Englandtrip

This page was last updated on: 12/9/02

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FC PORTO USA

Manchester United visit 2001

The trip of the Boys U14 and U15 to the MANCHESTER United Soccer Schools- 2001 August was an experience that most will remember for a lifetime.

FC porto USA's trip to England

by Adam Berkeley

FCporto USA recently took a trip to Manchester, England, to learn soccer in the game's birthplace. Arriving at Stansted Airport, the weary but excited group boarded a bus for the four-hour drive northward.

Arriving at the Manchester United Soccer School campus at Stonyhurst Collge, the group was immediately impressed with the site and the quality of the fields, a luxury not always found in the space starved suburbus of Boston. Fighting jet lag, the boys prepared for the next day when they would meet their coaches for the week Mick and Chris. Having arrived on Saturday, the boys had two days of a few eye-opening sessions before their first match.

Tuesday evening came, and the team was nervous. The other side was the local champions from the town of Clitheroe. The boys began the best way possible and Porto scored within a minute of the opening kickoff, with Chris Laurence strucking a shot from the edge of the penalty area that beat the Clitheroe keeper. The game was a good performance of a finishing with Alex Martin with a well-deserved hat trick, and Mike Bruce adding a brace of two goals. The final score was Porto 9-Clitheroe 0.

The training continued next morning, with an eye on th game coming the following day against the Manchester Soccer School's U17 side. the match was hard-fought and in the end, Porto squeezed by for a 2-1 victory. Right back Alex Banning scored with a powerful header and Alex Martin added another.

Thursday night FC Porto USA players headed to Old Trafford to watch a battle of titans between the Red Devils of Manchester United and the Scottish Celtics from Glasgow. It was the evening of Ryan Giggs testimonial match, a game honoring a player who has done great service to his team and club. Porto players were gifted with this surprise and it was an experience few of te boys will forget. The atmosphere was like nothing in American sports and for the 90 minutes, fans from both teams sang and chanted and not for a moment the noise stop. Manchester United and Celtics players put on a display of highly professional soccer.

Friday was the tour of Old Trafford the home of Manchester United. A historic stadium that has hosted some of world's best players like george Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckman, Roy keane and many others. The boys were provided with a most informative tour and imagination while seating on the inside the players locker rooms. old Trafford is called the "Theatre of dreams" but it makes you believe.

Back in the Camp a third match was arranged for Friday, and the Porto boys were confident, having completed two outstanding results and with a tough win the day before. The Friday match was another watershed as Porto tallied four goals, with Miles Bellman scoring a terrific inswinger shot from the edge of the 18, and Martin also adding another hat trick. This game also showed the skills of our players as they passed the ball around quickly with a very good flow of game, with a great sense of direction, width, and depth. On saturday, with a visit to the resort of Blackpool beckoning, Porto played a quality team from Iceland. The team lost 2-0 in a rough tackling and little brilliance from either side.

On the flight home, players thoughts on the trip were collected. Ross Berge summed it all up with this paragraph: " The camp was an inspiration, but the most exciting part of the trip was going to the Mnacheser United-Celtic game. It was such a thrill to climb from the concourse and see this unbelievable stadium filled with 66,000 screaming fans.