On Monday, Paris Saint-Germain celebrated the 50th anniversary of its youth academy. A ceremony was held to mark the occasion, attended by Yohan Cabaye, the academy’s technical director, Sabrina Delannoy, assistant sporting director, and Luis Campos, the club’s sporting director. Campos delivered a speech explaining the collaborative work surrounding the academy.
Campos said, “When the players arrive, they are prepared to deliver in training.”
“I would like to thank everyone who has spent these past 50 years at the academy. I’ve benefited from it since day one, especially with Kimpembe. I found him to be an exceptional player and an exceptional person. That’s also the goal of the academy: to develop people with that mentality.
The integration of young players is more personal here. We have a staircase; the players go up, and I also go down to hold meetings. When the players arrive, they are prepared to deliver in training.”
Campos: “Luis Enrique was able to explain these playing principles.”
“The first important thing we created here was the opportunity for all the coaches to share. There was a two-hour session dedicated to this. It was the best time I spent at this club. It was a moment of sharing. Luis Enrique was able to explain these playing principles.”
“Luis Enrique said, ‘I’m not giving you training ideas, how to play…’ but he said, ‘I’m explaining my working method. It’s up to you to create your own exercises, adapting them to your players. When the players go up, they need to understand these principles. That way, when they go up, they won’t be in difficulty.'”
Campos: “We always keep this space reserved for our young players.”
“If the players have the talent, there are three speeds, in my opinion, that will be linked to their success.” The speed of maturation… I remember Warren (Zaire-Emery) at 16, he already had that physique. A very developed intelligence. The second speed is that of adaptation. As soon as you climb that famous ladder, with pros who are like war machines, you adapt more or less quickly to what the coach or the club demands. We talked about it this week in a press conference. Luis Enrique said, “I don’t give anything away to young players. It’s a reward because they deserve it.”
The last speed is like in life, it’s the speed of the opportunity to play. They mature, they adapt quickly. But at the same time, a center-back or someone else gets injured. And they’ll get the opportunity.
It’s not about having two players per position, it’s about having 14-15 players already with the skills to play at PSG. And this also gives us the opportunity to have six or seven young players from our academy in training. We always keep this space reserved for our youngsters,” remarks relayed by RMC Sport.
For several seasons, PSG has been working to improve its youth academy and, above all, the relationship between the first team and the academy. Luis Campos quickly realized that PSG was capable of developing and nurturing players with the talent to match its ambitions. By bringing in a coach like Luis Enrique, the capital club also focused on choosing someone whose teaching methods and management skills allow them to take charge of these young players.
Recent results, both on and off the pitch for each PSG youth player, confirm that the established method is working. Obviously, the coming years will also be crucial, as the Parisian youth academy will gain even more reputation. But by building solid foundations, PSG is managing to structure itself and develop. A great club needs a high-performing training centre and that is exactly what Luis Campos and his counterparts are putting in place.
