7 Footballers Who Were NEVER In Academies 

Klose is massively underrated, I never even knew that he won playmaker of the year twice whilst at Werder; he was ridiculously prolific there

My man Junior Messias. Dude was delivering pizzas only a few years ago, now in serie a with Milan after an incredible climb through the Italian system. Never say never

The first name that came to my mind is Liédson of Sporting CP who was working at a supermarket until 22. Considering he went on to represent Portugal I say he deserves a shout.

The Leicester team who won the Premier League. Where are they now please.

Fun fact: Actor Matt Smith wouldn't have been able to qualify for this list, as he played for multiple academy teams, most notably Nottingham Forest and Leicester City

Miro - simply the best. Loved watching him as a youngster, went mental when he scored #16 against Brazil!

Anyone who hasn't seen Ian Wright meeting his old teacher, please do. Warms the heart

Jonas Hector is the player that came directly to my mind after reading the title of the video. Never being in an academy, and playing aged 20 the first time on professional level he still managed being 43 times capped for Germany.

I also have never played in an academy. In fact I actually have never played a game in professional or amateur football. Despite this I am still open to work with the football federation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines because I like their name and their 22-23 kit using the big flag. I actually learned their anthem at age 14 or 15 just because of the name. Where was I? Oh: Day 3: The biggest wins in every european top flight (Athletic Bilbio 12-1 FC Barcelona; Gladbach 12-0 Dortmund; Ajax 13-0 VVV Venlo).

Seeing Matt Smith come in at no. 1 is one of the most delightful surprises ive had watching this channel. Growing up a roar fan, smith was a legend. I always thought that if the club got a mention on this channel, it would be something about Postecoglou

The Ian Wright one is very interesting for his relationship with David 'Rocky' Rocastle: They were childhood mates, both growing up in Lewisham and playing the the same South London cages. Rocky got picked up by Arsenal's academy in '82 and Wrighty didn't - Rocky always said he never understood why, because Wrighty was always better than him, and with other kids they played with getting picked up by academies, Wrighty got left behind. After several failed trials, Wrighty found himself at Palace where he flourished enough for Arsenal to go in for him. Apparently one of the main reasons Wrighty moved to Arsenal was so he could play with his childhood friend again like he did all those years ago as kids. Whilst they did get to play the 91/92 season together, Rocky was moved onto Leeds later that season - much to the ire of many Arsenal fans. Rocky died in 2001 due to cancer, so Wrighty never got to play with his mate again. There's a documentary that I think is available on RU-vid which I've been meaning to watch which is meant to be very good and very emotional.

How did you leave out Dickson Abiama? That guy never played club Football until he immigrated to Germany. There he joined a local village club at age 18 and from there he scored so many goals within 3 years that he eventually moved up to Greuther Fürth , who played in the Bundesliga just last season.

Klose might be one of the most universally loved footballers in germany

The realisation of Matt Smith not being an Australian citizen reminds me of a scene from Goal where Santiago Munez is told he isn't Japanese.

Miroslav Klose is not only a legendary footballer but also probably the nicest and fairest guy to ever play the game! He doesn't have a bad bone in him!

Miroslav Klose what a legend!!!!

Klose broke a record held by a Brazilian, against Brazil, in Brazil. Crazy

You forgot to mention that when Klose broke Ronaldo's record it was against Brazil when Germany won 7-1😂

I had the privilege of visiting the town Carlos Bacca is from. He truly is loved in his community and is seen as an inspiration.

As a Malaysian, I never expected to see Lee Tuck being mentioned in a HITC Sevens video, a nice surprise I must say Also, just recently Lee Tuck managed to acquire a Malaysian passport meaning that he is now eligible to play for the national team Amazing stuff

Day 57 - The Fall and Rise of FK Velež Mostar From a Club that has beaten Borussia Dortmund, Twente, Derby County and many others to a club that was forced from their own stadium, reduced to nothing during the Bosnian War, becoming a mediocre top-level team in the 00s to nearly being forced into folding in 2016 to its amazing comeback to European competitions in 2021 seeing the early exit of Greek giants AEK Athens in a sensational win in Athens!

Remember when Bradley Pritchard scored at the valley for the 1st time against Brighton, there was such a happiness for him and a very loud roar.

This might be one of the most inspiring videos you've ever made! 😅😊 My favourite story of the bunch must be Pritchard's: he managed to play professional football and serve both clubs and communities with his knowledge at the same time. Klose comes right after him: he's one of my favourite footballers of all time, both as a player and as a human being.

10:05 as a goalkeeper I agree to that take, because raw potential can carry a Goalkeeper a lot farther and sitting and developing a goalkeeper with potential as a backup is pretty plausible, so while it might be tough still, it is more likely

Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 378) I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored. If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.

Amazing video as always! I was wondering whether you could do a video on the rise and fall (and slow rise again) of Ipswich Town from Uefa cup winners to League one. Carry on with the amazing content my man.

An inspiring list, well done Alfie! Whilst the knowledge that Matt Smith turned professional at 27 and went on to be capped by Australia is inspiring, I do think it's time for me to give up on my own professional dreams at age 51.

Awesome to see Matt Smith in this video, I’ve refereed his Brisbane City team a couple of times of the last 2 seasons and even at nearly 40 you can still see his class as a player as well as him just being an all round nice bloke. It’s rumoured that he’s going to be returning to play for the roar this season, having having just parted ways with city.

As a Colombian from the same region as Carlos Bacca, it’s amazing seeing him on this list. Thank you.

When I heard Carlos Bacca mentioned right away i knew this would be a great vid. phenominal football journey

Miro was our last big striking legend. I’d give everything for a guy like him in our current team. A true down to earth personality

Tom Rogic was picked up through a Nike promotion in Australia having no affiliation to any professional team prior. Went on to play 8 years for celtic and many caps for the national team including 2 world cups.

How on earth has Nigel Martyn not made this list? Ian Wright is not the only one to play for England who didn’t play academy Nigel Martyn has 23 caps. He joined Bristol Rovers from St Blazey when he was 23, played 101 times before earning a transfer to Crystal Palace and becoming the first goalkeeper to be sold for £1m+ , he later played also for Leeds United and Everton. He signed for Bristol Rovers after being spotted by the Rovers “tea lady” whilst she was on holiday in Cornwall

You are the best! Shoutouts from Los Angeles

Awesome video Alfie!

Great video's lately.

FANTASTIC video

Bruce Grobelaar? Discovered by the Vancouver Whitecaps at a trial camp in South Africa after finishing his military service in Zimbabwe. Easily one of the strangest paths to stardom ever.

Another goalkeeper you missed is Nigel Martyn who started his career as a midfielder until invited to play as a goalkeeper for his brother's works team when he was 17. He started by playing amateur football for Cornish sides Heavy Transport FC, Bugle and St Blazey while working in a plastics factory and for a coal merchant, before beginning his professional career with Bristol Rovers in 1987 after apparently having been "spotted" by Rovers' tea lady Vi Harris.

I feel like Matt Turner would've been a good shout for this list even though he did play for College ball here in the US. I just find it amazing that a guy who didn't even start playing the sport until he was 14 is now arguably the national team's #1. I think it would be an interesting story for more people to learn about.

Ben Foster a chef playing for Racing Club Warwick until 18. No mention of an academy on Wikipedia. Went on to play in Premier and for England

Denzel Dumfries is a current one, he went: Barendrecht (amateurs) --> Sparta (Pro) --> Heerenveen --> PSV --> Inter. He made his pro debut at 19 yo and is now a starter at Internazionale and for the national team as well.

Ok man great vid man again

Day 30: A detailed look at the state of Crotone would be nice, going from Serie A in 20/21 with a 20 goal a season striker (Simy) to Serie C by 22/23. Two relegations in a row, something surely has to be wrong at that club.

Surprised Ian Wright came late to the scene as a professional footballer his stats certainly doesn't indicate that being the case.

Amazing stories, worthy of being movies IMO.

Lovely guy Bradley Pritchard, met him when I was younger and he was very happy to have a chat with me when he was at Charlton

Most skilled players came from slums where affordability for academy is rare teams need to go these places and gives kids a hope an opportunity

There are loads. Going back in time. Tony Galvin, Chris Hughton or Roy Keane (unless you count Rockmount). Stuart Pearce. Vinnie Jones. The list goes on.

Are the following footballers eligible for this list, too? - Chris Smalling - Wissam Ben Yedder - Ciprian Tataruşanu - Josip Juranović - Fashion Sakala - Jon McLaughlin - Reinildo Mandava - Cyle Larin - Amahl Pellegrino - Eldor Shomurodov - Aly Keita (the Ostersunds goalkeeper) - Moon Seon-Min - Youssef El-Arabi

7:53 in and a wild mustard sighting, sporting a WC medal 😂

This will need a part 2 for sure

I would say that Edwin van der Sar and Dirk Kuyt are more impressive than most of the players in this list. Both played at amateur teams until they were 18, before getting picked up by Ajax and Utrecht respectively.

Roger Ibanez of AS Roma.. only start playing at age 18 for his local club.. now get call-up to Brazil national team

I knew about Klose, who has an amazing story and career, but I did not know about Ian Wright.

Alan Shoulder who played over 200 games in the Football League for Newcastle, Carlisle and Hartlepool in the late 1970's - early 1980s... He was bought from Blyth Spartans at 25 by Newcastle and went on to also play for Hartlepool and Carlisle before dripping back into non-League

Loved the video, love the content. One small complaint though, how could you forget about one of the most charismatic footballers in the world, also not a football academy graduate, the amazing Adebayo Akinfenwa?

Carlos Bacca’s story is pretty remarkable wow

That first college team is from my hometown, Syracuse NY

Matt Smith the actor also played in the youth academies of Forrest and Leicester

I find it interesting how English football has developed and established certain features during history and even today accept them as if those features were laws of nature. Like the made up barrier between professional (the Football League) and amateur football (everything else). Coming from another country (a smaller one) where the border between amateur and professional football (or sports in general) has been and still is much more fuzzy and less institutionalized I find it amusing how a topic like this can spark this kind of astonishment within an English audience. I have seen local players who have spent time in academies like Chelsea, Aston Villa and Rangers return to local amateur teams without making much impact. So maybe Englishmen just put professional academy football on a pedestal that is higher than it deserves? Also having a league system with five nationwide leagues at the top is a bit counter-productive since it amplifies perceived quality differences between levels. The other big-five associations have at most three nationwide levels. Is there any debate regarding this in England? I think it would help talent development for you to have a league pyramid more similar to other countries. With that said, these stories are inspiring and this channel deliver constant entertainment. Keep it up!

Another very cool story is the one of Moreno Torricelli, from a carpenter to an european champion with Juventus!

Day 316: Indonesia XI If All Eligible Players Had Declared For Them.

Technically you could have used Freddy Adu. IMG Academy, despite the name, is a highschool that focuses on training young athletes. It’s basically just sports school for Americans across a multitude of sports. It isn’t affiliated with any professional organizations

Bradley Pritchard was in Whyteleafe FC academy, I know we were only a small non-league team though.

You should do a long feature video on some of the most shocking moments in World cup

alfie you forgot that lee tuck is a legend at terrenganu fc. he even got the nickname ronney ganu .also few days ago he is officially a malaysia citizen

Speaking of college, do a list of the best college/university that produces the best footballers. Sports that do drafts usually do list like this, i would like to know if this is even possible in world football.

Tony Book had an amazing career didn't sign professionally in England until Plymouth picked him up at 30 became Manchester City's captain at 35 won the League/FA Cup, League Cup, ECWC and was named FWA Footballer of the Year(jointly with Dave Mackay)all in 9 years!!!

Don’t forget Ben foster who played for racing club Warwick and went on to play for man Utd and went to a World Cup

How about an all time Republic of Ireland lineup.

As a move of with solidarity Arzhi, I would also like to see that all time eleven for Indonesia if all eligible players were capped.

Asking for you to do a documentary on Bursaspor's rise and fall, Attempt 2

Here at 4am again... Jesus.

I think Jaap Stam should be on this list

I believe Leandro, arguably the best Brazilian right back after CA Torres never did the academy, Zico and everybody else found the guy to be a genius, he played on the magic team of Br 82, that lost for Italy in the World cup, he is a Flamengo legend.

I joke I like to do is say "Who was that German striker again, Miroslav?" Then they would say "Klose?" And then I edge closer and say "Miroslav?"

ademola lookman had trials at brighton and crystal palace and started playing football aged 11. Never played for an academy.

two big brazilian examples are Grafite and Leandro Damiao, both had some games for the seleçao

1:50 Jay Demerit, the god of Americans who played college soccer. Good reference there.

Brazil has a long tradition of amateur players that didn't play any organized youth rank academies to become professionals. Since amateur leagues in the country are very strong, it's not unheard of lower league clubs to offer tryouts for standouts of those leagues. Brazilian internationals Leandro Damião and Bruno Henrique have followed that path.

ALFIE ARE YOU TELLING ME THIERS HOPE

I agree with the seven players picked but Klar should clearly be number one. No academy, but most World Cup goals-that’s an incredible story

Bacca story is incredible

Never been this fast

My friend is 29 and is wondering if there's an age limit to become a professional football player. Could you provide some insight?

Hi can u do a top 7 on countries based on positions for example brazil is full of central defensive midfielders like fred,casemiro,fabino & allan or england with right backs trent,awb,tripper and more

Quick list of Americans who played college soccer and were never part of any formal academy and what school they went to: Clint Dempsey, Furman Cobi Jones , UCLA Brian McBride, St. Louis Carlos Bocanegra, UCLA Geoff Cameron, West Virginia and Rhode Island Alejandro Bedoya, Fairleigh Dickinson and Boston College Brad Guzan, South Carolina Matt Turner, Fairfield There are also some players who have come through MLS academies, but played for a couple years in college before turning pro. Those include the likes of DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Steffen, and Jordan Morris.

I was expecting Edwin van der Sar in here if I'm honest. He only played amateur football until he was 19 when Ajax got him.

Quite fascinating for adding Interracial(German legendary footballer in footballing term only) legendary footballer Miroslav Klose sir in the list as he was not in any footballing academy but became a footballing hero during his time,good friends!!!LONG LIVES RESPECTIVELY TO ALL OF THEM DAILY AND EVER IN THIS WORLD AND OTHER PLANETS,GOOD FRIENDS!!!:-D

The thing I've taken is there should be a club set up to take youth players released from the top clubs. That would do well

I was expecting at least one brazilian on the list as that are plenty of great players who never were part of academies here. Grafite was one such player, his first professional contract was at 22, also Liedson, Bruno Henrique, Nilton Santos and Garrincha.

I personally find the story around Bakery Jatta from Hamburger SV fascinating. The legal dispute about his identity is now closed, so he should not be considered to have ever played in professional academies at any time before appearing as refugee in Germany.

Denzel Dumfries from inter is a noticable omission.

Matt Smith at Brisbane Roar got me wondering... why do so few top flight teams, especially in Europe, wear orange?

I don't think, that even Kloses time at Homburg counts as a professional contract. He played for the second team, which played at the Verbandsliga at that time the 6th tier or the fourth lowest league.

0:41, Ander Capa who pretty much came from the depths of Basque regional U19 teams. The team he played for while a powerhouse that occasionally gets national level honors and beats professional academies is made up of players who failed to get a professional cantera slot or consider Eibar and Alaves as equal longshots to graduate from.

What about the legend himself - Ali Dia?

I came through an academy I played for my school football team...was so close to going pro amd signing for man city...in fact if it wasn't for the fact that I was nowhere near good enough to turn pro I think I would of made it as a footballer shattered dreams ay?!!?!

Alfie - have you ever seen the video of Ian Wright being surprised by Sidney Pigden during an interview. If you look up wholesome in the dictionary. That video comes up.