2019-04-01 World Soccer

€45m deal. And the list of such

sumptuous sell-ons is endless.

In the space of a couple of decades,

Porto has become Europe’s Ellis Island,

both a favoured port of entry and

platform for eventual stardom in the

continent’s major leagues.

The great Porto plan, instituted by

president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa

sounds simple enough. But it’s quite

a balancing act to constantly sell one’s

best players, continually find adequate

replacements and still remain competitive.

The key to everything, of course, is an

outstanding scouting network.

Porto have some 250 talent-spotting

“eyes” in football hotspots around the

world. They boast an extensive player

database and a meticulous system of

calibrating potential, and in the last few

years they have set up “Dragon Force”

academies in Valencia in Spain, the

Colombian city of Bogota and Toronto,

Canada. Never hesitating to check out

a target, this is an organisation which has

all bases covered.

Porto like to keep the details of their

scouting wiles under wraps; for obvious

reasons they do not want to run the risk

of industrial espionage. However, some

information has come to light.

According to French TV station Canal

Plus, Porto have invested in a huge video

observation suite, a facility with hundreds

T

he extensive use of young

talent, either lured away from

other French clubs or entirely

spawned in-house, represents

the absolute essence of today’s Lyon.

Acutely aware that his club has no

chance of competing with Paris Saint-

Germain’s immense spending power,

OL president Jean-Michel Aulas sees

an organic approach to staffing as the

only possible solution.

“Our strategy is clear and precise,”

Aulas told the club’s website last autumn.

“In a world where the transfer market

is worth more than €5billion a year, we

aim to continue investing in the sporting

development of both boys and girls.

“Our academy remains the number

one in France and among the best in

Europe. We bring on youngsters, they

blossom and they become targets in

the European market.

“You cannot prevent your best players

wanting to one day play in Madrid,

Barcelona or Manchester. Nabil Fekir

almost joined Liverpool last summer,

beyond that puts our existence at risk.

“I’m sure supporters would not want

to see the club back where it was when

I arrived: in Ligue 2 and in dire financial

straits.”

When they do buy, OL would much

rather bring in a teenage prospect from

elsewhere in France. The best recent

examples? Former Valenciennes

defensive midfielder Lucas Tousart,

full-back Ferland Mendy (ex-Le Havre)

and winger Maxwel Cornet (Metz).

Alexander Lacazette

€0m,

sold €53m to Arsenal

Corentin Tolisso

€0m,

sold €41.5m to Bayern Munich

Karim Benzema

€0m,

sold €35m to Real Madrid

Michael Essien

bought €8m from Bastia

sold €30m to Chelsea

Mohamadou Diarra

bought €4m from Vitesse

sold €35m to Real Madrid

Samuel Umtiti

€0m,

sold €25m to Barcelona

Mariano Diaz

bought €8m from Real Madrid

sold €23m to Real Madrid

while Houssem Aouar, Tanguy Ndombele

and Ferland Mendy attracted interest too.

“Our model is appreciated everywhere.

We’re praised for our infrastructure, our

youth development programme and

women’s football. We are, perhaps, a little

ahead of the rest.

“This is how we will stay competitive and

one day will reach the European summit.”

As far as Aulas is concerned, no player

is ever untransferable. If his asking price

is met, there is every chance of a deal.

If not, he walks away. Whether buying or

selling, he always strikes a hard bargain.

In the last 10 years, no fewer than 47

OL academy pupils have gone on to turn

professional with the club – and given

the money, effort and thought which

has been pumped into the system, that’s

hardly surprising. Their youth department

has a healthy annual budget of €6million,

they opened a wonderful new academy

three years ago and have over a hundred

people working there. Nothing is left

to chance, particularly in the areas

of education, medical facilities and

psychological

back-up.

Only rarely

do OL spend

cash on a prime-

time individual.

According to

Aulas, it’s simply

not feasible.

“Paying €23m

for Memphis

Depay was a

one-off,” he

declared in a piece

in Lyon daily Le

Progres in October.

“The €20m

we spent on

Moussa Dembele

is our limit. Going

Scouting Networks

Experience...Ajax

staff oversee a

training session

LYO N

Team-work...Jean-

Michel Aulas (right)

and scout Florian

Maurice after

signing Marcal

Wanted...Nabil Fekir