Danny Buck believes that Wednesday’s 2-1 friendly defeat against Barcelona shows that Brentford’s Academy can compete with the very best clubs in the world.
An Under-16 side travelled the Spanish city on Tuesday to take on the Catalan club whose Academy can boast graduates such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas.
At the club’s renowned La Masia Training Complex Brentford took the lead after 11 minutes as Danny Parish swept home Luke Dunn’s deep cross.
The hosts hit back six minutes later to level through Porquemos and took the lead just before half-time as Edgar beat Cameron Greaves at the second attempt.
Brentford took the game to Barcelona in the second-half and enjoyed far the better of the half in terms of chances and possession.
Julius Fenn-Evans was inches away from connecting to Joshua Bohui’s pullback at the far post while in the dying seconds Adria in the home goal made a fantastic block to deny George Harmes.
Speaking to Bees Player after the game Danny Buck could not hide his pride at what Brentford had achieved in taking the game to the 22 time La Liga Champions.
The former Arsenal and Tottenham Hostpur coach believes that experiences and results like this one show what a unique set-up Brentford has with its Academy.
“We are very pleased with the players,” said Danny.
“The first-half was tough and they had a bit more possession than we did.
“We came out second-half and really started to play to the philosophy of the club and it showed.
“We had some great chances in the last 20 minutes and we really had them on the rack.
“It is rare that you see a Barcelona team go as long as they had to in the last 20 minutes.
“We are very pleased with the players and we are very pleased that what we have been working on with the players came out in the game.
“It just goes to show that what we are doing at Brentford is unique in England.
“Our recruitment team work so hard but some parents and players just look at the badge unfortunately.
“However they need to look at what we are doing.
“The schooling we are giving our players at this football club is up there with the very best.
“We have a unique offer here and it shows.
“It was a fantastic trip and a great experience.
“The boys have worked fantastically hard behind the scenes to organise a trip like this.
“It costs quite a bit of money but I think everybody has got something out of it.
“Staff, players and even Barcelona have got something out of playing against a very English team in terms of our counter-attacking style.”
With a normal Academy fixture programme that includes games against predominantly Championship and smaller Premier League sides Danny said it was no surprise that there were a lot of nerves before the match.
However he felt that as his side saw they could compete against the famed La Masia players their confidence and levels of play grew.
For Danny the performance that The Bees put in against one of the world’s top sides can only bode well in terms of getting members of this squad into the first-team at Brentford.
“In our normal fixture programme we don’t play teams of this calibre week-in week-out,” said Danny.
“With the training ground and the aura and everything that came with it I think, no matter what your say, the players were nervous before the game.
“After the first 30 minutes we began to show what we could do and how we could play.
“It took the guys a little while to get used to the pace of the game as Barcelona are an exceptional side but once we did, and once we started believing we could do what we trained to do, it showed on the pitch.
“The chances we created were great chances and we are disappointed we didn’t take them.
“We rotated in midfield, we were patient and we broke lines and Barcelona found it difficult to deal with us.
“We were fresher in the last 20 minutes than they were which I think says everything about how the game went.
“The end of the game showed how fit the players were and how organised they were.
“We controlled the last 20 minutes of the game but unfortunately didn’t quite have the quality in the final third to draw or win the game.
“It is great when teams that you are coaching do as well as we did, especially at the beginning and at the end, but at the end of the day it is about the experience and the development of the players not about us.
“It is just great for the people who have put a lot of time and money into the Academy like the owner and Ose Aibangee to see that this Academy has gone a hell of a long way.
“At these age groups we can compete with the very best in Europe which can only bode well for players going into the first-team.”
Brentford’s Under-16s next fixture is at the club’s Jersey Road Training Ground on Saturday against Bristol City.
Preparation and focus for that game began straight after the final whistle on Wednesday in Barcelona and Danny said he will find out a lot about his players in the run-up to Saturday’s game.
Danny has warned his players that if they want to succeed as players then he expects the same level of performance on Saturday against Bristol City as he saw in Barcelona on Wednesday night.
“Tonight is a big one in terms of the confidence and belief it gives them in what we are teaching them at the football club,” said Danny.
“A lot of the players were saying after the game that what we have been showing them is what they need to do week-in week-out.
“Whether it is Bristol City, Barcelona, Arsenal or Shrewsbury Town the level of performance has to be the same.
“They have to keep listening to the coaches, taking on board the information that is being given to them and keep showing the desire to improve.
“The now have to treat every training session and every game the same way they have treated this trip otherwise they won’t be top football players.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview here