VALENCIA CF
A Partnership for Player Development
Eagleclaw Football Club is in partnership with Spanish soccer giants Valencia CF, and its all about player development, talent identification and coaching education.
Eagleclaw trains and develops its youth players using a Spanish-inspired curriculum. Through the partnership with Valencia, Eagleclaw has access to Valencia’s training curriculum and its player development methodology and works with coaches in Valencia’s youth academy and Methodology Department.
Partners In Player Development
Experienced coaches from the Valencia CF youth academy interact regularly with Eagleclaw coaches and travel to Seattle regularly in support of various player development initiatives benefitting Eagleclaw players as well as other youth players in Washington state and the Pacific Northwest.
VALENCIA CF SUMMER ACADEMY
The Valencia CF Summer Academy is a week-long program offered each summer that allows players to immerse themselves in the philosophy and training methodology taught at the Valencia CF youth academy. High level coaches from the Valencia CF youth academy travel to Seattle each summer to lead the program. The Valencia CF Summer Academy provides a week of high-quality training that is deeply instructional yet immensely fun. The program is club-neutral, meaning it is open to all players regardless of club or affiliation. Click here for more information.
The Valencia CF Academy - Hugo Guillamón's Road To The First Team
A Commitment To The Women's Game
Valencia CF is a leader in its commitment to the women’s game. It boasts a top-level women’s professional team and a specific youth academy program for talented girls. This aspect of Valencia CF’s program is critically important to Eagleclaw as we are committed not only to developing talented female players, but also to providing pathways for further development and potentially professional soccer, including Valencia CF.
About Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish and European football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, eight Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups (which was the predecessor to the UEFA Cup), one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and two UEFA Super Cups. They also reached two UEFA Champions League finals in a row, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000 and then to German club Bayern Munich on penalties after a 11 draw in 2001. In total, Valencia have reached seven major European finals, winning four of them.
Valencia were founded in 1919 and have played their home games at the 55,000-seater Mestalla since 1923. They were due to move into the new 75,000-seater Nou Mestalla in the north-west of the city in 2013, but the final move date has been postponed while the stadium is still being built. Valencia have a fierce rivalry with fellow Valencian club Villarreal CF, with whom they contest the Derby de la Comunitat. The rivalry is further fueled by the fact that they are the two most successful clubs in the region. They also have a long-standing rivalry with Levante UD, also located in the city of Valencia, and with two other clubs in the Valencian region, Hércules CF and CD Castellón.
Over the years, the club has achieved a global reputation for their prolific youth academy, or "cantera." Products of their academy include world-class talents such as Raúl Albiol, Andrés Palop, Miguel Ángel Angulo, David Albelda, Gaizka Mendieta and David Silva. Current stars of the game to have graduated in recent years include Isco, Jordi Alba, Juan Bernat, and Paco Alcácer. More recently, Ferran Torres, who joined the Valencia CF academy at age 6 and reached Valencia's first team, signed for Manchester City FC. Other Valencia academy stars like José Luis Gayá and Hugo Guillamón also reached the first team but elected to stay and play with Valencia CF.