At the end of Real Madrid’s win against Sevilla at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, their most lauded players were the ‘canteranos’ who had stepped up from the academy.
As they made their way to the dressing room post-match, their senior team-mates sought them out and made gestures of appreciation to Victor Munoz, Gonzalo Garcia and Jacobo Ramon. Few knew them until recently but they all played important roles in Sunday’s 2-0 victory. After Kylian Mbappe’s opening goal, a move set up by Victor and Gonzalo gave Jude Bellingham the second.
“It was a really good move by the two youngsters and I was there for an easy goal,” said Bellingham, apparently forgetting he is the same age as two of his inexperienced team-mates at 21 and a year older than the other but wanting to give them credit.
Earlier, the game was turned on its head in Madrid’s favour by the dismissals of Sevilla players Loic Bade, who hauled down a goalbound Mbappe in the 12th minute and Isaac Romero, sent off for a high studs-up challenge on Aurelien Tchouameni in the 48th.
But those academy players definitely changed Madrid’s mood in the second half, despite a strange atmosphere in the stadium due to the protests of home fans against Sevilla’s board and especially after Barcelona had been confirmed as the new champions of La Liga, succeeding Madrid, by beating Espanyol on Thursday.
But the roles played by the trio are not so surprising at Valdebebas, Madrid’s training complex, where staff know the virtues of these youngsters. After they shone in Seville last night, The Athletic explores why they have not played much in the first team before and what the future could hold.
During this season, Carlo Ancelotti has been criticised by fans as well as voices within the club for giving too few opportunities to young players but privately, the coaching staff have often believed that that injuries and a lack of squad depth have made that too difficult.
Nevertheless, in this time, the Italian has given debuts to seven players: goalkeeper Fran Gonzalez, defenders Diego Aguado, Lorenzo Aguado and Raul Asencio, midfielder Chema Andres and forwards Victor and Daniel Yanez.
With more than 40 games to his name already, the one who has played the most and who is the most established is the central defender Asencio — although he was absent against Sevilla due to discomfort, according to the club.
But in Sevilla, there were some ‘canteranos’ (homegrown players) who have had less prominence during the season but who showed that they are ready for something more.
The first of these was Gonzalo, who came on in the 66th minute but was the one who made the most of his moment.
At Castilla (Madrid’s B team), the 21-year-old is the reference of the attack. Almost 24 hours before playing in Seville, the forward scored his 25th goal of the season for Castilla in a 4-0 win over Fuenlabrada and equalled the record of former player Mariano Diaz for the most goals in a season with the team.
Gonzalo Garcia, second from left, congratulates Jude Bellingham after his goal against Sevilla (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Despite having so little rest, Gonzalo came out on the right flank and was seen pressing with effusiveness. He later provided the assist for Bellingham’s header for the second goal, in an action where the rookie forward demonstrated his aerial ability despite not being overly tall (1.82 metres).
The young striker had already announced himself as a great finisher after heading in the winning goal for Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey against Leganes in February.
Although Gonzalo had a drought of nine consecutive games without scoring with Castilla, in Valdebebas they define him as a very complete striker who is ready to take the next step in professional football.
According to different senior voices from La Liga teams, practically half of the Primera teams are admirers of Gonzalo.
However, the big breakthrough in Castilla this season has been that of Victor.
In Seville, the 21-year-old showed a lot of mobility on the left flank after his 58th-minute introduction and above all, a lot of self-confidence. During the move that led to that Bellingham goal goal, he had enough vision to see Gonzalo free and cross to him.
A week earlier, in El Clasico, he created a lot of danger in the final minutes and came very close to scoring the equaliser with a deflected shot (which forced him to block abusive comments on his social media afterwards). In that same game, according to sources close to him, he registered the second-highest top speed in La Liga (and it wasn’t his best) and he has some better speed stats than Vinicius Junior.
In Valdebebas, Victor is another of those who is classified as a player who must take the next step to professional football and for his part, the camp of Victor believe that this summer he has serious options to leave, with offers from Primera and Segunda, but also from outside Spain.
In 2017, the winger was precisely discarded by Barcelona but it is said that he never doubted that he was going to be a professional and after a spell with the Catalan team Dammm, he was recruited by Madrid where he has gone from strength to strength (this season ,he has scored 10 goals and seven assists for Castilla).
Victor Munoz is challenged by Sevilla’s Manu Bueno (Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images)
But the ‘canterano’ that the coaching staff are trusting the most at the end of the season is Jacobo. After his goal against Mallorca that gave Madrid the victory in the previous game, he was back in the starting XI against Sevilla.
In the warm-up, the 20-year centre-back shot shot to the top corner as if he was a striker but then he had good defensive numbers, taking advantage of his physical power (he is 1.96 metres tall): three recoveries, four of five ground duels won and nine defensive actions.
In the first half, he almost injured his ankle while jump ingand Sevilla striker Alvaro Garcia also came close to scoring. Despite the scare, Jacobo was brave enough to go out and defend in the opposition half.
At Valdebebas, they believe he can still develop and be one of the players Juvenil A (under-19s) coach Alvaro Arbeloa wants to keep if he ends up coaching Castilla — an increasingly possible option for next season.
“He is a player who is at the same level as Raul Asencio,” said Ancelotti. “He has had quite a long injury (at the beginning of the season, Jacobo suffered the same muscle injury several times, according to Madrid staff sources) but he is a player who has the characteristics to be a centre-back for Madrid. He is a bit shy and that’s why he hasn’t been able to show all his qualities. He needs more time but he can be in the Madrid squad next year.”
Jacobo was coached at the academy by Madrid managerial target Xabi Alonso when he was 14 and now voices from the player’s camp hope he will be called up for the Club World Cup.
Xabi Alonso x Jacobo Ramon 🔙🤍⏳ pic.twitter.com/UZKPhZD2Ud
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) May 14, 2025
A change of head coach at Real Madrid and the change of planning in any case means a new stage for all promising academy players, including others such as Fran, Chema and Joan Martinez (who is just recovering from an ACL injury in his left leg), who could all now be given more opportunities.
“I think Raul (Gonzalez) has done a very good job with these players (from Castilla) because they have progressed a lot,” Ancelotti continued. “I’m not saying they can play for Real Madrid but they are very close to helping with the first team.
“Raul has had a season with the same difficulties as me (with injuries) but he has been able to get the best out of this team and above all, to make the young players progress.”
The arrivals of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and the search for a left-back make it necessary to be cautious when talking about a drastic change of dynamic at Madrid in terms of the use of youth players because it has not been something very recurrent in recent years due to the club’s policy, which is more focused on their development abroad.
However, at a time when Barcelona’s La Masia is back in the limelight after their La Liga win, games like Madrid’s in Sevilla serve as a reminder that La Fabrica is one of the best youth academies in Europe — perhaps even the best if we stick to the production of ‘canteranos’.
(Top photos: Victor Munoz, left, and Gonzalo Garcia)