Hello everyone and welcome to Soccer 101.

My name is Joe Lowry, and on this episode, we're here to talk about one of the most legendary places in soccer history.

Before we do that, though, I want to ask you a question.

What do Lionel Messi, Chavi, Andres, Iniesta, and Sergio Bousquetz all have in common?

Yeah, there are a couple of different acceptable answers here, but I'm looking for one specific

answer. Yes, Messi, Shavi, Inesta, and Bousquet's all played for FC Barcelona. Yes,

they're all some of the greatest soccer players of all time. Yes, they're all somewhere between

5'7 and 6 foot 2. And yes, they can all pass the ball through the metaphorical eye of the

metaphorical needle. Those are all technically correct answers. But they're not that one answer I'm looking for.

Messi, Chavi, Inesta, and Busquettes all graduated from Barcelona's famed La Macia de Cane Planes,

usually known more simply as just La Macia.

La Macia is Catalan for the farmhouse, and it's the name of FC Barcelona's Youth Academy,

which was named after an actual 18th century farmhouse.

It's a pretty fitting name, not just because the Academy used that farmhouse as a part of its

facilities until 2011, but because of all the young talent that's grown in La Macea.

Players like Messi and Chavi and Inesta and Bousquet and a bunch of others

like Carlos Puyol, Pedro, Gerard Piquet, and Victor Valdez. Talented professional players grew at La Macea

like corn and soybeans grow in the Midwest. La Macea began in 1979 as a way to house youth

players who lived too far away from Barsaas facilities to make commuting a feasible option.

Players would come and live in the building, they'd practice, and they'd go to school.

For us now in the 21st century, that kind of residence academy model isn't terribly uncommon.

But with 20 or so years left in the 20th century, this was a pretty big deal.

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