European coaches explain how the UEFA Youth League provides invaluable experiences - both on and off the pitch - for developing talent
The final whistle blew at the Colovray stadium in the Swiss city of Nyon. Players dropped to their knees in a mix of disbelief and overwhelm. The Olympiacos coaching staff, who had been lined up on the touchline arm-in-arm during the final seconds of the game, ran off wildly in different directions.
Youth League stepped into the limelight in 2013-14, contested by academy players from the 32 clubs in that season’s Champions League. The format followed that of the senior event, but with single-leg ties in the knockout phase. The tournament expanded into its current guise two seasons later.
has it that over 1,000 players have graduated from the Youth League into senior club and international careers. For academy bosses and coaches at top clubs, it is seen as a valuable developmental opportunity. Clubs would previously play in small international tournaments but the Youth League provides a more consistent challenge. Nicky Butt, the former and midfielder, captured it well in 2018, when he was coaching at United’s academy. “For us, it’s a massive benefit,” Butt said.
’s third-tier Conference League, which began in 2021-22, has been a source of minutes for a lot of youngsters and means more clubs are playing a Thursday-Sunday schedule in senior football. That has been the case this season for Olympiacos, whose first team have reached the semi-finals of that competition — the Athens club’s first final-four appearance at European level.
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