Played for West Ham and Chelsea’s Accademy now at Cardiff

After gaining valuable experience Chelsea and West Ham, Zech larbi joined the Young Bluebirds this summer after being released.

Zech is a player bearing plentiful ability, renowned for his dynamic playing style both on and off the ball and will undoubtedly be key to the U18 side’s success this campaign.


Zech Larbi:

“A main factor that first brought me to Cardiff City was the opportunities here," he began. "The First Team manager is really invested in the youth players, and he often likes to give them the opportunity to play and train with the First Team. The Club has an excellent pathway for younger players to thrive and climb the ranks. That was key in my decision to come here.

“Playing for clubs like Chelsea and West Ham from a young age really helps you to develop a mindset of not becoming complacent as well as improving my abilities technically. Having the opportunity to play under top coaches from the moment I was first signed was great.

"I feel like they were always there to help me along the way. Playing against other top players at that level also really helped me to improve, push me to my limits and taught me how much I needed to fight for a spot to play.

“Since joining City, the other lads have been really helpful from the moment they first took me around the building when I first came in. Around the changing room, everyone is great to one another, and I really feel like we’re starting to gel as a team now."


Zech is one of nine U18s scholars signed this summer and has been making the adjustment to full-time football.

He continued: “The atmosphere in the changing room feels really lively at the minute, we all communicate really well with each other, we help each other when things go wrong and it’s overall a really great environment to be a part of.

“Our start to the season has been really good. Personally, I feel that this pre-season has been one of the best that I’ve had in my career to date and we went unbeaten. I feel like the team is really coming together now, playing well and we are starting to increase the physicality levels in training .

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Another young player has pointed to Cardiff City's pathway into the first team as a major reason for joining the club.

Full-back Zechariah Larbi arrived in the summer after spells with Chelsea and West Ham, but says the opportunities available at Cardiff were key to his decision.



“The first-team manager Brian Barry Murphy is really invested in the youth players, and he often likes to give them the opportunity to play and train with the first team.

“The club has an excellent pathway for younger players to thrive and climb the ranks. That was key in my decision to come here.”

It is another interesting endorsement of the pathway Brian Barry-Murphy has helped create at Cardiff. It's a big reason Charlie Holt, who signed yesterday from Man City, said he wanted to come to south Wales.

For years, the club have seen young players leave in search of Premier League clubs and Category One academies.

Now there are signs Cardiff's first-team opportunities could become a selling point of their own, both when it comes to keeping their best young players and attracting new talent.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

And both players are supposed to be really good players so not just filling in under 21 squad! The future under bbm looking good.... but more we make these sighnings more other clubs take interest in bbmand what he's doing

Good Luck to the Lad .

Good luck young man your now a bluebird

1 of 9 players brought in to the club which is great However does that mean what was coming through was poor from our academy as we have basically taken on 9 players who were released from other academy’s

1 of 9 players brought in to the club which is great However does that mean what was coming through was poor from our academy as we have basically taken on 9 players who were released from other academy’s

We always add to what we have Joel Bagan came through the Southampton Accademy

We have some superb 11-14 year olds

1 of 9 players brought in to the club which is great However does that mean what was coming through was poor from our academy as we have basically taken on 9 players who were released from other academy’s

We always add to what we have Joel Bagan came through the Southampton Accademy

We have some superb 11-14 year olds

Read article on Liverpool academy and like all academies they let youngsters go..... the head of academy says whilst youngsters get released not because not good enough sometimes they need to go and have new challenges to fulfill potential ...he uses trent Arnold as example he left but looking at him now and another was in England team other night ... think we need to feel lucky that we have someone who can attract talented youngsters from top Premier League clubs! I'm sure bbm will improve them in different ways to their previous coaches.... cannot question clubs intent for academy its been improved behond all recognition and BBM is helping to next level