From a market town in the South East of England, otherwise known as Oxford, to go to Seville, the artistic, cultural and financial capital of Spain, might sound more like a holiday to some of the richest out there.
As I Googled to find the distance between these two cities, I found out that it would take you less than a day – if you drive that is.
I am sure there are quicker routes to reach Seville from Oxford but one Scotsman probably took the longest available route, where it took him seven years to reach a place called Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville, Spain, from Oxford, England.
Rejected by Oxford United, who are now in the Conference Division of England, Ikenchi Anya last month signed a two year professional contract with Seville FC to play in the Champions League in the coming season.
A graduate from the Glenn Hoddle Academy based in Southern Spain, Ikenchi after being released by Northampton Town, was close to quitting football before being snapped by Hoddle’s Academy and now faces the prospect of being on the same field as Kaka and Ronaldo.
Like Ikenchi, there are a number of English professional footballers at the Gleen Hoddle Academy who were released from their respective clubs in England, trying to get contracts at Spanish clubs.
Ever wondered how much it costs a club to run a proper football academy?
With all the training and facilities provided to the young players, the expense of bringing up a footballer can be in the millions, and to give more worry to the clubs, almost half, if not more, will be released before giving a professional contract.
Yes, perhaps for clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, having a youth academy is necessary. But imagine for clubs like Cheltenham and Macclesfield.
Not having a youth academy might have saved them from going into administration.
So are we facing a time where more players will come in from private academies rather than the clubs?
How about the pride that Barcelona feels, winning the Champions League with six players in the starting line-up from their own Academy. But how many are there in the youth academy of Barca? Will everyone get a professional contract and get a chance to ply their trades at Nue Camp?
Academies set-up by ex and current football players are the answer to all the above questions.
When asked about these types of players, Glenn Hoddles said: “I could see there was potential going to waste that needed to be nurtured and coached right.”
And that is exactly what happened with Ikenchi Anya.
There was never a doubt about his quality and skills. It is academies such as this that will prevent players of such quality slipping through the cracks.
sabbir_ahmed
Roar Rookie
Thanks Eamonn. Yes, you will be surprised with the amount of players that are being snapped up by the Spanish club from this academy of Glenn Hoddle. As I was doing a bit of research for this piece I got to know that two others players agreed to join two second devision Spanish clubs. It will be interesting to know how much are this players worth and who exactly is getting the money if there is any? If not then I think this whole private academy is great for smaller clubs to get quality/moderate players on cheap plus this thing is inspiring more British players to play abroad which is always a good thing.
Eamonn
Guest
Players who miss out here could well benefit from an intensive development academy from 18-24 in Australia. Kind of goes against modern football thinking/development. But players can improve tremendously post 18....but not always in a club environment where you are supposed to be the finished product. Probaby a bit early/radical for our football community but where there's gold in dem dere hills someone will go digging. Good article.