Over the years, the club’s academy — known as the Benfica Campus — offers nurtured numerous stars that have gone on to command high move fees from Europe’s biggest clubs ; Ederson, Renato Sanches, Gonçalo Guedes, Félix and Dias to name only a few.
Rodrigo Magalhães is the technical coordinator for the Campus and has been doing work in youth development in the club since 2005. He tells CNN Sports activity that Benfica’s focus on building its youth superstars as human beings prior to footballers is key in order to its success.
Around 95 gamers live at the academy at any one time, so when they transition in the under-18s to the under-19s, players move out to their own houses or apartments in the town.
“In our opinion, it was the age that they start to have their own life, ” Magalhães states to CNN. “Some of them have female friends, some of them live two or three in an apartment. So that they start a life away from academy as we need to prepare them to reside their lives since we know that a small percentage of players will achieve the goal to try out in the first team or in the main leagues in Europe.
“After those age range, under-19 and under-23, normally all of our gamers who progress [from the academy] may play in very first divisions and second divisions here in England or in other countries, but we need to prepare all of them if football neglects.
“The first objective was to develop them like human beings and we need to prepare associated with a strong academic advancement too. ”
European champions
Final season, Benfica’s Campus team finally won the most coveted prize in youth golf club football: the UEFA Youth League. Introduced in 2013, it’s a tournament contested by all the youngsters teams of the night clubs playing in that season’s Champions League.
After losing in all three of its previous final looks, Benfica finally obtained its hands on the particular trophy with an prominent 6-0 win over RB Salzburg, a result that will drew admiring looks from many of Europe’s biggest clubs.
“Everyone is really proud of that instant because it was a process that didn’t begin that season, ” Magalhães says. “Lots of those players started with us when they were six years old, others 10 years old, 11 years old.
“We need to look to all the people that work with them — coaches, assistant coaches, educators, social department, searching department — everyone here has an exclusive part in that time. ”
Magalhães says close to 90% of the team that won the UEFA Youth Little league started playing at the Campus between the age groups of under-6s plus under-12s.
Although Benfica has its primary base in Lisbon, it also boasts 5 training centers around Portugal, which permit the club to search and then nurture the best talent from across the nation.
In the squad for the semifinals and finals, Magalhães says there have been players from all of their training centers — in the north, south and center associated with Portugal — a feat he is incredibly proud of as it is proof the project Benfica entrusted him with is bearing fruit.
Yet even if they hadn’t won the trophy last season, Magalhães would still have viewed the team’s involvement as a success. In the eight seasons because the Youth League’s beginning — the 2020-21 season was terminated due to the Covid outbreak — Benfica provides reached four titles, a record only two-time winner Chelsea continues to be able to match.
“More compared to winning the trophy, it’s the regularity, ” Magalhães says. “If we were a team that goes once in five many years to a semifinal or a final, okay, is actually good for us. But a team [with Benfica’s record] implies that really we have several players that are able to compete at the highest degree in comparison with other groups in Europe.
“For all of us, the regularity is really a sign that our work is going well. ”
Along with Benfica unable to rival Europe’s wealthiest clubs — like Manchester City , Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain — regarding player transfers, Magalhães knows the first team’s best route to achievement is through nurturing its own world-class skill.
Aspiring stars
António Silva is one of the current crop of rising stars in Benfica’s academy and was in the team pertaining to last season’s victorious UEFA Youth League campaign. The 18-year-old central defender became a member of Benfica in 2014 and, given their position, naturally expectations to emulate Dias’ success.
Dias became a member of Manchester City through Benfica for around $75 million in 2020 and immediately paved his place the best defenders in the Quality League. In his a pair of seasons at City, the 25-year-old carries played a crucial position in winning a pair of Premier League brands and reaching the 2021 Champions League last.
Silva even wears the particular No . 66 shirt that Dias used while he was along at the club.
“I look up to Rúben a lot, inch he tells CNN Sport. “He started out playing here and check at all the things that they achieved at The city of manchester City and also inside the team at Benfica. He’s a person to get a up to and it’s a consideration for me to have these references to reach the top.
“Portuguese club sets work a lot with all the youth ages, therefore it is important for us to achieve the kind of players the fact that reach the top in addition to play in all the institutions, in the top organizations like the Premier League and La Asociación, like Nuno [Mendes] in PSG.
“For us, it is important to have those sort of players, like idols for us to try to moreover complete this process and also, if it is possible, practice it better than them. inches
Silva describes himself being a modern center backside, comfortable with the football at his foot or so and capable of playing long balls as well as passing alone the floor. As well as Dias, Silva draws his idea from Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk together with Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger.
However , Silva knows about none of the players’ individual and team good results would be possible with no dedication of the a huge selection of staff that work through Benfica’s bases about the country.
“Benfica has a lot of people who work for us, that give everything to us and this also is the most important thing, inch he explains. “Benfica Campus is important, but the people who work with all of us? They are more important. micron