Melbourne City Academy young guns were treated to the trip of a lifetime last month, spending three weeks in Italy and playing a total of six games.
The trip began with the Viareggio Cup which was played across the Tuscan region of the country.
This saw them face off against Serie A outfit Empoli, as well as Imolese and Nigerian side, Ojodu City.
Coming up against one of the top Academies in the country that featured six national team players, our City squad did themselves proud despite going down 2-0 in match one against Empoli.
A free-kick had Empoli ahead in the first half but despite seeing our goalkeeper Lachlan Charles sent off due to a last-man challenge – we created our best opportunities with 10 men and only conceded again in the 90th minute as we pushed hard for an equaliser.
Match two saw our highlight of the tournament and one of the best moments across the trip as a whole, John Kellis netting a 90th-minute winner to secure a win over Ojodu.
Unfortunately though with all teams tied on points heading into the final group game, we weren’t able to secure the required win to progress against Imolese.
We bounced back from a slow start to battle back to 2-1, but eventually, it was the locals who progressed.
“The tournament itself provided a unique challenge playing in difficult conditions against varied playing styles,” Melbourne City FC Senior Academy Manager, Simon Zappia, said.
“The players and coaches have certainly taken plenty of lessons to help improve the group moving forward.”
The trip didn’t end there though, with plenty still on the agenda for the next generation of City stars.
Two Serie A games, Empoli v Fiorentina and Roma v Torino, were clear highlights with the group getting the chance to see the likes of Paulo Dybala, Romelu Lukaku and Andrea Belotti in action.
Fiorentina, the former club of Head Coach Alessandro Diamanti, couldn’t have been more welcoming, rolling out the red carpet with a tour of their state-of-the-art facilities and the opportunity to watch the first-team train.
A training session at the Coverciano – the Italian national team training centre – provided a great opportunity to see the elite environment of one of the best footballing countries in the world up close.
The squad also managed to hear a few words of wisdom from Italian National Team Coach, Luciano Spalletti in a quick meet-and-greet.
The on-pitch highlight of the trip would come in a friendly against Serie A club Bologna, our City squad dominating across the 90 minutes and earning a 3-0 win thanks to goals from Ben Dunbar, Kellis and Peter Antoniou.
“The trip provided a fantastic benchmark for our players who showed their quality in numerous games against some of the best youth teams in Italy,” Zappia said.
“The game against Bologna was a particular standout which highlighted the quality of both our individuals and collective with the boys dominating the game with long spells of possession and high chance creation against a top Serie A club.”
17-year-old midfielder Xavier Stella had the honour of taking the armband for the trip and said it was an amazing experience for the team to be able to test itself against some of the best young players in the world.
“Travelling to Italy was a great opportunity to bond as a team as well as test ourselves against foreign opposition,” he said.
“It gave us the opportunity to feel what it’s like to live as a professional and exposed us to the game on an international level.”
Summing up the trip, Zappia too was highly complimentary of the opportunity to expose the next generation to a professional football environment.
“Off the pitch the players gained valuable experience travelling, training, preparing, playing and recovering like a professional.
“The internal and external staff across the trip were first class in giving the boys the ultimate insight into life as a professional footballer.”
