Real Sociedad Juvenil
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| Full name | Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Txuriurdin (White and Blue) Erreala / La Real (The Royals) |
| Ground |
Zubieta Facilities, San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain |
| Capacity | 2,500 |
| President | Jokin Aperribay |
| Coach | Jon Mikel Arrieta |
| League | División de Honor |
| 201516 | División de Honor, Gr. 2, 5th |
| Website | Club home page |
The cantera (quarry) of Spanish professional football club Real Sociedad is the organisation's youth academy, developing players from childhood through to the integration of the best prospects into the adult teams.
The final category within the youth structure is the Juvenil A [(Basque: Gazteak A) under-18/19 team team which represents the club in national competition. The successful graduates then usually move to the club's reserve teams, Real Sociedad C or Real Sociedad B, which are also considered part of the cantera due to being a stage in progression towards the senior team, albeit competing in the adult league system.
The academy is based at the club training complex, Zubieta, which is often the name used informally to refer to the system itself.
The top football clubs in the Spanish leagues generally place great importance in developing their cantera to promote the players from within or sell to other clubs as a source of revenue, and Real Sociedad is no exception. Until the late 1980s, the club operated a Basque-only player recruitment policy but abandoned this in order to remain competitive; however their youth recruitment network is still focused around their home region of Gipuzkoa and there are collaboration agreements in place with the small clubs in the region.
Most of the current senior team players are youth academy graduates (15 of the squad in 2014 ). In 2016, Real Sociedad's total of 16 homegrown players (as per UEFA guidelines, 3 years of training between 15 and 21 years old) still at their formative club was the second-highest across Europe's 'big five' leagues, and far more than all other top clubs apart from neighbours Athletic Bilbao. Adding 9 former trainees at other eligible clubs for a sum of 25 ranked as the 5th highest, although only 3rd in Spain behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona who retained just a few of the many high-level players they produced. In 2013 it was also noted that 22 of the 23 members of the Juvenil A squad that season were from Gipuzkoa.
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