At La Masia, the loom where Barcelona FC’s young talent is woven, you learn big lessons early.
“You learn that the people who do the work of the club – trainers to the staff around the stadium, everyone, how much they all matter,” said Ilie Sanchez, now captain of Los Angeles Football Club and decades removed from his early days at Barcelona’s famed youth academy. “A lot was familiar to me already because Barcelona was my home and I grew up learning lessons about the club.
“Barça was part of my identity and my culture,” the 33-year-old said in an almost-reverent hush about the club where he learned his craft from the age of seven to nine, before returning to play for Barcelona B between 2009 and 2014. “It’s part of who I am.”
Ilie was born in Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, to a family steeped in the club’s traditions. His parents were club members. His grandfather was the academy director of La Masia. Ilie’s blood was tinted blaugrana from his time in the womb. And, as a wide-eyed local, he was surrounded by academy mates from all over the world. They lived their lives at La Masia’s stone farmhouse, behind its centuries-old wooden doors, learning the lessons passed on like a magic scroll from the times of László Kubala in the 1960s to Johan Cruyff, up to Guardiola and beyond.
Ilie lived at home with his parents, was able to stay in his school and spend time with his classmates. He was a rare local in La Masia’s mix.
Life Lessons on the Field and Off
It’s hard, as Americans, to measure the value of Barcelona FC to the Catalan people of Spain. More than a Club is more than a slogan. It’s a measure of “values and manners, the product of specific education on and off the field,” according to Ilie. He’ll not brag about the many times he was called into Pep Guardiola’s training sessions, or having played, as a young apprentice, on those training pitches with all-time game-changers like Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Xavi, Carles Puyol and, yes, Messi too.
Humility oozes from Ilie when he talks. He takes his time to make sure he gets his point across properly. He has a near-perfect command of English, his third language behind Spanish and Catalan. Each syllable is pronounced with care.
