Football friendly fiesta

SPAIN'S Valencia beat fellow countrymen Barcelona 1-0 to win the first International Vodafone under-20 Football "friendly" tournament that ended in Alexandria on Saturday. Inas Mazhar reports.

The five-day event that brought together four teams kicked-off badly for the hosts. Bringing together Ahli and Zamalek of Egypt, and Barcelona and Velencia of Spain, the teams played a round-robin competition with the highest-scorers taking the trophy.

On the first day of play, Valencia beat Ahli 1-0 while Barcelona knocked down Zamalek 4-2. On day two, all four teams levelled the score when Ahli and Barcelona drew 1-1, while Zamalek and Valencia drew 2-2. On the third and final day of the competition, Ahli beat Zamalek 3-1, whereas Valencia beat Barcelona 1-0. But despite Egypt saving some sort of grace, the points were far from enough. Valencia tallied the most points and claimed the friendly title.

Despite the loss, the competition proved fruitful for some of Egypt's local Ahli and Zamalek players, who were scouted by some of the Spanish officials. The only player who Valencia coaches showed interest in, however, was Ahli's 17-year-old Ahmed Samir. Contacts were made with Adli El-Qei, the club's board member, for potential negotiations to take between the two parties.

Organised by Al-Ahram, and sponsored by Vodafone, the tournament was said by guests and locals to be an organisational success. Players were hosted at the headquarters of the Arab Maritime Academy for Technology and Sciences, with the teams enjoying the academy's facilities for conditioning.

In their "free-time", players thrilled the Alexandrine football fans by roaming Alexandria, and exploring the ancient sites.

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 28 August - 3 September 2003 (Issue No. 653)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/653/sp6.htm