In a series of thrilling matches played last week, Aspire Academy’s U17 football team topped the table in the latest Tri-Series football tournament, after winning both their games against visiting teams from Dutch football club AZ Alkmaar, and the Lebanon Football Association.
Organised by Aspire Academy, the tournament featured Aspire Academy’s U18, U17 and U16 football teams competing against players of the same age from the visiting teams. Dutch Club AZ Alkmaar’s U18 and U16 teams proved to be strong and challenging opponents, securing top spots in their respective age groups.
Ruud Gullit, former AC Milan star, captain of the Dutch national team that triumphed at the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship, and player-manager at Chelsea FC during the 1990’s was in Doha to watch his son play at the Tri-Series matches. Speaking from the side-lines, Gullit said: “Tournaments like these provide young players with an opportunity to shine and to have their talents recognised, as well as improve their game.”
Commenting on the tournament, Edorta Murua, Technical Football Director at Aspire Academy, said: “One of the Tri-Series’ main objectives is to teach our players how to cope with pressure and challenging situations, so that they can transfer the knowledge they develop in training to competitive games on the pitch. Our teams enjoyed playing against our regional neighbours from Lebanon and against a prestigious European team. The competition was a good test of the boys’ ability.
“We did well against Lebanon, but the games against AZ Alkmaar were more challenging, which is always a sign of a great competition. At this stage, we’re less focused on the final results, more on giving our players the opportunity to compete against the best academies in Europe or Asia. Realising that they’re able to compete at the same level will help instil confidence and support their athletic development.”
Marijn Thijmen Beuker, head of Performance & Development at AZ Alkmaar, added: “It’s very important to play against teams from different footballing cultures and with differing styles of play. Being here is great preparation and practice for our team. We were impressed by the skills of Aspire Academy’s players and their passion for the game.”
Bassem Mohamed, Technical Director of the Lebanon FA said: “We’re grateful for the invitation. We have recently selected our youth teams, so the boys haven’t been playing together for a long time. Participating in competitions like this is key to their development because it helps them grow together as a team. The competition in Doha was of very high standard. Leaving our results to one side, there were moments where the boys showed great potential against strong opponents.”
The fifth round of the 2017-2018 season will run next week and involves teams representing the Spanish Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa and Eintracht Frankfurt from Germany.
The number of teams that have visited Aspire Academy to compete in the Tri-Series tournament has grown steadily since it was launched in 2012. Last year, a total of 32 clubs and associations participated in the tournament. Participating teams have included major football clubs such as such as Liverpool FC (England), Paris St-Germain (France), Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Nagoya Grampus Eight (Japan), Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia) and Palmeiras (Brazil) as well as national youth teams from Canada and Denmark.
 The selection criteria for overseas teams taking part in Aspire Academy’s Tri-Series football competition includes a strong emphasis on youth development programmes, in addition to their standard of football and footballing style. During their time in Qatar, representatives from visiting clubs are also invited to present their philosophy and management approach when working with junior players, which is of considerable benefit both to coaches at Aspire Academy as well as those of the Qatar national teams.