17 Jan 2018
Doha, 17 January 2018. Host team Aspire Academy begin this year’s Al Kass International Cup on the back of historic achievement during the last edition of the competition. After reaching the final for the first time in the tournament’s history in 2017, the natural question to many is how will the U17 team of Aspire Academy fare and can they go one place better at this year’s 7th edition of the Al Kass International Cup? This year Spanish coach, Unai Melgosa Zorrilla is in charge of the abundant Qatari talent under his tutelage and ahead of the tournament he spoke of the integral part this competition plays in the Academy’s ultimate goal which is to develop its players to be competent and competitive at the highest level of the game. Coach Zorrilla and his charges spent a month of preparation in Cyprus and upon return to Doha engaged Greek club side Olympiacos twice in friendly matches.
“Al Kass International Cup is among top tournaments world over and it is very important to us. It gives us the opportunity to assess and compare ourselves with other teams, to evaluate our training process. We are in the tournament to compete and win but we are also aware of the expectations on us especially in the light of last year’s fantastic run we however have as our main focus is to play as best as we can, bringing into our play aspects of the game we have been working on. This is a new team and one that is learning and improving and the tournament is a good chance to get a realistic assessment of the progress we have made so far as a team. It is also about dealing with the environment, the media, staying together in the hotel during the tournament”, says coach Zorilla, who joined Aspire in 2017 and also doubles as Mentor Coach to fellow coaches. He previously worked for the youth departments of Athletic Bilbao and FC Malaga, before coaching the U19 and second team of Dynamo Kiev.
During his time in Ukraine, he also played in the UEFA Youth League, where his side faced teams such as FC Chelsea and FC Porto. An experience that could be useful for the “Al Kass International Cup”, since one of them teams that Aspire faces in the Group stage is Benfica. “Football is part of the Portuguese culture, the players are very creative and the team we are going to face is going to be a good one, since they are coming from one of the country’s best academies.”
Aspire Academy’s U17 is going well prepared into their opening game against the Chinese side Guangzhou, having prepared in a training camp in Cyprus and on the back of some good performances in this year’s “Tri-Series”. “At this age group it’s about competing and learning how to interpret the game, to understand the space and to transfer the tactics on the field. We want to give a good image of ourselves and it’s the chance for the players to make another step forward in their development, concluded coach Zorrilla.
Aspire Academy’s U17 team kicks of its campaign in Group A of the tournament with an encounter against Guangzhou on Monday, January 22, at 5:35pm on Aspire pitch 4 before taking on Benfica on Wednesday, January 24, at 5:35pm on Aspire pitch 4.