getting used to the incredible players currently breaking into their senior side; there are plenty more to come. If the rate of succession continues as it is, there might just be no stopping the Spaniards…

Since the introduction of the World Cup in 1930, Spain have only managed to make it into the last four twice. In 1950, they finished fourth. In the European Championship they’ve done better, winning it in 1964 and finishing runners-up in 1984. But how have Spain managed to win both the World Cup and the European Championship in the last four years without any arguable pedigree?

There was an interesting interview last year with Jose Luis Astiazaran, the president of Liga de Fútbol Profesional, the Spanish Football Association. At the time Spain’s under-19s had just torn apart and coasted past their English counterparts. After the game, Astiazaran stated some facts and figures that were interesting. He stated that in La Liga at the time 77% of the players could feature for the Spain national team in contrast to this English Premier League, which could only boast a mere 40% of players as potentials for the national set up. He went on to say that, all clubs in La Liga decided to form something he called the “fidelity strategy.”

“We started around 10 years ago to make a big effort investing in training camps, that was before there was pressure for good young players to leave. The fidelity strategy works in two ways. It provides coaching and the opportunity to play for clubs. The other aspect is to have teachers who help the young players prepare for life outside of football. This is important for the parents. The most important thing is to be patient. If you are making good progress with home players, the supporters will understand if it is not a good year because next year they will have, say, three home-grown players. In six years, it might be 11 home-grown players. This is the future because they share your philosophy.”

It’s something that over the last four years they’ve reaped the awards for, and other nations have tried to start emulating a program that Spain look to have perfected. Just to look at the senior squad and not only could you make one strong team, there is an argument you could make two, maybe even three sides capable of competing with the very best. The impressive thing about Spain is the high calibre of the players they have coming through and the pipelines doesn’t appear like it’s going to stop any time soon.

Anywhere you look in La Liga there is youth coming through. Barcelona are renowned for their world-class La Masia training academy. There are so many wonderful players progressing through youth ranks and making their mark in the senior squad, there are also some who are on the fringes of making it into the first team. Right winger Isaac Cuenca who has previously been on loan to third division side CE Sabadell FC, has started to make his mark this season. He came back to Barcelona and on 25th of October 2011 and Cuenca made his full senior debut for Barcelona in a 1-0 away win at Granada, finishing the game with a second high passing accuracy at 95% – 1% higher than Xavi. Four days later, he was again in the starting line up for the 5-0 home win against Mallorca in which he scored one of the goals. With two caps under his name for the under 21s it looks like it’s going to be a bright future for Cuenca if he keeps up his impressive start.

When talking about Barcelona and the under-21 squad you can’t look anywhere else than to the current captain Thiago Alcântara, who has been a formidable force since being introduced by Josep Guardiola in the summer of last year. Thiago wasn’t born in Spain. In fact he was born in San Pietro Vernotico, Italy. Aged just five he moved to Spain with his father, who just happens to be former Brazilian World Cup winner Mazinho. The midfielder made his debut in 2009 at the age of just eighteen and has since been rotating into the Barcelona team. He finished last season with seventeen appearance, three goals and three assists to his name. He also won the under-21 European Championship with Spain and on June 29th Thiago signed a contract extension that’ll keep him at the club until the 2015 season. His buy-out clause, by the way, is €90 million – not bad for a 20 year-old.

Another notable Barcelona product that people have been whispering about is Gerard Deulofeu dubbed by some as the “new Messi.” He has only made one appearance for Barcelona’s first team coming on as a substitute in the aforementioned home win against Mallorca but he is, without doubt a talent. At just 17 years of age, he’s one to keep an eye on.

Moving away from Barcelona, there are loads of other great players appearing in La Liga. When one thinks of Javi Martínez, it’s hard to really picture him as a player who is breaking through and still so young. With over 100 appearances for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga, it’s to assume he is much older than 23, thanks to his already impressive CV. Captain of the 2011 UEFA Under-21 European Championship winning team, part of the 2010 World Cup winning squad and the Don Balón Award – Breakthrough Player in La Liga: 2010. Anyone who has seen Martinez play would agree that it’s only a matter of time before the all-action midfielder is touted by the biggest European clubs. He also looks a shoe-in to take the captain’s armband one day for the full national side.

Another two players from the Basque club who have shown fantastic form in recent seasons are Iker Muniain and Ander Herrera. Muniain is just eighteen years old but plays the game like he’s been around for years. He’s played at every level for Spain, minus the senior team, though that appearance simply looks like a matter of time for the speedy winger. Herrera was on last year’s Don Balon 100 young players to watch list but hasn’t reached the heights he’ll have wished in the last year at Athletic. The midfielder had little chance to showcase his skills but has shown little signs of brilliance for the under-21s that indicate if he is given a real chance and adequate time, he could be as good as anyone in Spain.

Central defender Alberto Botía who plays his football at Sporting Gijon, appears to be another player destined for the very top. Still only 22, having previously been at Barcelona he featured in just one game for them before going on loan, and then making his move permanent. At six foot two, he possesses every necessary skill to make the Spanish squad in a few years having previously trained and played alongside Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique; the two men he could unseat from the national set-up.

One of the most talked about young Spanish players is of course, Sergio Canales, who started at Racing Santander where he came through the youth set up and impressed during his short time with the club. He helped Satander narrowly avoid relegation before moving to Real Madrid last season in a deal that was rumoured to be in the region of €4.5 million. On his Madrid debut, he scored in a 3-2 win against Club America in a friendly tie. He’s has since moved on loan to Valencia for a fee of €1 million per season with a clause in the contract that could see it made permanent for €12 million after the two seasons. Recently though he picked up an injury, as he tore his knee ligaments and it’ll keep him out for at least six months – the sooner he’s back the better for all involved. He’s a fantastically creative little player who has represented Spain at all levels. Once he is fit again, the senior team will be one he soon adds to his impressive list of caps.

Two players that played in the English Premier League this weekend are two who look very much likely of pushing into the senior squad very soon; Manchester United’s David de Gea and Chelsea’s Oriol Romeu. De Gea has been a very important signing for Manchester United, after his first couple of games in which there were a couple of howlers made, people are now beginning to see just how good a goalkeeper the young Spaniard is. Spain aren’t exactly struggling for ‘keepers right now, and it might be hard to break through just now. Thankfully, he has time on his side – he’s still only twenty-one.

Romeu, who was educated at Barcelona before moving to Chelsea this summer, has already shown just how good a player he can be. He’s already featured in every competition for Chelsea, except the FA Cup and proved to be a reliable and wonderfully-capable player. Romeu can be used in many positions such as centre midfield, defensive midfield or centre back. He may not be at Chelsea for the long run though. Part of the deal that saw him leave Barcelona means the Spanish giants have the chance to buy him back for €10 million after the first season or €15 million after the second year. As it stands he looks set to do a brilliant job at Chelsea.

One thing is for sure, Spain don’t need to worry about the future of their national side, as some of the World Cup winning players and the European Championship winning players will still be available for selection for as long as the next three tournaments; and possibly even beyond.

The two problems that the national manager might struggle with, is trying to gel the young players in with the older, more experienced players. By the time the Euros and the World Cups come around; he’ll need to make sure the experience is right amongst his older, wiser heads and the string of incredible talents that come through. Once he has done that, he’ll need to work out a way of cutting the whole thing down to just 23 players from all the amazing talent in Spain.

For now, that’s a glorious problem for Vicente del Bosque.

Photos courtesy of JoseFoster and Barzagirl respectively.