Aspire U17 team triumph over Lebanon FA, AZ Alkmaar

In a series of thrilling matches played last week, Aspire Academy’s U17football team topped the table in the latest Tri-Series footballtournament, after winning both their games against visiting teams fromDutch football club AZ Alkmaar, and the Lebanon Football Association.Organised by Aspire Academy, the tournament featured Aspire Academy’sU18, U17 and U16 football teams competing against players of the sameage from the visiting teams. Dutch Club AZ Alkmaar’s U18 and U16 teamsproved to be strong and challenging opponents, securing top spots intheir respective age groups.Ruud Gullit, former AC Milan star, captain of the Dutch national teamthat triumphed at the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship, andplayer-manager at Chelsea FC during the 1990’s was in Doha to watch hisson play at the Tri-Series matches. Speaking from the side-lines, Gullitsaid: “Tournaments like these provide young players with an opportunityto shine and to have their talents recognised, as well as improve theirgame.”Commenting on the tournament, Edorta Murua, Technical Football Directorat Aspire Academy, said: “One of the Tri-Series’ main objectives is toteach our players how to cope with pressure and challenging situations,so that they can transfer the knowledge they develop in training tocompetitive games on the pitch. Our teams enjoyed playing against ourregional neighbours from Lebanon and against a prestigious Europeanteam. The competition was a good test of the boys’ ability.“We did well against Lebanon, but the games against AZ Alkmaar were morechallenging, which is always a sign of a great competition. At thisstage, we’re less focused on the final results, more on giving ourplayers the opportunity to compete against the best academies in Europeor Asia. Realising that they’re able to compete at the same level willhelp instil confidence and support their athletic development.”Marijn Thijmen Beuker, head of Performance & Development at AZAlkmaar, added: “It’s very important to play against teams fromdifferent footballing cultures and with differing styles of play. Beinghere is great preparation and practice for our team. We were impressedby the skills of Aspire Academy’s players and their passion for thegame.”Bassem Mohamed, Technical Director of the Lebanon FA said: “We’regrateful for the invitation. We have recently selected our youth teams,so the boys haven’t been playing together for a long time. Participatingin competitions like this is key to their development because it helpsthem grow together as a team. The competition in Doha was of very highstandard. Leaving our results to one side, there were moments where theboys showed great potential against strong opponents.” The fifth round of the 2017-2018 season will run next week and involvesteams representing the Spanish Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa andEintracht Frankfurt from Germany.The number of teams that have visited Aspire Academy to compete in theTri-Series tournament has grown steadily since it was launched in 2012.Last year, a total of 32 clubs and associations participated in thetournament. Participating teams have included major football clubs suchas such as Liverpool FC (England), Paris St-Germain (France), AjaxAmsterdam (Netherlands), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Nagoya GrampusEight (Japan), Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia) and Palmeiras (Brazil) aswell as national youth teams from Canada and Denmark. The selection criteria for overseas teams taking part in AspireAcademy’s Tri-Series football competition includes a strong emphasis onyouth development programmes, in addition to their standard of footballand footballing style. During their time in Qatar, representatives fromvisiting clubs are also invited to present their philosophy andmanagement approach when working with junior players, which is ofconsiderable benefit both to coaches at Aspire Academy as well as thoseof the Qatar national teams.