Melbourne City Academy players returned home this week after a highly rewarding trip to the Middle East, with the Club sending two squads to compete in the Mina Cup in Dubai.
A group of 31 players across the U13 and U14 age groups took part in the elite youth tournament, marking the second consecutive year City has been represented at the competition.
The trip began with a valuable acclimatisation period in Abu Dhabi, where both squads took on Al Jazira in friendly fixtures. City impressed across both matches, recording strong wins as final preparations were made for the tournament ahead.
Upon arriving in Dubai, the action came thick and fast, with both teams quickly into the swing of tournament play.
The U13s made an early statement, mounting a brilliant comeback in their opening fixture against Fursana Hispana to turn a two-goal deficit into a 3-2 win – capped off by a dramatic last-minute winner.
They backed that up with a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Elite London Academy later the same day, setting the tone for a strong tournament showing.
The U14s also got off to the perfect start with a commanding 4-0 win over Empire.
Their second match of the day saw them face arguably the toughest opposition either age group has ever encountered – Kafue Celtic, a Zambian powerhouse boasting national team-level talent.
Despite falling 4-1, City delivered a performance to be proud of. After taking an early lead and pushing hard throughout the contest, Kafue’s class ultimately shone through.
Backed by that experience, both teams continued to show their growth on Day 2.
The U13s recorded back-to-back clean sheet wins (4-0 and 3-0) to storm into the semi-finals, while the U14s were narrowly edged 1-0 by Dubai Reds in a game where they dominated possession and chances.
Final day fixtures saw the U14s bounce back in style with two emphatic wins – 9-0 and 4-0 – to finish fifth, with standout performances from Dhilan Calleja, Oliver Zilic and Jayden Falcon.
Meanwhile, the U13s battled hard in their semi-final but were narrowly defeated 2-1 by Barcelona Academy Dubai. Despite the setback, they finished on a high, taking out the third-place playoff with a 3-0 win over Football West. Taddeo Diamanti, Kiyan Acar and Jaydin Petovic impressed throughout the tournament.
Speaking after the trip, Academy Senior Manager Simon Zappia said the experience was crucial for the development of the young City players both on and off the pitch.
“These types of trips are invaluable for the holistic development of the players,” Zappia said.
“We like to expose our players at a young age to conditions they will face in the coming years when representing Australian youth teams in Asia.
“On this occasion, the players had to learn very quickly how to deal with the Middle Eastern conditions both physically – where matchday temperatures reached 35 degrees plus – as well as mentally, where they were faced with tricky opponents who provide different football problems to what the players are used to in Australia.”
Zappia praised the effort and preparation of the Club’s Academy staff across the trip.
“Our staff did a wonderful job preparing and educating the players on how to best prepare with nutrition plans in place as well as recovery, mobility and mental preparation sessions spread across the week.
“We were also able to spend more time going in depth with game understanding and tactical analysis sessions.”
“Overall, we took some great lessons from the tournament and look forward to continuing to provide these opportunities for our players.”
The Mina Cup once again proved to be a fantastic learning environment for City’s next generation of stars – not just in competition but in personal and professional growth that will no doubt shape their development in the years ahead.
