Photographer Eoin Mundow, owner at independent sports photo agency Cleva Media, {and ‘sometimes’ photoarchivenews.com pro sports photo reporter} sent in this report: “On Friday 11th Feb I traveled to Barcelona as I was intrigued to find out more about their youth academy. I had read various articles about La Masia their famed academy, but noticed a distinct lack of decent photography. As a photo journalist I took the time to research in depth the new era of La Masia and the academy under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanova and Aureli Altimira.
I spent most of the day on Saturday photographing the young players who want to follow in the footsteps of their idols Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and co. What was amazing is that despite their young age they ooze confidence, displaying wonderful technical ability and play in an almost identical manner to the Barca first team – quick, fluid, one touch football.
I took time to speak with the security guards, families and the players and got a really unique insight into the youth academy and why it is so successful. It was great experience and I tried to capture the ambiance of the day in the most creative way possible. Barcelona and their staff were really accomodating, as were the players and the families. It truly is – “Mes que un Club”
click the set to view the full shoot