Post on 06-Jul-2020
1
1. Introduction
Over the decade that is about to end, 42 clubs have always been present within the five ma-jor European leagues. The 50th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the make-up of these teams over the course of the decade with questions such as: how many players did they use? What was the age of players fielded? Their height? Their origins?
The analysis also includes an economic di-mension by taking into account the transfer fees spent or received (including bonuses) since the 1st January 2010 by the 42 clubs studied. For all variables, the data for 2019 re-fer to the period from the 1st January to the 15 November.
Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
Drs Raffaele Poli, Loïc Ravenel and Roger Besson
CIES Football Observatory Monthly Reportn°50 - December 2019
Figure 1: study sample
AS ST-ETIENNE
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
LOSC LILLE
MONTPELLIER HSC
OGC NICE
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
STADE RENNAIS
TOULOUSE FC
LIG
UE
1 BAYER LEVERKUSEN
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
FC SCHALKE 04
FSV MAINZ 05
TSG HOFFENHEIM
VFL WOLFSBURG
WERDER BREMEN
BU
ND
ES
LIG
A
ACF FIORENTINA
AS ROMA
GENOA CFC
INTERNAZIONALE
JUVENTUS FC
MILAN AC
SS LAZIO
SSC NAPOLI
UDINESE CALCIO
SE
RIE
A ARSENAL FC
CHELSEA FC
EVERTON FC
LIVERPOOL FC
MANCHESTER CITY
MANCHESTER UNITED
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
PR
EM
IER
LE
AG
UE
ATHLETIC CLUB
ATLÉTICO MADRID
FC BARCELONA
RCD ESPANYOL
REAL MADRID
SEVILLA FC
VALENCIA CF
LIG
A
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
2
2. Turnover
A first element of analysis is the turnover with-in squads. Very important differences exist between clubs. At one extreme, Athletic Club Bilbao only used 77 footballers in domestic league matches played during the decade studied. This result reflects the crucial impor-tance given to the question of identity in the policies of the Basque club.
The great stability observed at Athletic Club is contrasted with that of Genoa. Enrico Prezio-si’s club used 205 players in Serie A fixtures between 2010 and 2019. Sevilla and Rome, the two teams where Monchi worked as a sport-ing director, are also among those who fielded the most footballers. These findings illustrate the emphasis placed on trading players in the strategies of these clubs.
Figure 2: number of players used in domestic league games (2010-2019)
ATHLETIC CLUB
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
FC BARCELONA
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
REAL MADRID
MANCHESTER CITY
ARSENAL FC
MANCHESTER UNITED
EVERTON FC
CHELSEA FC
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
MONTPELLIER HSC
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
SSC NAPOLI
LIVERPOOL FC
ATLÉTICO MADRID
SS LAZIO
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
JUVENTUS FC
LOSC LILLE
FC SCHALKE 04
WERDER BREMEN
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
FSV MAINZ 05
TOULOUSE FC
TSG HOFFENHEIM
VFL WOLFSBURG
VALENCIA CF
UDINESE CALCIO
AS ST-ETIENNE
MILAN AC
STADE RENNAIS
RCD ESPANYOL
INTERNAZIONALE
OGC NICE
AS ROMA
SEVILLA FC
ACF FIORENTINA
GENOA CFC
77
83
90
91
92
93
93
95
96
97
98
99
103
104
104
106
109
112
114
115
117
121
122
123
123
123
124
124
125
127
127
131
131
133
135
135
139
144
149
160
161
205
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
3
Despite the 2016/17 season at Crystal Palace, Steve Mandanda is the footballer who played the greatest percentage of domestic league minutes for one of the 42 teams of the sample. During the decade studied, the French goal-keeper took part in 84.2% of minutes played by Olympique de Marseille. The highest value for an outfield player was recorded for Lionel Messi at Barcelona (83.4%). Paris St-Germain is among the six teams whose most used footballers during the decade took part in less than half of the minutes played (Thiago Silva, 49.6%).
Figure 3: % of domestic league minutes of the most used player by club (2010-2019)
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
FC BARCELONA
AS ST-ETIENNE
MANCHESTER UNITED
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
REAL MADRID
SSC NAPOLI
MONTPELLIER HSC
INTERNAZIONALE
ATLÉTICO MADRID
EVERTON FC
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
JUVENTUS FC
MANCHESTER CITY
ATHLETIC CLUB
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
UDINESE CALCIO
ARSENAL FC
CHELSEA FC
VALENCIA CF
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
SS LAZIO
AS ROMA
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
STADE RENNAIS
WERDER BREMEN
VFL WOLFSBURG
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
LIVERPOOL FC
LOSC LILLE
RCD ESPANYOL
TSG HOFFENHEIM
FC SCHALKE 04
MILAN AC
FSV MAINZ 05
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
SEVILLA FC
TOULOUSE FC
ACF FIORENTINA
GENOA CFC
OGC NICE
Steve Mandanda
Lionel Messi
Stéphane Ruffier
David de Gea
Thomas Müller
Sergio Ramos
Marek Hamšík
Vitorino Hilton
Samir Handanović
Diego Godín
Leighton Baines
Bernd Leno
Leonardo Bonucci
David Silva
Gorka Iraizoz
Hugo Lloris
Marcel Schmelzer
Danilo Larangeira
Laurent Koscielny
César Azpilicueta
Dani Parejo
Cédric Carrasso
Stefan Radu
Daniele De Rossi
Anthony Lopes
Romain Danzé
Theodor Gebre Selassie
Diego Benaglio
Oscar Wendt
Jordan Henderson
Rio Mavuba
Javi López
Sebastian Rudy
Benedikt Höwedes
Ignazio Abate
Stefan Bell
Thiago Silva
Jesús Navas
Etienne Didot
Manuel Pasqual
Mattia Perin
David Ospina
84.2%
83.4%
80.9%
77.1%
76.6%
74.2%
72.8%
72.6%
71.3%
71.0%
70.6%
69.8%
68.6%
68.0%
65.9%
65.5%
64.0%
63.9%
63.8%
63.8%
62.9%
62.7%
62.5%
61.8%
61.2%
60.9%
60.7%
58.5%
57.1%
56.3%
56.1%
55.6%
55.3%
54.9%
54.8%
51.0%
49.6%
44.7%
42.0%
41.9%
38.8%
38.1%
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
4
3. Age
Over the course of the 2010 decade, no team has fielded players as old as multiple Ital-ian champions Juventus: 28.8 years of age on average when the matches were played. Two other Italian clubs have the highest val-ues: Inter (28.4 years of age) and Lazio (28.3 years of age). French and German teams are over-represented among those having fielded the youngest players, with a minimum of 24.6 years of age for Toulouse.
Figure 4: average age at matches played (2010-2019)
TOULOUSE FC
TSG HOFFENHEIM
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
OGC NICE
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
FC SCHALKE 04
STADE RENNAIS
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
LOSC LILLE
VALENCIA CF
FSV MAINZ 05
LIVERPOOL FC
WERDER BREMEN
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
ARSENAL FC
VFL WOLFSBURG
RCD ESPANYOL
ATLÉTICO MADRID
ATHLETIC CLUB
UDINESE CALCIO
AS ST-ETIENNE
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
REAL MADRID
MANCHESTER UNITED
MONTPELLIER HSC
ACF FIORENTINA
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
SEVILLA FC
MILAN AC
MANCHESTER CITY
GENOA CFC
FC BARCELONA
CHELSEA FC
AS ROMA
SSC NAPOLI
EVERTON FC
SS LAZIO
INTERNAZIONALE
JUVENTUS FC
24.61
25.02
25.12
25.20
25.52
25.61
25.61
25.78
26.03
26.26
26.29
26.36
26.38
26.41
26.48
26.51
26.59
26.59
26.59
26.73
26.74
26.74
26.88
26.94
26.95
27.09
27.11
27.16
27.17
27.20
27.32
27.48
27.54
27.59
27.62
27.64
27.84
27.86
27.86
28.28
28.38
28.81
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
5
Eight of the nine clubs having on average re-cruited the oldest players are Italians, with a maximum of 26.6 years of age for Lazio. Keen to win titles, Paris St-Germain and Manches-ter City have also targeted experienced play-ers. However, with the arrival of Guardiola, Manchester City has changed its strategy by recruiting younger footballers, similar to the policies pursued by other major teams such as Real Madrid (23.5 years of age at the time of recruitment) or Liverpool (24.6 years of age).
Figure 5: average age at the time of recruitment (2010-2019)
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
REAL MADRID
TSG HOFFENHEIM
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
WERDER BREMEN
TOULOUSE FC
LOSC LILLE
OGC NICE
LIVERPOOL FC
MANCHESTER UNITED
FSV MAINZ 05
CHELSEA FC
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
ARSENAL FC
FC SCHALKE 04
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
UDINESE CALCIO
VALENCIA CF
VFL WOLFSBURG
ATHLETIC CLUB
STADE RENNAIS
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
FC BARCELONA
ATLÉTICO MADRID
MONTPELLIER HSC
EVERTON FC
RCD ESPANYOL
AS ST-ETIENNE
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
SEVILLA FC
MANCHESTER CITY
SSC NAPOLI
INTERNAZIONALE
ACF FIORENTINA
AS ROMA
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
GENOA CFC
MILAN AC
JUVENTUS FC
SS LAZIO
23.38
23.51
23.54
23.99
24.14
24.45
24.45
24.48
24.56
24.61
24.64
24.67
24.69
24.77
24.83
24.87
24.92
24.97
25.03
25.11
25.19
25.23
25.27
25.32
25.38
25.39
25.44
25.45
25.51
25.58
25.60
25.69
25.73
25.78
25.80
25.93
25.95
26.09
26.16
26.18
26.29
26.56
23.38
23.51
23.54
23.99
24.14
24.45
24.45
24.48
24.56
24.61
24.64
24.67
24.69
24.77
24.83
24.87
24.92
24.97
25.03
25.11
25.19
25.23
25.27
25.32
25.38
25.39
25.44
25.45
25.51
25.58
25.60
25.69
25.73
25.78
25.80
25.93
25.95
26.09
26.16
26.18
26.29
26.56
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
6
4. Height
Analysis in terms of height also highlights im-portant differences with regard to leagues and clubs. Barcelona used the shortest players in absolute terms (178.66 cm on average). The Catalan club is followed by five French and three other Spanish teams. At the opposite end of the scale, six of the seven clubs having fielded the tallest footballers are German, with a maximum value of 185.05 cm for Schalke 04. The height of the Juventus players was also relatively high: 183.76 cm (5th place).
Figure 6: average height of players used (2010-2019)
FC BARCELONA
LOSC LILLE
OGC NICE
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
RCD ESPANYOL
VALENCIA CF
MONTPELLIER HSC
SEVILLA FC
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
SSC NAPOLI
EVERTON FC
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
MANCHESTER CITY
AS ST-ETIENNE
ATLÉTICO MADRID
STADE RENNAIS
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
LIVERPOOL FC
ARSENAL FC
REAL MADRID
TOULOUSE FC
INTERNAZIONALE
UDINESE CALCIO
GENOA CFC
ATHLETIC CLUB
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
MILAN AC
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
SS LAZIO
AS ROMA
ACF FIORENTINA
FSV MAINZ 05
CHELSEA FC
MANCHESTER UNITED
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
WERDER BREMEN
JUVENTUS FC
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
TSG HOFFENHEIM
VFL WOLFSBURG
FC SCHALKE 04
178.66
179.96
180.19
180.68
180.74
180.86
181.00
181.15
181.22
181.40
181.61
181.74
181.77
181.82
181.84
181.88
181.93
181.97
182.09
182.12
182.17
182.19
182.33
182.46
182.49
182.59
182.81
182.97
183.08
183.25
183.32
183.33
183.33
183.33
183.35
183.39
183.73
183.76
183.98
184.31
184.66
185.05
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
7
5. Origins
The unique case of Athletic Club also stands out in the analysis of the percentage of min-utes played by footballers having grown up outside of the association of their employ-er club, standing at a meagre 3.7% (Aymeric Laporte). At the opposite end, the 12 teams where expatriates played the highest propor-tion of domestic league minutes are English and Italians, with a maximum of 83.9% for Ar-senal. This percentage is above 80% also at Inter and Chelsea.
Figure 7: % of minutes of expatriate players (2010-2019)
ATHLETIC CLUB
AS ST-ETIENNE
MONTPELLIER HSC
STADE RENNAIS
RCD ESPANYOL
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
TOULOUSE FC
OGC NICE
TSG HOFFENHEIM
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
LOSC LILLE
FC SCHALKE 04
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
JUVENTUS FC
FSV MAINZ 05
FC BARCELONA
MILAN AC
WERDER BREMEN
VALENCIA CF
GENOA CFC
EVERTON FC
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
SEVILLA FC
ATLÉTICO MADRID
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
REAL MADRID
VFL WOLFSBURG
MANCHESTER UNITED
LIVERPOOL FC
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
ACF FIORENTINA
AS ROMA
SS LAZIO
SSC NAPOLI
UDINESE CALCIO
MANCHESTER CITY
CHELSEA FC
INTERNAZIONALE
ARSENAL FC
3.7%
17.9%
27.8%
30.8%
31.1%
31.5%
31.6%
31.8%
34.1%
34.1%
38.5%
40.0%
43.2%
43.4%
49.0%
50.6%
50.8%
51.4%
51.5%
51.5%
53.4%
53.6%
56.4%
56.8%
57.7%
59.6%
60.4%
60.9%
62.0%
63.0%
63.3%
64.5%
65.8%
67.6%
70.8%
72.5%
73.0%
77.1%
77.4%
80.1%
83.4%
83.9%
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
8
Figure 8: number of different origins (2010-2019)
ATHLETIC CLUB
ATLÉTICO MADRID
AS ST-ETIENNE
FC BARCELONA
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
REAL MADRID
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
MONTPELLIER HSC
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
VALENCIA CF
OGC NICE
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
RCD ESPANYOL
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
SSC NAPOLI
STADE RENNAIS
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
TOULOUSE FC
JUVENTUS FC
MILAN AC
LIVERPOOL FC
CHELSEA FC
SS LAZIO
SEVILLA FC
MANCHESTER CITY
ARSENAL FC
WERDER BREMEN
MANCHESTER UNITED
INTERNAZIONALE
TSG HOFFENHEIM
VFL WOLFSBURG
EVERTON FC
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
UDINESE CALCIO
ACF FIORENTINA
LOSC LILLE
FSV MAINZ 05
FC SCHALKE 04
GENOA CFC
AS ROMA
2
18
18
19
19
19
20
20
21
22
23
23
23
25
26
26
26
26
26
26
27
27
27
27
28
28
29
29
29
30
30
30
31
31
31
31
32
32
33
34
36
37
With the exception of Athletic Club, all of the teams present in the big-5 between 2010 and 2019 fielded players from at least 18 different countries. Although giving considerable room for expatriates, the most competitive teams tend to concentrate their international re-cruitment on a relatively limited number of origins: 18 for Atlético Madrid, 19 for Barcelona and Paris St-Germain, 20 for Real Madrid and Bayern. AS Rome holds the record (37 different origins during the decade studied).
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
9
6. Training
Athletic Club is the only team where club-trained footballers (at least three seasons be-tween 15 and 21 years of age in situ) played a majority of domestic league minutes: 61.3%. Barcelona also has a high value 46.1%. At the opposite end, many Italian and English teams are at the bottom of the rankings. Despite the recruitment of many young talents, Manches-ter City is the club where players from the youth academy accounted for the lowest level of minutes: 2.1%.
Figure 9: % of minutes of club-trained players (2010-2019)
ATHLETIC CLUB
FC BARCELONA
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
TOULOUSE FC
MONTPELLIER HSC
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
STADE RENNAIS
ARSENAL FC
FC SCHALKE 04
MANCHESTER UNITED
ATLÉTICO MADRID
RCD ESPANYOL
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
AS ST-ETIENNE
REAL MADRID
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
MILAN AC
WERDER BREMEN
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
AS ROMA
LOSC LILLE
VALENCIA CF
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
SEVILLA FC
FSV MAINZ 05
OGC NICE
EVERTON FC
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
LIVERPOOL FC
VFL WOLFSBURG
TSG HOFFENHEIM
JUVENTUS FC
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
GENOA CFC
SSC NAPOLI
CHELSEA FC
ACF FIORENTINA
SS LAZIO
UDINESE CALCIO
INTERNAZIONALE
MANCHESTER CITY
61.3%
46.1%
35.9%
33.8%
31.9%
30.2%
28.4%
28.4%
27.4%
26.2%
25.4%
23.3%
22.1%
19.0%
18.9%
18.3%
17.5%
17.4%
17.1%
16.7%
15.9%
14.8%
13.9%
13.3%
12.7%
12.7%
12.5%
12.3%
12.2%
11.8%
10.6%
8.5%
8.5%
8.1%
7.6%
7.6%
7.3%
7.0%
4.2%
3.6%
2.8%
2.1%
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
10
7. Finances
The indicator of the cost of paying fee trans-fers spotlights the major disparities in clubs’ financial means. Manchester United tops the list (an average of €32 million per paid trans-fer), followed closely by Paris St-Germain (€30 million). Four other teams invested on average more than €20 million per paying fee trans-fer during the decade studied: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea. At the opposite end, three French clubs had the low-est values, with a minimum of about €2 mil-lion for Montpellier.
Figure 10: average expenditure per paying fee transfer, € Million (2010-2019)
MONTPELLIER HSC
TOULOUSE FC
AS ST-ETIENNE
UDINESE CALCIO
FSV MAINZ 05
WERDER BREMEN
GENOA CFC
RCD ESPANYOL
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
TSG HOFFENHEIM
OGC NICE
STADE RENNAIS
ACF FIORENTINA
LOSC LILLE
SS LAZIO
ATHLETIC CLUB
FC SCHALKE 04
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
SEVILLA FC
VFL WOLFSBURG
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
VALENCIA CF
SSC NAPOLI
AS ROMA
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
MILAN AC
INTERNAZIONALE
EVERTON FC
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
JUVENTUS FC
ATLÉTICO MADRID
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
ARSENAL FC
LIVERPOOL FC
CHELSEA FC
MANCHESTER CITY
REAL MADRID
FC BARCELONA
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
MANCHESTER UNITED
2.13
2.26
2.60
2.68
2.80
2.98
3.08
3.30
3.32
3.35
3.76
3.99
4.11
4.52
5.07
5.97
6.00
6.05
6.23
6.44
7.64
8.04
8.65
9.46
9.53
9.60
11.11
12.83
13.36
14.95
15.83
16.18
17.15
17.29
18.73
19.55
21.72
22.08
23.93
24.46
30.14
32.21
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Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
11
Only 16 of the 42 teams analysed have a posi-tive net balance for transfer operations carried out between 2010 and 2019. The maximum was recorded for LOSC Lille (+€249 million). None of the seven clubs always present in the Premier League during the 2010s has a positive net balance. Four teams have considerably negative net balances: Manchester City, Paris St-Germain, Manchester United and Barcelo-na. The cumulative deficit of these four clubs is over €3.5 billion.
Figure 11: net balance for transfer operations, € Million (2010-2019)
LOSC LILLE
GENOA CFC
OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS
UDINESE CALCIO
TSG HOFFENHEIM
ATHLETIC CLUB
MONTPELLIER HSC
RCD ESPANYOL
SEVILLA FC
AS ST-ETIENNE
GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
TOULOUSE FC
STADE RENNAIS
OGC NICE
FSV MAINZ 05
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
ACF FIORENTINA
WERDER BREMEN
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH
VALENCIA CF
SS LAZIO
AS ROMA
FC SCHALKE 04
OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
ATLÉTICO MADRID
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
VFL WOLFSBURG
SSC NAPOLI
LIVERPOOL FC
EVERTON FC
BAYERN MÜNCHEN
ARSENAL FC
INTERNAZIONALE
CHELSEA FC
JUVENTUS FC
REAL MADRID
MILAN AC
FC BARCELONA
MANCHESTER UNITED
PARIS ST-GERMAIN
MANCHESTER CITY
+249.3
+193.3
+174.3
+168.3
+139.1
+113.6
+110.8
+94.1
+85.8
+81.4
+77.4
+65.8
+61.7
+51.4
+35.9
+32.1
-1.8
-2.6
-22.8
-24.5
-30.5
-56.0
-68.9
-84.5
-95.5
-100.4
-143.9
-146.1
-161.9
-277.0
-296.5
-307.9
-365.7
-391.1
-395.4
-413.7
-425.0
-438.8
-720.5
-832.6
-901.3
-1090.8
Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)
12
8. Conclusion
The study shows the importance of the dif-ferences in strategies pursued by teams when composing their squads. The unique case of Athletic Club Bilbao is reflected in almost all the indicators analysed. The Basque team car-ries on with success a strategic model based on an extremely strong regional anchoring. This model has become increasingly rare with the commercialisation of football and its glo-balisation, in particular at the level of the five major European championships.
Barcelona’s case shows that territorial anchor-ing can be a plus even for a global club. The numerous trophies obtained during the last decade are indeed for the most part linked to the exceptional qualities of home-grown play-ers such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué or Sergio Busquets. More recent-ly, the change in the strategic orientation of Chelsea towards giving more room to players from the youth academy, without a loss in competitiveness, indicates that the deterrito-rialisation of football remains a choice rather than an obligation.
The analysis of strategies for squad composi-tion during the 2010s thus shows that although money is more than ever a key factor, other el-ements come into play. Squad stability stem-ming from good strategic planning, as well as the ability of clubs to get the best out of the talents trained in their youth academies and to stimulate a strong sense of belonging to all parties concerned (players, staff, supporters, etc.), remain crucial success criteria even in the today’s hyper-commercial and globalised environment.