It was Lingard with the ball from the right wing, facing Sanchez and Monreal. He faked a dribble to confuse the opponents, and quickly delivered the ball to their penalty box. It drew a beautiful curve in the air and dropped in the space between Arsenal’s two central backs. While Koscielny and Paulista were still trying to look for the ball, Rashford emerged from the underground, jumped up right at its path, and delivered a bullet header to the low corner that doubled the lead, 2-0 for Manchester United. And just like that, on the feet and wings of the two young men, Rashford and Lingard, Manchester United defeated Arsenal 3-2 on their home field Old Trafford.
The victory brought by two home grown players once again shows a huge mistake in the club’s transfer strategy. In recent seasons, Manchester United has joined the race in the transfer market, spending hundred and hundred millions dollars on world class players, but besides the signing of Martial, all others were proved to be big flops. They are Di Maria, Falcao, Fellani, Schneiderlin, and even the world champion Schweinsteiger. The ambition to seek for instant glory after Sir Alex’s retirement drives Manchester United’s away from its traditional way: using home developed players from its youth academy.
For a club, there are two common ways to have good players: buying them from other clubs or nurturing young talents from its youth team. Although the first way seems fast and convenient, but it is at the same time extremely costly and risky, the second way was proved to be superior. Firstly, you have the right to use your youth players so basically they are completely free. Secondly, home grown players are already familiar with the club’s structure, the playing style, the atmosphere, and life outside the stadium. These factors are indeed extremely important for a player to maximize his potential to play. Di Maria, for instance, admitted that he could not adapt to the new life in Manchester and that affected his performance on the field. Thirdly, the fans prefer home grown players to watch and worship since they carry the club’s DNA and represent their local identity. It is always a special moment to witness home grown players on the field and they also receive much more support and applause from the fan. For instance, John Terry is the pride of Chelsea’s fan; Roma fans worship Totti as the figure for immortal loyalty.
In the modern industrialized world of soccer today, it is likely impossible to see another Terry or Totti, players who spend their whole career at a club, especially with all the money, fame, and power that get involved in soccer. One may not notice that almost all the best teams in the latest 2 centuries were built from home grown players. Manchester won their historic treble in 1998-1999 season thank to their youth academy’s golden generation: Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, and the Neville brothers. Bayern Munich dominated Bundesliga and remained a big tiger in Champion League since 2008 with many main players coming up from Bayern Junior team, including Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Alaba, Muller, etc. But the most successful club based on their youth system must be Barcelona of Messi, who is considered to be the best player in the history of soccer. Fuelled by the mystique and magical Tiki-Taka style of La Masia, Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Busquest, Xavi, Iniesta, and especially Messi, brought Barcelona to their highest triumph in 2009, winning every single trophy of that season.
In conclusion, it is essential to understand and realize the importance of home grown players in the long term success of a club. As home grown players are always preferable to wear the captain’s armband, the image of a club with its home grown captain is extremely symbolic to the fans, adding to the eternal beauty of soccer.
