It may not just be in Madrid where we lock horns with Liverpool this weekend – both clubs’ Academy sides are set to take part in the annual Under-19 Terborg Tournament in the Netherlands between Friday and Sunday.
Although drawn in different groups, we could end up facing the Reds should we progress to Sunday’s knockout stages of the competition, where clubs are invited from around the globe to compete in an intense tournament environment.
Joining us in our group are Ajax Cape Town, Flamengo from Brazil and Dutch side Vitesse while Liverpool are in a pool that also includes Palmeiras, FC Midtjylland and De Graafschap.
“It’s a really good tournament and this year it’s the 40th anniversary (of the competition) so it’s going to be special and we’re proud to be a part of it again,” said coach Wayne Burnett. “We’ve trained really hard leading up to this so we’re going there to try to win it. We’ve got teams from Brazil, South Africa and Holland in our group so it’s going to be tough, but that’s what you want.
“The tournament gives us an opportunity to play against teams from different continents and styles that we wouldn’t normally come up against. That’s something that’s invaluable in terms of the players’ development so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
A special screening of the Champions League Final has been arranged for the squad on Saturday evening, following their match against Vitesse.
Our group stage schedule
Friday 31 May – v Ajax Cape Town – 7pm
Saturday 1 June – v Flamengo – 10am
Saturday 1 June – v Vitesse – 2pm
Squad: De Bie (GK), Kurylowicz (GK), Bennett, Binks, Bowden, Cirkin, Clarke, Dinzeyi, Etete, Lyons-Foster, Markanday, Okedina, Patterson, Pedder, Richards, Roles, A Shashoua, White.