Manita made in La Masia

Anna Segura

The Blaugrana philosophy, that uniquely embodies this team, was clearly on display in el clásico and the style won not only the game but also praise from football fans and the media round the globe.

Pep Guardiola has placed a lot of faith in the club's youngsters that have come through La Masia, the famous building next to Camp Nou that houses the cream of the crop of starlets. Against Real Madrid in goal was Víctor Valdés while in front of him was central defensive pairing of Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué. In midfield was the trio of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andr´se Iniesta and up front were Pedro and Lionel Messi. Coming off the bench to great effect were Jeffren Suárez and Bojan Krkic.

Special goals
Iker Casillas had to lift the ball out of his net on no less than occasions and all had the mark of La Masia. The first goal came from Xavi, who was set up by Iniesta, then Pedro scored number two. Villa netted the third and fourth goals with Messi setting him up while Bojan combined with Jeffren for the fifth late on.

Media frenzy
The media are still raving about the incredible display with French daily L'Equipe asking on Wednesday if Guardiola's team had already earned themselves a place in the football history books. The philosophy has been the same under Guardiola as he placed his trust in the youngsters from the start as the Champions league final win against Manchester United in 2008 showed when eight homegrown players were used. Eight more were also present last season when the club won the FIFA World Club Cup.