Check here for daily updates from Dale Davis:
Wednesday, August 4
Lost 2-1 today against CZ Jena with the stadium in the background of the German 3rd Division club. What a venue for football; it was truly impressive with around 17 fields including two turf pitches and some small areas for technical training. It was first class. Jena were solid and we left it all on the park. Goalkeeper Spencer Wrobleski suffered a mild concussion in the match and was substituted but the Jena team gave us their top keeper and we continued to play on. After the match the teams got together and had a Bratwurst that is special in this area of old East Germany. Jena is a class club and we appreciate them playing us.
Off to Frankfurt tomorrow for the trip home Friday early morning. See you all this weekend or sometime next week. An article will follow early next week about the trip. If any teams are interested in going next year please contact me next week for info. This was the best trip yet I have been on and I am sure the team will be happy to share stories with you upon their return.
Tuesday, August 3
Played today against Saalsfeld. Great team to compete against. The opponent were tactically solid and compete in the top league in their region. We drew 1-1 and put in our best performance of the tour so far. Thomas Traynham was Man of the Match playing outside back as the team employed a new system. AFC maintained the majority of the possession against a top team and were unlucky not to win it in the closing moments. After the match the team got together with our opponent for some sodas at the clubhouse. The boys all socialized together which was a great cultural experience for them.
Prior to the match the team visited Buchenwald concentration camp. The camp was the 2nd largest in the country during WW2 and the players had an opportunity to study and experience the camp first hand. We visited the crematorium and the medical facility where experiments took place. It was a very emotional experience on the trip and the boys were very respectful of the occasion and the hallowed grounds. I was very proud of them as I have been the entire trip for their first class behavior.
Tomorrow we play against Jena. Jena is probably one of the top elite teams in the area. The club’s first team is in the German 3rd league and so the team will be quite talented. It will be a real test for our boys.
Sunday, August 1
Yesterday we played against TSV Weeze. Our AFC boys won the match 5-4 in the final minutes when Connor Halmi drilled a shot into the back corner of the net. Halmi and Derek Fulcher eached scored twice in the game and Fulcher put in a Man of the Match performance at center back.
After the game the team travelled by bus to Holland for a bike riding excursion in one of the parks outside Arnhem. Spent about 3 hours there visiting a castle along the way and just enjoying some time outside in the beautiful European weather. Temps around 70 degrees.
This morning the team competed against SV Straelen in the stadium at the sportpark where we are based at our hotel. Was a great match although we were beaten 4-2. Our AFC group showed a bit of fatigue as the match wore on due to playing 3 hard games in just 3 days but they continued to battle through. The boys have impressed the local German public and coaches on the trip so far. I have received many wonderful comments about the play of the group and their sportsmanship. They are doing the club and soccer in the US proud.
Following the match we headed off to Borussia Park for the Friendly between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Liverpool FC. It was the 110 year celebration of Borussia and the stand was filled with 54,000 wonderful and energetic fans. To start the match the entire stadium sang the Liverpool song You’ll Never Walk Alone. The power of the crowd in full voice gave everyone a chill. The home team ended up winners 1-0 with a goal in the 8th minute on a mistake by the young Liverpool defense.
Monday the team travels to the old East Germany with a stop in Cologne to visit the famous cathedral and do a little bit of shopping. Two more matches to go against very good competition so the rest day will be very good for the squad.
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Friday, July 30 - Report #2
AFC 0
Bayer Uerdigen 9
The top team in North Rheinland defeated our 97 Boys team 9-0 this evening in Germany. The German team were absolutely brilliant in possession and defensively. AFC gave away possession often and found out that at this level you will pay the price for mistakes. Chris Avery was Man of the Match for the team. He was relentless in attack and showed no fear against our competition.
One of the boys for Uerdingen is leaving the club next week to join Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundeliga. He will play in the U15 team at Leverkusen and begin his professional training.
The next game is Saturday morning against SV Weeze.
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Thursday, July 29th
The 96/97 Boys are in Germany after a long trip yesterday. The squad flew in Paris and then transferred to Frankfurt at which time they travelled by bus for 3 hours to Straelen, a beautiful city on the dutch border about 15 minutes from the city of Venlo in the Netherlands.
The team had training this morning at the breathtaking SV Straelen Sportplatz where they will play on the stadium pitch Sunday morning against the home club. Herbie, the youth manager at SV Straelen took a team photo that all the players signed and it will be put up in the clubhouse at the ground. The team is departing shortly for a private tour of Borrussia Park, home to Borussia Moechengladbach in the German Bundesliga. After the tour the squad will dine at the training ground of the Bundesliga club and then they will take in some shopping at the Fanzone. Borrussia Park seats 56,000 and the match on Sunday against Liverpool is sold out.
This evening the team will play against former Bundesliga club Bayer Uerdingen. This will be a very tough match against one of the top youth teams in region. Good luck to the team.
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Preview
The 96/97 Boys will travel to Germany on July 28 to prepare for the upcoming season against some tough competition and to have some fun as well. The team will play four matches while in Germany. The squad will face off against SC Bayer Uerdingen, SV Straelen, Rot Weiss Erfurt and CZ Jena.
While in Germany the team will experience a professional soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Liverpool FC. The day before the match the team will visit Borussia Park; one of the sites of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Moenchengladbach is one of the biggest clubs in the German 1st Division and features United States midfielder, Michael Bradley. Liverpool will feature England internationals Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Glen Johnson as well as Dirk Kuyt (Netherlands), Milan Jovanovic (Serbia), Pepe Reina (Spain), and Fernando Torres (Spain).
On the journey the team will spend an afternoon in the Netherlands and will also visit some historic sites from Germany’s fascinating history.
Squad Members:
Brandon Collins, Derek Fulcher, Anthony Hoelle, Nick Martin, Spencer Wrobleski, Connor Halmi, Ryan Verheuvel, Curt Fogg, Sam Roberson, Chris Avery, Jahmeil Curwen, Thomas Traynham, Josh Bronstorph, and Luis Valencia.
