Ten years since the day La Masia touched the sky

On January 10, 2011, Sunday is ten years old, Barça won one of its most important titles. A triumph that was worked on for more than 20 years in which they opted for a game model that emerged from the concepts by Laureano Ruiz, qwho built anonymous men like Oriol Tort, Joan Vilà or Albert Benaiges, who lived his definitive push with the arrival of Johan Cruyff and that Guardiola decorated. That day ten years ago three players trained at La Masia sublimated a model of training and understanding the game. That day in the Kongresshaus from Zurich, Messi, Iniesta and Xavi took the Ballon d'Or podium. A milestone that rewarded the work of dozens of Blaugrana football trainers and grassroots coaches.

The three players, at first glance, had very little in common. An Argentine who came to Barcelona at the age of 13 to join a cadet team that was a scandal. That generation of '87 had players like Cesc Fàbregas, Piqué and Víctor Vázquez as a star. Àlex García, the coach thought as soon as he saw the Argentine child that Rexach saw it clear after ten minutes that he had to stay yes or yes, “where do I put it?”. After the first training session, it was clear to him that he was not going to remove him from the team.

Andrés Iniesta arrived from Albacete after Germán Vaya, Mani, a scout for Barça in Andalusia, had seen him play in Plasencia. He told Albert Benaiges that he went to see him at the Brunete tournament in 1995. He was so impressed with him that he told his parents: “You don't need proof or anything, go straight in.” Andrés, only 11 years old, hesitated, but he took the step and through many tears and effort he became a legend.

Xavi was seen by the legendary Oriol Tort, the man who bet on Guardiola, De la Peña, Puyol or Sergi. The same one who loved Raúl or Michel Salgado. “At 6 I was taking him to Barça right now,” Tort told Joaquim Hernández, the coach of the team where Xavi played. “He's my son,” he replied. And from there, a path began that Barça should not forget