Doha: Despite the 0-1 defeat in Wednesday’s game against Celtic Glasgow, Aspire Academy’s Under-16 team eventually won the age group 1999 Tri-series Tournament held at Aspire Academy here this week.
In the mixed age group 1997/98, the Corinthians team from Brazil dominated the tournament and emerged champions after winning both of their games.
For both visiting teams, the Corinthians from Brazil and Celtic from Scotland, the tournament was quite an experience.
“It’s incredible. The facilities, the pitches, the organisation — everything here was just perfect,” said Corinthians Under-16 coach Marcio Zanardi about Aspire Academy.
“It’s good to have the opportunity to come here and play teams from other countries, see different styles of play and our young players could definitely learn a lot from it,” he said.
Finishing second with his team behind Aspire Academy, he congratulated the Qatari team. “They worked together very well as a team and that was the main reason they beat us on the first day,” Zanardi said.
While the Brazilian coach had been to Aspire Academy before, it was the first visit for Chris McCart, head of Celtic Youth Academy. “The concept of Aspire Academy is really excellent in terms of recruiting and developing players. Of course, in the end it’s up to the players what they make of these great opportunities,” McCart said.
Like Aspire Academy, the youth academy of Celtic has set big goals for itself.
“We want to run a world class academy that focuses on developing players for the Champions League level, but also on the development of the human beings.”
The role of youth academies has also become more and more important in Scottish football. “In the past, boys played football in the streets but that has changed. Practice has become much more organised and a matter for the clubs.”
Asked what a talented youngster needs to become a successful football player, McCart said “dedication”. THE PENINSULA
