CA Osasuna cantera

The cantera (quarry) of Spanish professional football club CA Osasuna is the organisation's youth academy, developing players from childhood through to the integration of the best prospects into the adult teams.

CA Osasuna (youth system)

Full name	Club Atlético Osasuna
Ground	Tajonar Facilities, Pamplona, Navarre, Spain
Capacity	4,000
President	Luis Sabalza
Head coach	David García
League	División de Honor
2018-19	División de Honor, Gr. 2, 9th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

The final category within the youth structure is the Juvenil A (Basque: Gazteak A) under-18/19 team which represents the club in national competition. The successful graduates then usually move to the club's affiliated team for younger players, CD Iruña, or to the reserve team, Osasuna B which are also considered part of the cantera due to being stages in progression towards the senior team, albeit competing in the adult league system.

The academy is based at the club training complex, Tajonar, which is often the name used informally to refer to the system itself.

Background

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 Osasuna is no exception. Their youth recruitment network is focused primarily around their home region of Navarre and there are collaboration agreements in place with the small clubs in the region.

Navarre has a population of just 640,000, a small catchment zone for an elite football club, and additionally Osasuna faces a battle for some of the region's talented young players due to the presence of Athletic Bilbao, whose Basque-only player recruitment policy includes Navarre in its definition.[1] In the 1990s and 2000s, several prominent players made the journey directly from Pamplona to Bilbao, including Ziganda, Larrainzar, Lacruz, Tiko, Orbaiz, Javi Martínez, David López and Muñoz,[2] while others such as Goikoetxea, José Mari and Ezquerro moved from Osasuna to Athletic via other clubs. The Biscay organisation have an affiliate team (UDC Txantrea) in Pamplona,[3][4][5] and several promising players who might otherwise have been likely to join Osasuna, the closest major club to their home towns (such as Iraizoz, Gurpegui, Llorente, San José and Muniain) were recruited by Athletic instead. This situation of increasingly aggressive recruitment fostered a tense relationship between the two clubs, arguably more so than any on-field battles.[6][7][5]

After a spell in the late 2000s during which Osasuna had few new academy graduates joining their main squad while Athletic reached a European final with a team full of Navarros,[8][9] the trend reversed - Osasuna's relegation from La Liga in 2014 provided an opportunity for several academy players to integrate into the side in the less intense atmosphere of the second tier, and they played a role in the club's return to the top level in 2016. Meanwhile, Athletic recruited hardly any youth players from Navarre in the same period.[5]

According to a 2016 report, Osasuna had a total of 11 homegrown players (as per UEFA guidelines, three years of training between 15 and 21 years old) still at their formative club, with another 5 at other top clubs across Europe.[10] As a club from a small city with limited resources, the youth department's ability to train such coveted players (as well as provide others to the senior squad) is a vital source of income. The departures of four of the former youth players – Raúl García,[11] Monreal,[12] Javi Martínez[13] and Azpilicueta[14] – , who all became Spanish internationals, earned Osasuna €31 million in transfer fees; the fifth and last of those departures, under-21 midfielder Mikel Merino, brought in a further €4 million. In summer 2017, Álex Berenguer became the latest canterano to move abroad for a considerable fee (€5.5 million),[15] an important financial boost in the wake of another relegation. Athletic Bilbao had been interested in Berenguer, but no deal was agreed due in part to the rivalry between the clubs. At the same time, Athletic secured the signature of 18-year-old Jesús Areso from Osasuna's youth team, paying his modest contractual release clause amount, making it impossible for Osasuna to reject the approach; this led to the Pamplona club temporarily breaking relations with their Bilbao neighbours in annoyance due to the impolite manner in which their board felt the business was conducted.[16][5]

Another analysis in 2016 concluded that the Navarre region was the most successful in Spain for producing top-level footballers per head of population (25 players, equating to 39 per million residents) thanks to the efforts of both Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao in recruiting and developing local talent.[17]

National Competitions

The Juvenil A team play in Group II of the División de Honor Juvenil as their regular annual competition. Their main rivals in the league group are Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad. The under-17 team, Juvenil B, plays in the Liga Nacional Juvenil which is the lower division of the same structure.

The team also occasionally participates in the Copa de Campeones and the Copa del Rey Juvenil, qualification for which is dependent on final league group position. In these nationwide competitions the opposition includes the academy teams of Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Sevilla and Real Madrid.

International Tournaments

It is possible for Osasuna Juvenil to participate in the UEFA Youth League, either by winning the previous season's Copa de Campeones or by way of the senior team qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stages, but so far neither has been achieved.

Structure

The core of boys from the Navarre region are first introduced into the Tajonar Futbol 8 teams at around 10 years of age and advance by an age group every season through Infantil, Cadete and Juvenil levels. In the past, players retained after their Juvenil A spell (aged about 17) would typically move to reserve team CA Osasuna B (Promesas) to gain experience in an adult league (Segunda División B level in most years). However, Promesas is an under-23 team and it can be difficult for the younger players to make an impact. Some other leading clubs in Spain have a further reserve team or an affiliated club in the lower Tercera División level to bridge this gap (see Villarreal CF C/Real Sociedad C/CD Basconia/Sevilla FC C), and in 2016 Osasuna made an agreement with local CD Iruña to fulfil the role. Therefore, in the coming years some of the youth academy graduates will spend 1 or 2 seasons at Iruña before the best players progress to Osasuna Promesas, and thereafter on to the senior team when considered ready to do so.

Head coaches

The coaches are often former Osasuna players who themselves graduated from Tajonar.

Squad	Age	Coach	Tier	League
Juvenil A	16-18	David García	1	División de Honor (Gr. II)
Juvenil B	16-17	Iñaki Muñoz	2	Liga Nacional (Gr. XVI)
Cadete A	15-16	Jonathan Unanua	1	Liga Cadete Navarra
Cadete B	14-15	Pablo Orbaiz	2	Primera Cadete

Current squads

Juvenil División de Honor

As of 20 January 2021 [18]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ESP Ander Ibáñez — GK  ESP Yoel Ramírez — DF  ESP Asier Pérez — DF  ESP Eloy Goñi — DF  ESP Iñaki Rupérez — DF  ESP Ion Ander Marcos — DF  ESP Jon de Luis — DF  ESP Jon Vergara — DF  ESP Sergio Pascual — DF  ESP Xabier Irurita — MF  ESP Adama Boiro — MF  ESP Cristian Mutilva

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ESP Ignacio Fernández — MF  ESP Iker Benito — MF  ESP Iker Muñoz — MF  ESP Jesús Macaya — MF  ESP Jorge Hernández — MF  ESP Mario Sánchez — MF  ESP Miguel Pascal — FW  ESP Alejandro Morales — FW  ESP Asier Berruete — FW  ESP Daniel Sancho — FW  DOM Nowend Lorenzo

Juvenil Liga Nacional

As of 20 January 2021[19]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ESP Adrián Tabuenca — GK  ESP Javier Huarte — GK  ESP Rafa Fernández — DF  ESP Adrián Urra — DF  ESP Eneko Sierra — DF  ESP Javier Moreno — DF  ESP Joan Úriz — DF  ESP Juan Suárez — DF  ESP Lisandro Massoco — DF  ESP Manuel Yanguas — DF  ESP Mario Alonso — DF  ESP Mario Salazar — DF  ESP Miguel Auría — DF  ESP Mikel Ansó — DF  ESP Rubén Ruiz

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ESP Víctor Ciáurriz — MF  ESP Aimar Martiarena — MF  ESP Asier Osambela — MF  ESP David Delgado — MF  ESP Eneko Oroz — MF  ESP Iker Lekuona — MF  ESP Imanol Beloki — MF  ESP Iñaki Vicente — MF  ESP Kaiet Ezpelta — MF  ESP Lucas Ibáñez — MF  ESP Xabier Ormaetxea — FW  ESP Iker Osua — FW  ESP Iván Cuéllar — FW  ESP Juan Asirón — FW  ESP Óscar Pérez

Season to season (Juvenil A)

Superliga / Liga de Honor sub-19

Seasons with two or more trophies shown in bold[20]

: :Season: :	Level	Group	Position	Copa del Rey Juvenil	Notes
1986–87	1		6th	Quarter-final
1987–88	1		7th	Round of 16
1988–89	1		2nd	Semi-final
1989–90	1		7th	Quarter-final
1990–91	1		12th	Semi-final
1991–92	1		6th	Round of 16
1992–93	1		5th	Semi-final
1993–94	1		16th	N/A	Relegated
1994–95	2	2	1st	N/A	No promotion due to restructuring

División de Honor Juvenil

Seasons with two or more trophies shown in bold

*Season*	Level	Group	Position	Copa del Rey Juv.	Copa de Campeones	Europe/notes
1995–96	1	2	3rd	Round of 16	N/A	---
1996–97	1	2	3rd	Quarter-final	N/A	---
1997–98	1	2	6th	N/A	N/A	---
1998–99	1	2	5th	N/A	N/A	---
1999–00	1	2	4th	N/A	N/A	---
2000–01	1	2	1st	Semi-final	Winners	---
2001–02	1	2	4th	N/A	N/A	---
2002–03	1	2	2nd	Quarter-final	N/A	---
2003–04	1	2	3rd	Runners-up	N/A	---
2004–05	1	2	1st	Round of 16	2nd in group of 3	---
2005–06	1	2	4th	N/A	N/A	---
2006–07	1	2	6th	N/A	N/A	---
2007–08	1	2	2nd	Round of 16	N/A	---
2008–09	1	2	5th	N/A	N/A	---
2009–10	1	2	3rd	N/A	N/A	---
2010–11	1	2	3rd	Round of 16	N/A	---
2011–12	1	2	4th	N/A	N/A	N/A
2012–13	1	2	2nd	Quarter-final	N/A	N/A
2013–14	1	II	5th	N/A	N/A	N/A
2014–15	1	II	3rd	N/A	N/A	N/A
2015–16	1	II	4th	N/A	N/A	N/A
2016–17	1	II	1st	Round of 16	Quarter-final	N/A
2017–18	1	II	10th	N/A	N/A	N/A
2018–19	1	II	9th	N/A	N/A	N/A
2019–20[lower-alpha 1]	1	II	3rd	N/A	N/A	N/A

1. In March 2020, all fixtures were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. On 6 May 2020, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced the premature end of the leagues, revoking all relegations, declaring each divisional leader as champion and cancelling the Copa del Rey Juvenil and the Copa de Campeones for the season.[21]

Famous players

Notable graduates who passed through the youth system on their way to establishing themselves with the Osasuna senior side and/or other clubs include:

As of August 2019

players currently at Osasuna in bold, 'graduation' year in parentheses

Enrique Martín (1975) Roberto Santamaría Calavia (1981) José Ángel Ziganda (1985) Ion Andoni Goikoetxea (1985) Txomin Larrainzar (1988) Iñigo Larrainzar (1989) José Mari (1989) Santi Castillejo (1990) César Cruchaga (1992) Javier López Vallejo (1992) Txomin Nagore (1993) César Palacios (1993) José Manuel Mateo (1994) Santiago Ezquerro (1994) Marí Lacruz (1994) Chema (1994) Patxi Puñal (1994) Tiko (1995) Josetxo (1995) Pablo Orbaiz (1996)

Iñaki Muñoz (1997) Juan Elía (1997) José Izquierdo (1998) David López (2001) Javier Flaño (2001) Miguel Flaño (2001) Iñaki Astiz (2002) Raúl García (2004) Oier (2005) Javi Martínez (2005) César Azpilicueta (2006) Roberto Torres (2007) Unai García (2011) David García (2011) Miguel Olavide (2013) Mikel Merino (2014) Álex Berenguer (2014) Kike Barja (2014) Aitor Buñuel (2016)

Honours

National competitions

• División de Honor (Group II): (regional league)
  • 0 (Liga Nacional Juvenil 1975-86)
  • 3 2001, 2005, 2017 ( current format since 1995)
• Copa de Campeones:
  • 0 (runners-up 1989) (Superliga Juvenil / Liga de Honor Sub-19, single league, 1986–95)
  • 1 2001 (current format since 1995)
• Copa del Rey: (since 1951)
  • winners 0 times
  • runners-up 1 time 2004[22]

See also

• CA Osasuna senior team
• Osasuna B ‘Promesas’ - reserve team
• CD Iruña – affiliated club

References

1. "Tajonar y el eterno peligro" [Tajonar and the eternal danger] (in Spanish). Vavel. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
2. "Areso, último capítulo del trasvase Osasuna-Athletic" [Areso, latest chapter of the Osasuna-Athletic transfers]. Marca (in Spanish). 7 July 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
3. "El fértil vivero navarro del Athletic" [Athletic's fertile Navarrese nursery]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 8 February 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
4. "El Txantrea renueva como club convenido del Athletic hasta 2021" [Txantrea renews as Athletic collaboration club until 2021] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
5. "Lezama y Navarra y viceversa" [Lezama and Navarre and vice versa]. Futbol 948 (in Spanish). 24 November 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
6. "El Osasuna y el Athletic dirimen un duelo de rivalidad regional lleno de alicientes" [Osasuna and Athletic set a duel of regional rivalry full of incentives]. Diario de León (in Spanish). 26 October 2005. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
7. "Rivalidad, una motivación" [Rivalry, a motivation]. Noticias de Navarra (in Spanish). 1 April 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
8. "La navarra, una cantera expoliada" [Navarre, an emptied quarry] (in Spanish). El Diario Vasco. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
9. "La Chantrea, el mejor vivero, es del Athletic" [Chantrea, Athletic's best nursery] (in Spanish). El Diario Vasco. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
10. "Revealed! Which clubs produce the most of Europe's top players?". FourFourTwo. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
11. "Aguirre gets thumbs up from Atlético". UEFA.com. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
12. "Monreal jugará en el Málaga las próximas cinco temporadas" [Monreal will play with Málaga in next four seasons]. Marca (in Spanish). 10 June 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
13. "Athletic spend big on starlet". Sky Sports. 2 July 2006. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
14. "Azpi pour 9.5 million euros?" [Azpi for 9.5 million euros?] (in French). Mercato 365. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
15. "El Club Atlético Osasuna alcanza un acuerdo con el Torino Football Club para el traspaso de Álex Berenguer" [Club Atlético Osasuna reach an agreement with Torino Football Club for the transfer of Álex Berenguer]. Official Website (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. 17 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
16. "Osasuna cut ties with Athletic Club in aftermath of Areso transfer". Marca. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
17. "Navarra, cantera de futbolistas" [Navarre, quarry of footballers] (in Spanish). Noticias de Navarra. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
18. "Osasuna website: Juvenil A squad 16/17" (in Spanish).
19. "CA Osasuna website: Juvenil B squad 16/17" (in Spanish).
20. Historical Spanish Juvenile Competition Results
21. "Comunicado de la RFEF en relación con las competiciones no profesionales del fútbol español" [RFEF announcement in relation to the non-professional competitions in Spanish football] (in Spanish). RFEF. 6 May 2020.
22. "Historia DH Juvenil. Sporting y Espanyol campeones en 2004" [History of Youth Honour Division; Sporting and Espanyol champions in 2004] (in Spanish). Vendovos Mareo. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2017.