Latest debutants help VCF Academy reach milestone figure

The VCF Academy and the Ciudad Deportiva have long been fruitful sources of players at the top level. Since the club opened the training facility in Paterna in February of 1992, some 125 players have come through to appear for the Valencia CF first team.

The debuts this past Tuesday for Alejandro Panach, Lucas Núñez, and Marc Jurado in the Copa del Rey capped the historic milestone. They are the latest three players to have turned out at least once for VCF Mestalla, then made their debut for the senior side, since the Ciudad Deportiva opened its doors.

A mural bearing the slogan "From Paterna to Mestalla," greets the young players at the VCF Academy every day on their way to their training pitches, serving as a constant reminder of their dreams.

Current Valencia CF squad members José Luis Gayà, Javi Guerra, Diego López, César Tárrega, and Cristian Rivero are some of the names that appear on that mural, along with other illustrious talents such as Juan Sánchez, Gaizka Mendieta, Miguel Ángel Angulo, David Albelda, David Silva, Jordi Alba, Isco Alarcón, Carlos Soler, Kang In, and Ferran Torres. Torres, Raúl Albiol and Juan Bernat.

Before the opening of the Ciudad Deportiva, the club already had a history of bringing through homegrown players at a facility in Paterna, such as Voro, Giner, Camarasa, Tendillo, Fernando and more.

These 125 players back up the work of the many professionals at the VCF Academy, across the various departments that support players in their development to becoming elite players.

Muchos de ellos desde Fútbol 8, como ha sido el caso de Alejandro Panach y Lucas Núñez, otros incorporados en otras etapas más avanzadas como Marc Jurado.

Many more players trained at the VCF Academy perhaps didn't reach the Valencia CF first team, but did go on to play professional football -either in LaLiga or in competitions in other countries.

In the last 20 years, the VCF Academy has been a constant in the Top 10 of clubs to have produced players competing in the five biggest European leagues, according to the CIES Football Observatory annual report.