Who would have the best team using only canteras or 'youth' players

hypothetically, lets say every former youth team player returned to their parent club. Who would have the best team? well best XI.

and lets leave out the obvious barca.

compare some starting XIs

This is gonna be hard, because I know people are going to argue about the inclusion of certain players for certain teams, Madrid comes to mind straight away.

Not sure who is the best,but Ajax and Valencia deserve a mention

Bayern have pretty much a good number of youth products, too. And Dortmund and Schalke, of course (Manuel Neuer and Mesut Özil are originally from Schalke for ex). Not to forget Leverkusen... Well, there are quite some German teams that would be amazing if their youth players wouldn't have gone abroad, like 1860, too.

You have to define youth player first

River Plate:


Pretty respectable. If we include retired players it would be much more epic.

Swanhends wrote:You have to define youth player first

Spent 2+ years in youth academy before turning pro

Argentinos Juniors


-----------------------------------Luis Ojeda----------------------------------------

--------------Coloccini--------------Cambiasso------------------Fernando Cáceres--

-------------------------------Redondo------------------Batista-------------------------

-----------Diego Cagna----------------Claudio Borghi-----------------Pablo Sorin

---------------------------------------Riquelme---------------------------------------

---------------------------Maradona--------------------------------------------------

ajax is typically a favorite but at the moment the former stars (vdv, sneijder, de jong, seedorf) from the youth ranks are aged, and the young ones havent matured enough.

not enough coming into their prime like vertonghen and vermaelen eriksen.

RealGunner wrote:Argentinos Juniors

Luis Ojeda
Coloccini - Cambiasso - Fernando Cáceres
Redondo - Batista
Diego Cagna - Claudio Borghi - Pablo Sorin
Riquelme
Maradona

Using retired players is cheating

Casillas, Arbeloa, Mata, Silva, Borja Valero, Javi Garcia, Granero, Callejon, Soldado and Negredo.

Ashley Cole, Jack wilshere, Leon Britton, Gibbs, Fabregas...... we signed him before he went pro so

A team of Juve youth products.


A.Mirante-Parma
Cassani-Fiorentina
Ariaudo-Cagliari
Nocerino-Milan
Pasquato-Bologna
Immobile-Genoa

The remaining obviously play for Juventus.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

Swanhends wrote:You have to define youth player first

Spent 2+ years in youth academy before turning pro

So what about Falcao, who went to River's academy but actually played Pro before then in the Columbian second division?

I'm reluctant to count his 13 year old debut in Colombian 2nd division as going pro, though. Although strictly by the definition I gave I suppose it excludes him.

Maybe "2+ years at a club before turning 18"?

------Abbiati
Abate---MDS-----Astori----Antonini
Strasser----Ambrosini-----Merkel
-------Paloschi-----Aubemayang
----------------Miccoli

I'd count Merkel as a Stuttgart youth TBH

VivaStPauli wrote:I'd count Merkel as a Stuttgart youth TBH

Yeah, sadly can't fill out the midfield with youth now, all below 18. Same reason with Abbiati, Gabriel just arrived and Amelia isn't from our youth department :/

Yohan Modric wrote:Casillas, Arbeloa, Mata, Silva, Borja Valero, Javi Garcia, Granero, Callejon, Soldado and Negredo.

What? Mata spent less than 3 years at Madrid and is an Oviedo product.

Silva is for Valencia.

Not sure why I put Silva.

Real Madrid's youth team isn't the first youth team Arbeloa, Callejon, Negredo and Soldado's played for either.