Franc Artiga: “They’re hiring me because I’ve been at Barça for many years”

Franc Artiga is a Masia icon. He spent 11 years as a coach at Barca’s youth system and coached some the greatest names to come out of Barca’s academy in the last decade. Now at Khimki, in Moscow, Artiga speaks about the current situation in Russia and about his past at Barça in a recent interview with Flashscore.

“After 11 years at Barça, you unequivocally retain a lot of things, and training is constant, evolution is constant, but I will always bear the seal of La Masía, among other things because it’s also a responsibility. Because the team that hires me knows they’re hiring me because I’ve been at Barça for so many years”, Artiga explains when asked whether he uses La Masia methods at Khimki, “we try, despite the difficulty that this also entails, to give them a Barça style, a style of possession, a style of being proactive in the game, because also, apart from the fact that it’s what I feel and I believe it’s the best way to achieve good results”.

About the highlights of his time at La Masía, Franc Artiga doesn’t hesitate much, “the pride I feel when I see young players from La Masía in the first team. Players are constantly emerging, and in the end, it’s no coincidence. I would highlight the way we work at La Masía”, but also his personal journey at Barça was remarkable, “I really appreciate the learning experience I’ve had there. Not only in terms of football, but also in terms of human development, the development of footballers, the coaches, the teammates the footballers have, the teammates we coaches have. It’s been a learning experience not only about football, but also about life, which is why I’ll carry it with me for the rest of my life.”

The former La Masía coach also speaks about some big names he use to coach “I could say many, but now, for example, currently in the first team, I coached Casadó, Fermín, Eric García, Dani Olmo, Ansu Fati, many players. I took Lamine Yamal on when he was still very young, and his development has been spectacular”, but there are also big names in other teams, “Sergio Gómez, Miranda, Cucurella, who are having an impact and playing spectacular games for their teams, which also makes me very proud because in the end this is what has given meaning to our work at La Masía, not so much winning titles, but helping these players, accompanying them so they can fulfill their dreams of being professional footballers and, if possible, at the highest level.”