At La Masia, the loom where Barcelona FC’s young talent is woven, you learn big lessons early.
“You learn that the people who do the work of the club – trainers to the staff around the stadium, everyone, how much they all matter,” said Ilie Sanchez, now captain of Los Angeles Football Club and decades removed from his early days at Barcelona’s famed youth academy. “A lot was familiar to me already because Barcelona was my home and I grew up learning lessons about the club.
“Barça was part of my identity and my culture,” the 33-year-old said in an almost-reverent hush about the club where he learned his craft from the age of seven to nine, before returning to play for Barcelona B between 2009 and 2014. “It’s part of who I am.”
Ilie was born in Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, to a family steeped in the club’s traditions. His parents were club members. His grandfather was the academy director of La Masia. Ilie’s blood was tinted blaugrana from his time in the womb. And, as a wide-eyed local, he was surrounded by academy mates from all over the world. They lived their lives at La Masia’s stone farmhouse, behind its centuries-old wooden doors, learning the lessons passed on like a magic scroll from the times of László Kubala in the 1960s to Johan Cruyff, up to Guardiola and beyond.
Ilie lived at home with his parents, was able to stay in his school and spend time with his classmates. He was a rare local in La Masia’s mix.
It’s hard, as Americans, to measure the value of Barcelona FC to the Catalan people of Spain. More than a Club is more than a slogan. It’s a measure of “values and manners, the product of specific education on and off the field,” according to Ilie. He’ll not brag about the many times he was called into Pep Guardiola’s training sessions, or having played, as a young apprentice, on those training pitches with all-time game-changers like Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Xavi, Carles Puyol and, yes, Messi too.
Humility oozes from Ilie when he talks. He takes his time to make sure he gets his point across properly. He has a near-perfect command of English, his third language behind Spanish and Catalan. Each syllable is pronounced with care.
It’s that same care that he takes with the ball on the pitch. He brought the lessons learned at La Masia thousands of miles and an ocean west, first to the American heartland and Sporting Kansas City, before landing in the City of Angels as the metronome deep-lying midfielder in LAFC’s ambitious success machine. Coach Steve Cherundolo calls Ilie “the team’s strategic leader.”
He’s now on the verge of lifting his second U.S. Open Cup trophy, an accomplishment he speaks of in only the most respectful terms. It’s the same respect on display when discussion turns to his first club in the United States, Sporting Kansas City, where he spent his first five years of what he calls his “American Journey.” Incidentally, and somehow poetically, that same club where he was adored by the KC fans, will be his opponent in the 2024 Open Cup Final on September 25th.
“It was a very special moment,” Ilie said of winning the 2017 Open Cup eight months after arriving in Kansas City. The move Stateside came after post-Barcelona stops at 1860 Munich and back on loan in Spain with second-division Elche. “A perfect way to start my life in the United States, lifting a trophy.”
It’s telling that Ilie pauses the conversation, circling back to discuss, in more detail, what his five years in Kansas City meant to him. “SKC is a role model for the rest of the teams in the league. And that starts with how the club is managed, but also with the fans,” he said, careful to be understood. “Other teams can learn by watching Kansas City. Having it be the first place I landed in this country gave me a sense of what the standards are.”
It’s safe to say that the peculiar KC tradition of spray-painting the stadium wall after a notable victory was something new to Ilie. “I didn’t know anything about this,” he said with a smile, remembering the fans chanting for then-captain Matt Besler to paint a crude 2017 in white on the wall of honor at Children’s Mercy Park – to be replaced in the off-season with a more permanent marker.
“It felt like something the fans called for, which is wonderful, how they engage with that,” said Ilie, whose curiosity seems boundless. “I can’t explain how good it feels to be welcomed into a new culture and tradition that way.”
It was the first trophy for Ilie as a pro. When he was with Barça’s B, in Munich later and out on loan to Elche “we fought for promotion to the division above,” he said of the challenges he faced. “But your goal as a pro and your motivation here is a chance to lift a trophy. MLS is a place where everyone has a chance to lift a trophy at the end of the season, this is a new thing for me to celebrate.”
Now, in a twist of fate, it’s Ilie’s job to keep the fans in KC from a rare moment of joy in a disappointing season. It’s not personal, because another lesson you learn early at Barça is the deep responsibility of winning all you can for the team’s fans, the beating heart of any club. Those fans, for Ilie, now in the twilight of his playing days, are the 3252. They wear Black and Gold instead of Sporting Blue.
It was the first trophy for Ilie as a pro. When he was with Barça’s B, in Munich later and out on loan to Elche “we fought for promotion to the division above,” he said of the challenges he faced. “But your goal as a pro and your motivation here is a chance to lift a trophy. MLS is a place where everyone has a chance to lift a trophy at the end of the season, this is a new thing for me to celebrate.”
Now, in a twist of fate, it’s Ilie’s job to keep the fans in KC from a rare moment of joy in a disappointing season. It’s not personal, because another lesson you learn early at Barça is the deep responsibility of winning all you can for the team’s fans, the beating heart of any club. Those fans, for Ilie, now in the twilight of his playing days, are the 3252. They wear Black and Gold instead of Sporting Blue.
Fontela is editor-in-chief of usopencup.com. Follow him at @jonahfontela on X/Twitter.