U14 TEAM
Our newly combined U14 team took part in their first SYFL (Shanghai Youth Football Club League) match organized by Shanghai Football Association and pulled off an amazing comeback win against a strong team. This feat was extra impressive given the circumstances- the U13 and U14 teams combined to play together for the very first time, quite of few of the players do not play 11-a-side matches on the regular, and the length of the match (80 minutes) was something new for the entire team. The team also only had three players on the bench with a set of strict rules for substitutions, where once a player is subbed off they are no longer able to return to the pitch. Despite all of these challenges, the U14 team prevailed and gave themselves a perfect start to the season.
The opponent, the Affiliated School of Shanghai University, was an experienced and organized side that was not easy to face. Indeed, Juve saw themselves behind relatively early in the match, when a well-taken free-kick flew over the wall and found the back of the net in the 9th minute. The U14 boys had a couple of good chances, but a misjudgment in the defense gave the opponent a 2-goal lead in the 21st minute right before the first water break. After a few brief words of encouragement and advice from the coach, the players returned to the pitch and immediately responded. Less than two minutes in, the Juve backline recovered possession from an opponent's free-kick. Yogo passed to Matthew, who switched the play from left to right with a perfectly placed long pass to Jacob. Jacob’s superior pace sent him one-on-one with the keeper and he finishes calmly. Great team play, 1-2 at the 25th minute gives Juve that push to keep going.
In the 37th minute, the Coach made his first substitution to put Giacomo on for Johnny, who did great in the right defense. After a crucial one-on-one save made by goalkeeper Keke, the whistle was blown for half-time, 1-2. The players got some much-needed reassurance and rest to go back on the pitch, as the match was far from over. What ensued was an amazing fight from the U14 boys. In the 53rd minute, Juve successfully bring themselves level. Alvaro crucially regains possession on the right and this time makes a long pass to the left, perfectly finding Matthew. The latter takes the ball, and with great precision, tucks it in the bottom right corner. In the 60th minute, Sky is substituted off for Thomas.
62nd minute, Matthew strikes again! The attack started when Francesco made an important clearing pass to Matthew on the left. He cuts in, passes to Toby, who gives it back to Matthew. He amazingly makes it through four of the opponent’s defenders and again puts the ball in the bottom right corner. 3-2, Juve in the lead! After Toby’s assist for the winning goal, he makes way for Alan, the last substitute for the match.
The next twenty minutes was a pure grind from the players, as stamina started going down for both sides. The defense continued to stay solid and was able to make clearances even in the most threatening of situations. In the last minutes of the match, Juve seals the deal. Matthew came close to scoring a hat-trick but was a little unlucky. As the opponent tried to level and score their third goal, Jacob regains possession and does a little tiki-taka with Alan and Yogo. The latter then passes to Alvaro, who dribbles the ball right to the edge of the box and sends it precisely into the bottom left corner. The final whistle is blown just a few minutes later, full-time: Juve win 4-2!
This was an amazing match that showed the resilience of the Juve players, never giving up until the end. Every single player performed at a top-level and proved themselves to be a tough opponent to play against. Master-class from the entire team, let’s keep this up. Forza Juve!
You can watch the entire match by searching “2021年青俱联赛普及组U14” on the app 斑马邦 (BanMaBang).
SENIOR TEAM
The Juventus Senior Team are Champions! Last Saturday, the SIFL adult 11-a-side league came to an end and all of the teams took part in a Closing Tournament. Though the Juve boys played in the league unofficially as an experimental season, they made a strong statement for the future. In the group stage, Juve finished top of their group with three out of three wins; 2-0 against Lions, 3-0 against ReUnited U19, and 1-0 against the SIFL league Champions Azzurri. The results of the next matches were also as impressive, as a no-loss run sent the Senior Team to the finals. Their opponents were Japan (4-1 Win), Kickers (0-0 Draw), and Cosmos (2-0). The great performances from our players put them up against ReUnited for the final, the team that came up top in the second division of the SIFL league. A 2-0 win against them meant that Juve would lift the Closing Tournament trophy and become Champions.
Not only is this win impressive in itself, but it also makes a great case for the Juventus Senior Team for next season. Despite being one the youngest teams of the entire league, the Bianconeri have done extremely well to adapt to the physicality of an adult 11-a-side mode of play. They improved match by match and successfully showed the rest of the league that they are in strong contention for the Champions next season. A hard-fought and well-deserved title, let’s keep this winning spirit up, Forza Juve!