Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao are two great clubs with two differing philosophies when it comes to player development.
Athletic have to nurture Basque talent and promote them to the first team.
Madrid cast their net across the world, though fewer players rise from their Castilla reserve team and establish themselves in the first team.
Barcelona fans mock Madrid’s inability to create their own talent, though many former Madrid youth graduates have enjoyed great careers.
As Real Madrid fans cursed their side’s 4-0 derby defeat to Atletico Madrid and president Florentino Perez planned a visit to the training ground to tell the players to get back to their previous level, the reserve sides of Madrid and Athletic Bilbao met on Sunday in the Alfredo di Stefano stadium at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground.
Castilla were relegated last term but under Zinedine Zidane, they have recovered from a poor start to enjoy an excellent season in Group 2 of Spain’s third tier.
They were top before Sunday’s game against Athletic, who were fourth.
A 2-2 draw meant Madrid slipped to second but the game was noteworthy for the debut for 16-year-old Norwegian Martin Odegaard, who had been training with Madrid’s first team and who starred in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Chinese side Beijing Guoan.
The crowd of 2,950 on Sunday was swelled by a group of noisy Norwegians and they saw their compatriot come off the bench with 20 minutes to play.
His new coach Zidane shook his hand and, Odegaard, covering his hands with his sleeves, showed several glimpses of the talent that saw him win his first Norway cap at 15 against the UAE in a friendly in August, which prompted all of Europe’s top clubs to show interest.
The youngster had not played a competitive game since November and is not fully fit, but he can be happy with his start.
He can also take heart from Carlo Ancelotti naming him in his 25-man Uefa Champions League squad, but he will take time to settle in Madrid and the hype should be restrained.
It will help that his father Hans Erik will be involved in the youth coaching at the club as part of the deal with his son, but he is expected to work with Zidane rather than Ancelotti for the rest of this season.
If all goes well, they could work together at a higher level as Zidane is being groomed to be a future Real Madrid first team coach.
First, though, he must complete all the necessary coaching badges and Odegaard must learn to become a Real Madrid class footballer.
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