Athletic’s scholarship-driven youth face Barcelona test as studies stay central | OneFootball

Athletic Club are pairing youth with study, and as.com reports that they lead Liga F Moeve in academic scholarships, 15 of 33 awarded this season. The second-youngest side in the division, average age 23.8, benefit from a 70,000 euro annual fund created under the second women’s football collective agreement.

Centre-back Maddi Torre, 29, is in contention to start at Barcelona and is studying Medicine. She calls both paths demanding and credits Athletic doctor Pablo Aranda for helping her progress academically and professionally.

Teenagers Daniela Agote, 19, and Sara Ortega, 21, are studying Nursing, stressing that football is not forever and that a degree matters.

On the pitch, Agote is a two-time Under-19 European champion, the team’s second-top scorer with five, and fifth for minutes on 1,774.

Ortega, an Under-17 world champion and Under-19 European champion, is Javier Lerga’s second most-used player and covers wing-back, central midfield or wide roles.

Goalkeeper Adriana Nanclares, 23, a Spain senior international, has a Primary Education degree and is now studying Business Administration and Marketing to better handle future projects.

Today brings a stern test at the Johan Cruyff. Pere Romeu wants three points, good football with plenty of chances and the best possible feeling in front of their fans, while Lerga calls it a challenge, noting no one has taken a point there and only two league goals have been conceded, and views it as a chance to cement growth and maturity.

Referee is Planes Terol of Murcia.

Source: as.com