2023-12-19 21:21:18
As a footballer, the director of Girona’s base football academy did not reach the elite, but since his position at the club he has managed to build, from scratch, a key project for Girona’s future. Albert Syriatrained at Barça, at the old Masia, also played at Nàstic, Figueres and Palamós among others.
How does the excellent performance of the first team influence when it comes to signing players?
It allows us to regenerate. The Academy has been very successful so far, we have been able to nurture the first team and, especially in times of difficulty, the grassroots players have been very supportive. But the level of the first team, in terms of individual talent, is getting higher and higher. This implies that for someone to get here, they have to have a high level, too. Our strategy when it comes to looking for players must not change, the market we are moving in is very good, but we must go for a bigger talent profile. This means that 25 or 30% of the footballers will have to be captured in environments that we have not dealt with so far, be it at Spanish, European or global level. We have to know how to attract the players and the first team helps us to be visible. If we want to remain effective, our Academy level must also be regenerated and improved.
Is Girona’s investment in the residence hall and Academy justified?
The residency is a success. And the investment in Les Hortes is justified, it justifies the project and it justifies continuing to invest here. The level of the first team also justifies that we bring in talent from outside, and this will involve trying to give more volume to Les Hortes to be able to continue nurturing it. A hundred players have passed through the residence in five years, 10% have made their debut in the first team. It is a success. Now every season we can have around thirty players but we would like to reach fifty. I don’t see it anymore.
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What are the players in Les Hortes?
They have everything they would have at home, on a personal, academic and sporting level. They lack nothing in any area, they have everything they need. We try to avoid luxuries. We must not facilitate anything that is not necessary, because we could imply that everything is very easy. We give them the tools they need to develop, they have to use them. They have to learn what life is like, we teach young people that things have to be earned. This is the key to who will pass the filter of professional football. Everyone who comes here has conditions, one is faster, the other has more water… everywhere you look they all have things. But the one who passes the filter is the one who is mentally and emotionally capable of knocking down all adversities and when adversities knock him down, get up and enjoy. This season there is a very good example of a player who goes ‘pafff’, falls because he thinks everything is done and is able to turn it around. This player, now, whatever comes, he already has it in him. I am convinced that it will not stop going up. He has already experienced success and failure, and he will not forget it.
With the construction of the Sports City, have they ruled out moving the residence there?
Yes, the idea is to continue here and we would like to be able to expand it, we have to discuss it with the Marists. I was in the old Masia and I know what life is like in a residence. Young people live in a city or a village and when they leave home, they set foot on a street. We didn’t want ours, if we took residence in the Sports City, to find football fields. Here we are five minutes from the center and have the city at hand.
How many people does the talent acquisition department have?
not many We need more resources. Information gives you speed and proximity. The African market, for example, has stratospheric potential. We used to be footballers, now they are athletes who play football. And the African market has all that. There is a lot of talent and we can certainly nurture the base.
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