There are three teams A leaguewho haven’t even offered a player under twenty a second of play: one is the one who will win the next championship, that oneInterthe other is the one who won the last one, the one Naplesand the third is the reigning runner-up, who Lazio. The banal but brutal conclusion is that to win a title you have to do without young people: the only under-21-year-old who had a minimum space in these three teams was the Nigerian midfielder AkinsanmiroOn the pitch for 14 minutes in Inter-Lecce’s 4-0 win, in what was essentially an insignificant moment of the Nerazzurri’s season.

Only Monza used more very young players than Juventus

The choice has obviously paid off, at least in the near future. Anyway Juventus It was the oldest team in Italy when it won one tricolor after another, while now that it no longer wins it is moving up in the youth rankings: it is still far behind (sixth from last) if you take into account the under 23 years, but as the age limit is lowered, it gains places, becoming sixth for the use of under-21s, fourth for under-20s (Atalanta leads in these two statistics) and even second behind Monza From Valentin Carboni (owned by Inter…), for under 19s, thanks in particular to the 23 appearances of Yildiz (But there are those too Huijsen And Nonge): It means that the work of renewal is progressive and begins from below, that is, from young people, and not from those who now cease to be young people.

Frosinone is the first in Europe for the use of U23 players

The data comes from studies in Cies, Illinois International Center for Sports Studies The Neuchâtel-based company analyzed 61 championships around the world, calculated how much time teams entrust to young players as a percentage and compiled rankings by age limit from 19 to 23 years old. In Italy the two companies that offer the most space to children are the Frosinone and thatAtalantawith different results and strategies: The Ciociari value talents they have borrowed from other teams (Soulé, Ibrahimovic, Kaio Jorge, Turati, Barrenechea, Reinier, Okoli, Seck) and floundering in the lower part of the table, the Bergamo players are proving their skills (it is no coincidence that Atalanta, together with Juve, is the only club that has the second team in Serie C) and thanks to everything they are in the race three young homeowners, Carnesecchi, Ruggeri And Scalvini. In fact, Frosinone is the team in Europe’s top five leagues that has given the most space to U23 players, who Di Francesco used for 44.8% of available playing time. In second place are the very rich Chelsea (43.4%): It is an explanation for the terrible year of Pochettino’s men (boys).

The case of Barcelona, ​​​​the only major club that uses children

Let’s limit ourselves to the under 21s: the European team that uses them the most is Strasbourg, while for the under 20s the Barcelona Thanks to his children who grew up in the Masia: Yamal, Gavi, Cubarsì, Fort, Guiu, Balde, Fermin Lopez. Xavi entrusted 15% of his team’s playing minutes to children aged 17 to 20. Barça is in second place among U19 players Toulouse. It has to be said that the Catalans are the only high-ranking team that is also in the Champions League race that has such a fresh squad, because the equation ultimately applies abroad too: the higher your ambitions, the less you rely on them the children. L’arsenalFor example, not even players under the age of 21 were playing, but they too are way down in the rankings City, Liverpool And Borussiaas opposed to PSG And Bavaria which, however, do not reach the level of Barcelona or Brighton from De Zerbi, one of the youngest teams in Europe (second among under-20s).

The progress of Serie A, younger than La Liga and Bundesliga

While Serie A wasn’t a league for young people until not too many years ago, a lot has changed now: the general average age (26.9 years) is now slightly below that of La Liga (27.5) and the Bundesliga (27 ). higher than the Premier League (26.7). Only the French Ligue1 is significantly more environmentally friendly (26.2). If you continue to only look at the five most important championships, those under 23 are largely ignored West Ham, which also happens to be a winning club (it won the last Conference League). Inter are third from bottom and Atletico Madrid are sixth from bottom. In the rest of the world, where the youth performances of two important clubs such as Ajax and especially StrasbourgThe only ones who have used the under-21s more often than the older players (52.4% of total playing time) are the Ukrainians from Rukh Lviv.