Rampant Real secure PSC final place in style
Marvellous Madrid score ten against Melbourne
19th April 2014.

A devastating first-half display and an avalanche of goals against Melbourne Football Institute helped Real Madrid cruise into the 2014 Puskás Suzuki Cup final and ensured they will be one of the teams participating in the first match in the Pancho Aréna on Easter Monday. Alberto Rubio, Mario Rodríguez and Inaki Dorado each scored a brace of goals for the Madristas and further strikes were added by Borja Majoral, Jaime Seoane, Daniel Fernández, Álvaro Fidalgo as Real Madrid broke the Puskás-Suzuki Cup all-time record for a winning margin in one match.

Rubio had the first effort on goal which Yianni Skliros beat away well to his right, but it wasn't long before Real took the lead, Majoral being felled by the goalkeeper as he tried to round him, then picking himself to dispatch the spotkick with confidence low into the right corner of Skliros's net. With their very next attack the Spanish team extended their lead as they threatened to overwhelm their less experienced opponents, Jaime Seoane breaking clear in the right channel and seeing his shot well blocked by Skliros before the rebound was tucked into the bottom right corner of the net by Rodríguez. In the 13th minute Madrid found another way through when Rubio set up Inaki Dorado for the shot but his drive was superbly tipped over by Skliros leaping to his right.

From the resulting corner Skliors punched clear but only to Jaime Seoane who rattled the crossbar with a sumptuous 30-metre right-footed volley. Melbourne steadied themselves after a whirlwind start and created their first clear chance in the 21st minute when Sam Beninato received the ball in space on the left wing and ran at Real right-back Daniel Fernandez before crossing into the box where Joshua Markovski flicked on for Aminta Makalovski to head down powerfully but agonisingly just half a metre wide of the far left post.

Unfortunately for the visiting Australian team that was to be as good as it would get, at least for the first half, as Real reassumed total control and added to their tally several times with some marvellous goals. Firstly, on the half-hour mark, Rubio's blocked shot rebounded to Seoane who curled the ball beautifully into the far left corner of the net from 20 metres out, then two minutes later Rubio was set free in the left channel and fired the ball past Skliros and inside his near post. In the 35th minute Real scored their fifth, Rubio shooting powerfully into the left corner of the goal from the edge of the area past the partially unsighted Melbourne goalkeeper. The Australians, perhpas exhausted by their first-half exertions, were really on the rack now and Real scored twice more before the break, Rodríguez and Dorado displaying their finishing prowess after neat approach play found them in space in the Melbourne penalty area.

The second-half began as the first had finished; with Real Madrid in imperious form. This time it was the turn of Álvaro Fidalgo to score a goal worthy of any football match, smashing as he did the ball first-time after a pass from the left and curling the ball over and away from the keeper and high into the right side of the goal from 25 metres. Skliros in the Melbourne goal had had nothing to be ashamed of despite the scoreline and he continued to impress, this time blocking Ignacio Arijon's close-range effort after the striker had controlled Fernández's right-wing cross.

Melbourne then nearly grabbed a goal of their own when substitute Vasilios Katsaitis crossed for Spiros Stamoulis but his downward header was blocked by José Luis Sena in the six-yard box. Three minutes later, in the 56th minute, Real scored their ninth goal of the game when Fernández finished off another slick move by sliding the ball into the far-left corner of the goal from a tight angle on the right side of the penalty area. There was time for one more goal for Real to complete the perfect ten, Dorado tapping in after substitute Miguel Garcí had danced his way around the Melbourne defence and pulled the ball back from the byline, and for Skliros to make yet another fantastic save, somehow tipping Rubio's drive over the crossbar to deny the Real man his hat-trick.

Therefore, Real Madrid have progressed serenely to the 2014 Puskás-Suzuki Cup final in the new Pancho Aréna on Easter Monday while Melbourne Football Institute will look to restore some pride and compete for second place in the group against Budapest Honvéd in Felcsút on Sunday.

http://www.puskassuzukicup.net/news/570/Marvellous%20Madrid%20score%20ten%20against%20Melbourne.html#view

Honvéd class tells while Melbourne make history
20th April 2014.

Budapest Honvéd's class told as they beat a brave Melbourne Football Institute 7-2 in a hard-fought conclusion to Puskás-Suzuki Group B in Felcsút today. First-half strikes from Ákos Bíró, Dominik Rózsahegyi, Bence Bíro, Márko Varga and Dávid Soós put the Hungarian team firmly in control at the break with Melbourne Football Institute, through Amint Makalovski, replying with their first-ever goal in the competition, but Kristóf Herjeczki and another from Rózsahegyi in the second period put the outcome beyond doubt, despite Makalovski adding a second for Melbourne. The result means Honvéd will contest the bronze-medal match against Dinamo Zagreb tomorrow while Melbourne will hope to score more goals tomorrow when they play for 5th place against Panathinaikos.
Budapest Honvéd's class told as they beat a brave Melbourne Football Institute 7-2 in a hard-fought conclusion to Puskás-Suzuki Group B in Felcsút today. First-half strikes from Ákos Bíró, Dominik Rózsahegyi, Bence Bíró, Márko Varga and Dávid Soós put the Hungarian team firmly in control at the break although Melbourne Football Institute, through Amint Makalovski, had scored their first ever goal in the competition, but Kristóf Herjeczki and another from Rózsahegyi in the second period put the outcome beyond doubt, despite Makalovski adding a second for Melbourne. The result means Honvéd will contest the bronze-medal match against Dinamo Zagreb tomorrow while Melbourne will hope to score more goals tomorrow when they play for 5th place against Panathinaikos.


Melbourne's weakness this year has clearly been in defence and they again conceded early on which made their task for the rest of the game an uphill one. Honvéd took the lead as early on as the 11th minute when Ákos Bíró dispatched a right-wing cross into the net with aplomb and it was 2-0 two minutes later when Bence Fehér's left-wing cross was slid home by Rózsahegyi at the near post. Sadly for the Australians the scoreline would get worse before it got better as Ákos' namesake but no relation, Bence Bíró, controled the ball and from near the penalty spot toe-poked the ball past Yianni Skliros into the bottom-left corner of the Melbourne goal. The same player was clean through a minute later but Skliros this time denied him with a good block-save.


Five minutes before half-time came the moment that the Austrialian team and fans had been waiting for since the start of last year's tournament as substitute Joshua Markovski surged down the left wing and reached the byline before cutting the ball back for Aminta Makalovski to control and tuck coolly into the far-right corner of the net for Melbourne's first-ever goal in the competition. Predictably the players celebrated but the good mood was dampened twice more by Honvéd before the break, firstly by Honvéd captain Márkó Varga slotting in a penalty after Alpay Suat had brought down Ádám Tamaskó and then two minutes later by Dávid Soós' powerful shot which seemed to have been brilliantly saved by Skliros only for it to rebound off both posts and spin over the goal line.


The scoreline read 5-1 at half-time then but the true Australian fighting spirit was still shining through and they pulled a goal back again in the 45th minute when Joshua Markovski again drove hard down the left but this time elected to shoot, his drive cannoning off the near left post and landing at the feet of Makalovski who lashed the ball into the net for his second goal of the game. The team led by Jesper Olsen and Stuart Munro battled gamely for the rest of the half as one would expect and it was only in the closing minutes that Honvéd, possibly with more energy in their limbs, were able to stretch the lead further, firstly when Kristóf Herjeczki's header was adjudged to have crossed the line after Imre Fehér's initial header from a right-wing corner came to him eight metres out and then when Rózsahegyi finally converted after desperate Melbourne defending had blocked a series of close-range efforts by Honvéd attackers.

All in all, it was an encouraging day for Melbourne who knew their opponents had more class and experience but showed they have quality going forward too, while Honvéd will rue the fact they didn't attack with the same verve and ruthlessness against Real Madrid in their first match of the competition.

http://www.puskassuzukicup.net/news/582/Honvéd%20class%20tells%20while%20Melbourne%20make%20history.html#view

Pana claim 5th place after overcoming spirited Melbourne
21st April 2014.

Panathinaikos secured 5th place in the 2014 Puskás-Suzuki Cup but they were made to work hard for it by a Melbourne Football Institute team which has improved with every game. Two goals from Anastios Chatzigiovannis added to strikes from Kantri Merai and Nikolaos Roumpos wrapped up the match for Panathinaikos but Melbourne hit back with goals from captain Spiros Stamoulis and Andreas Papanicolaou as the Australians finished the game the stronger of the two teams.

Melbourne had threatened to score first after only three minutes but Jonas Markovski was unable to convert and instead it was Greek team Panathinaikos who took control, spurning two early chances to take the lead when Melbourne goalkeeper Yianni Skliros first saved from Spyridon Papanikolaou in a one-on-one situation and then from Dimitrios Chrysikos after a shot from 15 metres out.

They did finally trouble the scoresheet though when Chatzigiovannis' downward header from Papanikolaou's right-wing cross bounced up onto the crossbar and over the line before Skliros could retrieve the ball. This was the time for Melbourne custodian Skliros to make way for substitute goalkeeper Nickolas Vouloumanos to make his first appearance in the tournament. Vouloumanos was straight into the action too, saving instinctively from close range as the ball ricocheted around the penalty box. He was helpless to stop Chatzigiovannis scoring his second soon after though as the Pana midfielder struck a wonderful drive from fully 25 metres beyond his reach and into the top left corner of the goal.

Four minutes before half-time Pana extended their advantage to three courtesy of striker Merai who tucked the ball neatly under Vouloumanos' body and being sent clear by a clever pass from midfield. The second-half was much more even and substitute Aminta Makalovski had a chance in the 55th minute but his header from the final of three corners in succession for Melbourne didn't have enough power on it to trouble Pana's keeper Vasileios Xenopoulos. Meanwhile Melbourne's replacement keeper was still impressing and saved well from shots by Roumpos, Sotirios-Panteleimon Pispas and Georgios Servilakis before finally he was beaten again, Roumpos turning nimbly on the edge of the area and slipping the ball under him to make the score 4-0.

In the 68th minute though, the visiting team from Australia had a fantastic goal to celebrate when Stamoulis was sent clear and he sent his right-footed effort curling inside the far right post and into the top corner of the net from 15 metres. Ten minutes later and they pulled another goal back when a mistake in the Pana defence presented Melbourne's Papanicolaou with the chance to score and he made no mistake, sliding the ball past the keeper and into the left corner of the net.

There were just two minutes left but Melbourne were pressing for a third and had indecision not robbed Marc Bélteky of a shot at goal they may well have got it, but he was caught in two minds after doing excellently to dispossess a Pana player in midfield. The match ended 4-2 so Panathinaikos claimed 5th place in the Puskás-Suzuki Cup and Melbourne again having to settle for 6th, but the latter team's continued development and first goals of the competition bodes well for further improvement in 2015.

http://www.puskassuzukicup.net/news/593/Pana%20claim%205th%20place%20after%20overcoming%20spirited%20Melbourne.html#view

Most on this forum would no idea how many junior teams and academy teams have travelled and are travelling to Europe at this time of year to participate in tournaments.

Traditionally in Europe the junior season ends with these type of tournaments, in many places they have become tourist attractions that generate a lotof revenue for the towns and villages that hold them.

I was lucky enough to take my son to a tournament in Frances North West two years ago and see some fantastic teams at U15 and U17 level from French First Division Clubs down to French Regional Academey and Village teams. Also had the pleasure of witnessing Standard Liege and Sporting Gul (Brazil).

Nearby to this tournament was one for U11 and U13 where Arsenal U11's were playing.

Personally I would like to see more teams go over but they should look at parterning up with local a club and train with them for a week prior (most tournaments last 3 days). I think there is a lot more value in training for a week or two with the local club than the tournament themselves.

While here in Australia we need to look at setting up annual tournaments around the country for various age groups especially around summer months focusing on attracting teams from overseas. FIrstly as an important development tool so players and coaches have a better idea of standards required at particular age levels, secondly to expose players to different playing stykles and player abilities.

FYI many prestigeous junior academy teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax etc. usuually have their expenses paid to participate in these type of tournaments.

Your always trying to deal out advise to everyone on 442 like your so much smarter than the rest of us.

Here's some advise for you. Go fuck yourself.

Another example of a former NSL club fleecing parents off thousands of dollars, this time for a glorified holiday they were coerced into.

15-0?!
Gosh I hope they werent part of the national curriculum

.While here in Australia we need to look at setting up annual tournaments around the country for various age groups especially around summer months focusing on attracting teams from overseas. FIrstly as an important development tool so players and coaches have a better idea of standards required at particular age levels, secondly to expose players to different playing stykles and player abilities.

FYI many prestigeous junior academy teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax etc. usuually have their expenses paid to participate in these type of tournaments.

SAP players .

what are sap players?

This should be arranged for July/August , the Northern school holidays.

are our u12 standards really that far behind that we get flogged 15-0?

What do you think has happened there?

The 1 Soccer Policy that Cripples the National Team all the way to 9 Year Olds
February 13, 2014 By Gary Kleiban 269 Comments

US Soccer not creating a true soccer pyramid with promotion & relegation.

That’s it!

•You want youth development on par with the rest of the world?
•You want our top flight pro teams at the level with the best in the world?
•You want the National Team to consistently be a legit World Cup contender?
Well, we need a soccer pyramid – like the rest of the world – where the best can rise and the mediocre get punished.

American Soccer

We do not have an open market where people’s ideas and subsequent products live and die on their own merits through open competition.

Instead, we have a closed anti-competitive system.
We have a centralized command and control system run by a singular business comprised of a small aristocracy.

And they govern the entire soccer landscape with one single-party voice. In effect, soccer in our country is being controlled and represented by a monoculture.

Over the years, I have grown increasingly convinced that as long as US Soccer does not champion and then institute promotion/relegation, everything will continue in perverse mediocrity.

Again, promotion & relegation is the market mechanism by which ideas/products can openly compete. The best rise, the worst fall. This is what better incentivizes hard work and innovation. This is what gives the ambitious a means to rise to the top. This is what punishes the lazy, and the mediocre. This is what incentivizes investments throughout the landscape.
http://blog.3four3.com/2014/02/13/mls-promotion-relegation-us-soccer/

Yeah, I don't think these results are unexpected at all. The gap in the funding that Barcelona and Real Madrid put into their youth teams compared to anything in Australia is almost unfathomable to people who haven't seen it before. In terms of the coaching and managerial quality and the resources in general, it's ridiculous to think that we would even compete with teams like that.

How often are these Olympic u12s training? And how much are the parents paying?

I know comparing with say, Ajax, isn't fair, but the academy there is free, the club picks up the players and they train at the academy for a few hours pretty much everyday. It's a completely different world and expecting Aussie kids to compete against that is just unrealistic.

This just shows that the NPL juniors isn't the same standard as Euro academy and so why is it sold to parents as such, the reality is that NPL juniors is just good grassroots football with the odd player of euro academy standard.

dirkvanadidas: You are probably right, but what it definitely does show is the prohibitive costs involved with playing representative youth football in Sydney and I assume elsewhere in Australia. And the lack of a clear pathway for these same junior players. Standards will not improve until something is done to deal with these two issues.

On the other hand Rod what it also shows is how much it will cost or how much funding we need to get to the Top European Academy Standard.

While we are spending upto and upwards of $2500 per child and asking the childs family to foot the bill, clubs like Real Madrid would be spending $20K per child if not more.

On the other hand Rod what it also shows is how much it will cost or how much funding we need to get to the Top European Academy Standard.

While we are spending upto and upwards of $2500 per child and asking the childs family to foot the bill, clubs like Real Madrid would be spending $20K per child if not more.

On the other hand Rod what it also shows is how much it will cost or how much funding we need to get to the Top European Academy Standard.

While we are spending upto and upwards of $2500 per child and asking the childs family to foot the bill, clubs like Real Madrid would be spending $20K per child if not more.

Decentric and Arthur

I'm not sure if it was one of you who said this but... I seem to remember somebody saying that Han Berger (or some technical expert at the FFA) had said that there wasn't much separating the technical skills and all-round ability of Dutch 12 year olds and Australian 12 year olds. The problem was that the chasm appeared after that age.

If Real Madrid U12 are beating Sydney Olympic U12 15-0, doesn't that suggest there's a massive difference in (technical) ability of the best Australian twelve year olds and the best European twelve year olds.

That really is an enormous sum to pay for your 12 year old son to play football at his local club.

Ive got a couple of questions.

How many teams does Olympic have?

And how is this money being spent? is it used to pay the senior players at the club ?