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FC Djursholm F07 Wins Asia's Largest Youth Soccer
24 apr 2019 0 kommentarer
We’re thrilled to share the news that this past Sunday, April 21st, FC Djursholms Flickor 07 won the JSSL Singapore 7side G12 competition. The cup is Asia’s largest youth soccer tournament and was attended by over 400 teams from 15 countries.
“The victory was the crescendo of a great week of incredible experiences for our team and family members,” says Jenny Skarne, one of the team captains.
The FCD squad, 36 persons in total (10 players and 26 family members and coaches), left Sweden on Friday April 12th with the plan to enjoy an exciting week of adventure and sightseeing in Singapore and an absolute commitment to being well-prepared for the tournament’s start. During our 10-day long stay we fit in all of Singapore’s “must see” tourist attractions, had the honor of being welcomed for a visit to the Embassy of Sweden by Ambassador Niclas Kvarnström, and of course made pre-competition training a priority in our schedule.
“We played football six out of the last seven days. We had three training sessions, played two friendly games against the hosting club JSSL, followed by three straight days of intense competition. All this in temperatures of up to 35 degrees celsius with high humidity. A definite physical challenge for any football player used to the Nordic climate,” reflects Jonus Bartholdson, one of the coaches.
After winning all six group stage matches FCD played the semi-final against Hong Kong’s Tai Tam Tigers who had won the JSSL G12 tournament the previous year. The semi-final match was played at nearly high-noon: the stifling air was heavy with humidity; the sweltering heat from the sun relentless. Our girls fought against the nearly unbearable conditions and FCD triumphed 4-0 after a strong and disciplined match in the intense temperatures.
Just a few shorts hours after that semi-final was played in the grueling heat it was time once again for our girls to brave the weather conditions and play the final against the hosting club, JSSL FC 1 Singapore, at 15.30. Our girls had the disadvantages of it not being their home-court, the oppressive weather, the nagging jet-lag, but nonetheless marched proudly onto the field keenly aware of their distinct advantages and the fact that we were there to give our absolute best to win. It would be a fervent and tight match with strong competition from both sides.
The desire for victory from each team was palpable as they assembled on the pitch. Having met each other three times previously in extremely close competitive games (2-1 to Djursholm at Gothia, 1-3 to JSSL and 3-1 to Djursholm in the friendly games) the result could not be predicted: every second of this match would count, and both sides, both on and off the field, were acutely aware of it. Any error or miscalculation could make or break the outcome. FCD’s fans assembled on the sidelines with Swedish flags waving and the FCD flag hanging. Coaches from the other G12 teams that had been defeated could be spotted in the crowd eyeing the final. As FCD parents and siblings loudly chanted, “FCD! FCD! FCD!” the referee blew his whistle and the competition began.
FCD started well and scored 1-0 (Österberg) after 10 minutes (of 25 minutes in total) to our jubilation. That followed quickly by a strong JSSL period, but at the 22nd minute we scored 2-0 (Clareus) on a quick counter-attack. Immediately following that JSSL made an excellent surprise attempt to score from the mid-field line, but it was decisively thwarted by goalie Tuva Grönlund. With just three minutes remaining, the captain of JSSL scored an absolutely beautiful goal, but after that they failed to create any more good chances. The final whistle blew and FCD claimed victory!
Our memories of the competition have been amazing: competing in Singapore’s big stadium, Tampines Hub, which was created for international football; playing against other big football clubs of Asia; playing next to some of the best under-16 players in the world from clubs such as Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, FC Barcelona, Fulham, Liverpool and Perth to name a few; and playing with a crowd of spectators around the pitches. Perhaps the ultimate memory was to finally have the opportunity to lift the trophy in front of the “home” and away crowd - an extremely special moment for our team that led some to tears of joy.
“We managed to win eight straight matches with a 31-2 goal difference. Each player performed at their highest level which was very impressive,” summarizes head coach Robert Assadkhan.
On Wednesday, we are back to normal training and this coming weekend starts St Eriks cupen. Finally, the season is on its way!
A special thanks to all parents and siblings who accompanied us all the way to Singapore and to those that supported us from afar! Thank you for all the support you gave the team the whole week. We’re a big extended family surrounding our team, and your support of us, both on the field as the world’s best cheering squad, and off the field, is an invaluable part of our success.
/Jenny, Robert and Jonus
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