IVV LANDSEER U10 TOURNAMENT

Recently, the youngest ever AFC team travelled abroad as the Aberdeen U10s went over to play in the Netherlands to take part in the IVV Landsmeer U10 tournament.

Included in the competition were some of Europe’s top names plus old foes that the Dons have come up against in the past in Europe; Club Brugge KV, AIK Athens, Feyenoord, Arsenal, FC Copenhagen, Schalke, FC Lokomotiv Moscow, SK Slavia Prague.

RedTV spoke about the trip to the Head of Academy Coaching, Gavin Levey.

“It came about on the back of the trip to the Netherlands last year with the U12s. We wanted to look at how we could get more of our teams overseas to give them a different level of competition.

“We looked around and looked at where was easily accessible from Aberdeen and then got a number of different invitations for various age groups. We never thought we would take the U10s away, we thought they might be a little bit too young, but when the invitation came through for such a prestigious tournament we thought we had to accept.

“Most of these boys have been playing against Juvenile teams in the Aberdeen area. They played against Dundee United and Rangers to give them a little taste of what it is like playing against other clubs, and then their next game was against Feyenoord, so it was a big challenge for them!

“It is not just about the football though. How the boys conduct themselves, whether at home or abroad, is very important. When you have little kids walking about with their tracksuits on at Aberdeen airport, they get a lot of attention. They were very well received there but they were also very well received abroad. They want to be treated like young professionals.

“You had 24 teams from all over Europe. As well as the top teams in Holland, you had teams from Russia, Germany, Belgium, England and well as ourselves and Rangers from Scotland. Over two days of competition, we got a top ten finish which we are very proud of.

“The first day was a bit of an eye opener for the boys. We played Feyenoord first and lost 1-0. It was a game we could have got something from, but to be fair they are a team with a lot of very good technical and skilled players, so that was a good learning curve.

“Going through the day, it took us a bit of time to pick up but by day two we knew what to expect. The boys went out and performed really well. Overall they had three wins, three loses and two draws.

“The standard was very high with some of the top young players in Europe. Lots of these clubs have very good academies and recruit kids quite young. Even at ten years of age, some of these boys will have been playing in their academy for two years.

“They have also all played in tournaments before. If you think of the geography of Europe, it is a lot easier for these teams to play other cross-border teams. It is a big part of their academy culture.

“Even at the age of eight or nine, they are playing three or four tournaments a year. We felt it was something that we were missing and something Aberdeen needed to be part of.

“At all these tournaments, there are a few famous players who have kids playing at them. So we had Van Bommel last time we were over there and this time Clarence Seedorf, Wesley Sneijder son was playing as was Ashley Young’s son, who was there with Arsenal. Ashley was also in attendance and the boys quickly spotted him! Ashley was brilliant with the kids, he spent a lot of time with them. He told the kids that if he was going to be an Aberdeen fan he would need to be taught some of the songs. So there were a few renditions of “Stand Free” and “Red and White Barmy Army”!

“We always speak about how we learn a lot more about the kids when they are on these trips over the two or three days than you would over the first half of the season. It is the same for the coaches as well. We are working with kids every single week on a development format where there are no leagues or cups and that is right through our Academy system. So this is the one opportunity that we get to test them and ourselves in tournament football.

“We test their winning mentality a little bit more, and the same for coaches. You have to be a bit more tactically aware of how to do things. Every time you go into a game, you are playing against a different style. If you play a Dutch team, they are slightly different to the Belgians, who play slightly different to the Germans. You really have to be at the top of your game.

“Away from the games, we spend a lot of time with the other coaches. We are constantly speaking about how to get the best out of the kids, so it is a big learning curve for us all.

“The next trip we have planned is for the Aberdeen U10s and U11s who are away to England this weekend. That came about from a very generous invitation from Southampton Football Club. Next month, the U12s are going to Frankfurt to play in an International tournament against some top Academies. Then we have a group going over to Belgium for an U14 competition at the end of May and then in August, we are back in Holland in with twos and then the U16s travel to Denmark for a big five day tournament. So there is a busy summer ahead.

“What the partnership with Statoil has really done for us is allow us to evaluate everything we do in the Academy. We can work out the gaps that we need to fill and work out what the top Academies in Europe are doing that we can copy or do better. So the International trips were one of the main focuses for us.

“The Statoil partnership has also allowed us to grow and build our Academy by adding on vital components such as sports science and performance analysis and any of the avenues we have managed to go down since the partnership started.

“It has helped grow our reputation and with that has come invitations to these tournaments. So as long as we keep building our reputation, the more opportunity we will have to play abroad.

“It is a massive boast for us to be involved in these tournaments and hopefully there will be many more in the years ahead.”  

As well as Statoil and our other Youth Academy Sponsors – Saltire, The Stewart Milne Group, McIntosh Plant Hire and John Delday; the club would like to thank the parents of the players and the following companies for sponsoring the trip:  

John G Baird
Armstrongs Bar & Restraunt
Fochabers Mobile Foot Clinic
Iain Donald
Carden Motor Group
Adam Joinery, Laurencekirk
Ken Henderson Painter & Decorator