This Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of the current building of La Masia and also 42 years since the establishment of La Masia de Can Planes as a residence for young athletes from the FC Barcelona men’s soccer quarry. The club brought forward the celebration of the two anniversaries to the afternoon of this Tuesday because tomorrow there are Youth A matches in the Youth League and the first team in the Champions League. In a day marked by the progress of the club in the renewal of Ansu Fati, the 18-year-old forward has agreed with the president, Joan Laporta, in the act.
The La Masia garden hosted an event attended by the president, Joan Laporta, in addition to the members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Board and the Cabinet of the Presidency, among others. Athletes who currently reside in La Masia have also been invited.
During the event, a video was shown reviewing the history of La Masia, from its creation on October 20, 1979 to the present, in addition to the entry of the girls for the first time in history on August 1 of this year. Other important moments have also been reviewed, such as the laying of the first stone of the current building by the current president, Joan Laporta, in December 2009, during his previous mandate.
Act of tenth anniversary of the new Masia
In addition, the first team player was also present, Ansu Fati, who has been living in La Masia since he arrived at the club in 2012. Four former residents of La Masia have also participated (Sergi Barjuán and Gerard Autet, representing football and Eric Vilá and Jaume Sorolla, basketball) representing each of the four decades that have passed since the inauguration of the first Masia (1980-1990, 1990-2000, 2000-2010 and 2010-2020). They have reviewed their experiences and have explained some anecdotes. He has also intervened Martina Fernández, Barça B Female player and pioneer of La Masía representing the current decade. Finally, the act concluded with the delivery of a souvenir by Joan Laporta to the mentioned players.
Ansu stressed at the event that “in La Masia I have learned everything, the values and everything there is to learn in life, I am very grateful. They have helped me a lot here, it is a family.” And he revealed that “I come back from time to time, I miss the routine and the La Masía family.”
Joan Laporta He assured that “the most differential we have compared to other clubs is La Masia, here we train the best athletes and people.” And he stressed that “I am happy to have promoted the new Masia”.
As to Sergi Barjuan, the Barça B coach recalled his time when he was a resident of La Masia: “There were 16 of us in the same room, it was a very familiar environment, with a lot of heat. I learned everything there, now I appreciate it as a coach.” In addition, the culé coach has reminded the young people of La Masia that “never stop studying.”
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