Oct 24, 2024, 01:11 PM ET
Barcelona midfielder Pedri has praised coach Hansi Flick for giving young players the confidence needed to thrive.
Barça have the youngest team in LaLiga, with an average age of 23.6 years.
Barça are three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the standings heading into Saturday’s Clásico at the Bernabéu.
“It’s very important,” Pedri told ESPN of Flick’s commitment to nurturing home-grown talent.
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“The confidence that the coach gives to all the young players that are coming up, they give it back with good play. This allows them to gain confidence and have more freedom to dare to try out things.”
Flick started six players from the youth academy in Wednesday’s 4-1 home win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Barça’s second win in the competition.
“We are seeing a lot of players that are coming out of La Masia (Barça’s youth Academy) and it’s the soul of this club,” Pedri said.
Dani Olmo, who returned to Barça from Leipzig this summer, is happy to see academy players get opportunities.
A youth product of Barça, Olmo joined Dinamo Zagreb aged 16.
“It’s amazing,” Olmo told ESPN. “Barcelona is the best academy in the world. La Masia have shown this all through the years, so we celebrate it now, having in the first team a lot of players who grew up in La Masia. It just gives motivation for all the players coming up to keep working because they can get a chance.”
Barcelona have the youngest team in LaLiga this season. Pedro Salado/Getty Images
Veteran Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny, who came out of retirement to join Barça earlier this month following the injury of Marc-André ter Stegen, admits having so many youngsters in the team takes some getting used to.
“I have to tell you, it’s strange,” he told ESPN. “Some of these players probably haven’t seen me playing for Arsenal and I feel like that wasn’t a long time ago!
“But it’s a big point of why I decided to come because I think I can give something to this team.
“So you try to talk as an experienced player to those young kids and help them understand maybe the right moments to press, right moments to maybe drop a little bit.”
Asked which young Barça talent has impressed him the most, Szczęsny said: “[Pau] Cubarsí [aged 17] is an exciting player because watching him on TV, I expected a modern defender who’s very good on the ball but more on the soft side when it comes to defending and when you see him live, he’s actually quite nasty to play against and he’s very strong in defensive duels.
“So he’s one that impressive the most, but you can go through all of the La Masia products and it’s all very exciting for the future of the club.”
Pedri, 21, also hailed Flick for his tactics.
“Above all, he’s got very clear ideas,” the Spain international said. “I think an advanced defensive line characterises us a lot in all the games. He has transmitted to us the confidence that we can do it and to believe in ourselves.”
