ANOTHER OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE FROM OUR U17
It has been a while since theJuventus senior team last took part in a one-daytournament, better known as athunder tournament. So during the festive week celebrating the Chinese new year, there was a perfect chance to test the team's current level.
It was indeed a good challenge asit was the first time the team was participatingin an adult tournament withouta reference adult in the team to help guide the team. An eight aside tournament following a league system with the top 3 qualifying for the knockouts. Each game lasted 25 mins in a pitch otherwise used for seven aside games suggesting that one sole goal can be enough to dictate the final result.
The first match saw a slow start,with the players getting used to the field's sizeand spaces and adapting to themovements and combinations into a much smaller and sized-reduced field. The game ended up 0-0 besides the overall control by the Juve boys.
Although the next opponents weremuch stronger, the academy team looked more comfortableand cohesive to thepoint that even after going behind by an unlucky rebound, a shower of great opportunities was witnessed until eventually equalizing by noneother than Eli,who has been grabbing the spotlight lately. With the limited time, the second game ended in yet another tie, 1-1.
With 2 points only, it was crucialto get the first 3 points to move up in thetable. And with that mentality, wewent for the next match, which was against a well known English side famous for their physicality and intensity that, interestingly enough, was in a similarsituation. It was a frenetic game where the boys proved to be more than capable of taking on those challenges, whichbefore mainly were avoided, with many players such as Mert and Max H. going as far as "dominating" physically. Anyway, the more experienced team clinically found the back of the net first, forcing the youngsters to step up a notch with mainly Sam, Mert, Eli, Max H. developing chance after chance and successfully producing a well-deserved comeback 2-1. A result that was well secured by our goalkeeper Mario (the only adult that came to help replace our unavailable keepers) and a mature defensive work orchestrated by our backline of Amar, Amit and Max.
The 4th game in a row was facingthe favorites for the title that havebeen winning many competitions around, andthat came to this tournament with aroster with double the number of players. On the other hand, our players had looked a bit short, with Fynn having to pull off due to sickness and other players that continued pushing beyond the knocks and fatigue. The first 5 mins weren't good as we respectfully watched the opponents waltz two goals past us. Still, after some time in the game and getting the confidence back, it was only Juventus, forcing the opponents to defend inside of their box and relying oncounters. Juventus pushed non-stop until eventually got one goal back by Kay, who showcased an eye-catching performance. Unfortunately, the time was short, and it ended as the first defeat, 1-2.
Nevertheless, we qualified for thesemis and faced Lads, the second team we had playedagainst, with a tastelessdraw 1-1. However, this was going to be different, with four games o the legs already, both teams were showing signs of muscular fatigue, and the eyes in the final, the plan was clear, gain the lead and be compact. And that's precisely what happened, Eli at the back post with a headerthat gave us the advantage. Then, once again, relying on the back line's orientation with other impressive performances from our wide players, namely Tendai, Kevin and Kai, all able to take on one on one challenges and sprinting for counters. An otherwise referred to as a professional win, 1-0.
Final! The last game to decide thechampion and Juve would face the only team we hadlost to so far. Besides themotivation and the feeling of unfinished business, the physical aspect of having multiple intense games with little to no rest inbetween the boys' bodies. Nevertheless, it was an exciting showdown with Juve equalizing by a perfect freekick from Eli. After conceding two goals in quick succession, it was tough to keep the high intensity, and the game ended with an unfortunate 3-1 defeat. Juve claimed second place.
Congratulations to the players,coach Meison and the supporters for yet another positivefeature and proudlyrepresenting Juventus Academy Shanghai.
