Cantera

Cantera, literally meaning "quarry" in Spanish, is a term used in Spain to refer to youth academies and farm teams organized by sports clubs.

The saying "Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación", translated as "With home-grown teams and supporters, there is no need for imports", made sense during these early days.

The ability of the Basque Country to produce great players was made clear during the early 1980s when La Real and Athletic won four Liga titles in a row between 1981 and 1984.

The Real Sociedad team included, among others, Roberto López Ufarte, José Mari Bakero, Luis Arconada and Jesús María Zamora.

Numerous senior players have graduated through the ranks of Barcelona's La Masia academy, including Francisco Carrasco, Ramón Calderé, Guillermo Amor, Albert Ferrer, Pep Guardiola, Sergi, Iván de la Peña, Francesc Arnau, Óscar, Roger, Gabri, Gerard, Luis García Sanz, Oleguer, Pepe Reina, Thiago Motta, Fernando Navarro, Xavi, Cesc Fàbregas, Carles Puyol, Víctor Valdés, Mikel Arteta, Andrés Iniesta, Bojan, Jeffrén, Lionel Messi, Giovani dos Santos, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Pedro, Cristian Tello, Thiago, Rafinha, Marc Bartra, Gerard Deulofeu and Sergi Roberto, though some of these were recruited from overseas before signing professional terms, so are not "home-grown" in the traditional sense, if in the technical sense.

Many great homegrown players have since passed through the ranks, among them La Quinta del Buitre — Emilio Butragueño, Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vazquéz, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.

The successful Atlético Madrid teams of the 1960s also included a notable Basque presence in the form of Miguel Jones and José Eulogio Gárate, both recruited from Indautxu, and Javier Irureta, signed from Real Unión.

More recently, teenage star Fran Mérida followed Fàbregas' footsteps and played some time for Arsenal's reserve team before returning to La Liga in 2010 with Atlético Madrid.

Since then, Rafael Benítez, himself a product of the cantera, has recruited Luis García Sanz, Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres for Liverpool, while Mikel Arteta established himself at Everton.

Luis García Sanz, Reina and Arteta all began their career at Barça; Alonso started out at Real Sociedad; and Torres developed in the Atlético system.

Atlético Madrid: David de Gea, Abel Resino, Joel Robles, Roberto, Antonio López, Juan Manuel Ortiz, Ignacio Camacho, Mario Suárez, Ibrahima, Rubén Pérez, Mario, Javier Arizmendi, Manu, Diego Rivas, Iván Cuéllar, Gabi, Braulio, Juanma López, Roberto Solozábal, Tomás, Toni, Raúl, Juanito, Koke and Fernando Torres.

Osasuna (youth system): José Ángel Ziganda, Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, Iñigo Larrainzar, José Mari, César Cruchaga, Javier López Vallejo, Santiago Ezquerro, Marí Lacruz, Patxi Puñal, Tiko, Pablo Orbaiz, David López, Javier Flaño, Miguel Flaño, Raúl García, Oier, Javi Martínez, Nacho Monreal, César Azpilicueta, Roberto Torres, Mikel Merino and Álex Berenguer.