An unlikely sight in Bolivian football on the weekend, as Aurora Cochabamba manager Julio cesar Baldivieso allowed his 12 year old son to make his debut in a league game.
Cochabamba were down 1-0 against La Paz, when Baldivieso brought on his young son Mauricio.
The youngster wasn't well-received and immediatelly mowed down by an opponent. After receiving injury treatment however, Mauricio returned to the pitch with an ovation from the fans as result.
Although Baldivieso junior couldn't turn around the result, he does become the youngest player ever to make his debut in South American soccer. Mauricio turns 13 on Wednesday.
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Monday, 20 July 2009
Former NI Player Joins Priesthood
From the BBC.
A former Manchester United footballer and Northern Ireland midfielder is swapping his strip for a cassock.
Phillip Mulryne, 31, who won 27 caps for Northern Ireland, is to begin training for the priesthood.
It is understood he has been invited by the bishop of Down and Connor to enter the priesthood. In seven years, he could be ordained as a priest for the diocese. His mother, Sally, confirmed her son's vocation to a Sunday newspaper. She said it was a "big decision" for him but that he would be starting at the end of August.
Phillip Mulryne made his debut for Manchester Utd in 1995 after coming through the youth team. However, he wasn't able to break into the first team and moved to Norwich City in 1999. His time there was plagued by injuries. He later played for Cardiff City, Leyton Orient and Kings Lynn.
He wasn't available for comment on Monday as, it is understood, he is on retreat.
A former Manchester United footballer and Northern Ireland midfielder is swapping his strip for a cassock.
Phillip Mulryne, 31, who won 27 caps for Northern Ireland, is to begin training for the priesthood.
It is understood he has been invited by the bishop of Down and Connor to enter the priesthood. In seven years, he could be ordained as a priest for the diocese. His mother, Sally, confirmed her son's vocation to a Sunday newspaper. She said it was a "big decision" for him but that he would be starting at the end of August.
Phillip Mulryne made his debut for Manchester Utd in 1995 after coming through the youth team. However, he wasn't able to break into the first team and moved to Norwich City in 1999. His time there was plagued by injuries. He later played for Cardiff City, Leyton Orient and Kings Lynn.
He wasn't available for comment on Monday as, it is understood, he is on retreat.
Monday, 13 July 2009
I'll Show Spain How Good English Players Can Be, Says Hoddle Academy Graduate
After the report below about a player considered not good enough by English league clubs being signed up by a leading Spanish club after signing on at Glenn Hoddle's academy, more success for the former Tottenham and England manager.
---
Two young footballers who were told they would not make it as professionals have sealed a dream move to Recre - and now have set goals in mind...
Dave Cowley and Lino Goncalves have today joined Recreativo de Huelva on two-year contracts with a further two year option.
Released from their pro clubs in 2008, both Cowley and Goncalves were offered trials with Glenn Hoddle’s academy and impressed enough to be offered full-time contracts, which saw them move to Spain for unique professional football development supervised personally by Glenn Hoddle.
Hoddle’s academy hit the headlines only last week with Sevilla’s much publicised signing of Ikechi Anya,
When asked about signing for Recre, both Cowley and Goncalves were understandably delighted. Cowley said, “I am over the moon to get a contract with Huelva. This is a huge opportunity for me and I am definitely going to take it and show the Spanish clubs just how good English players can be on foreign soil.
Goncalves commented, “This is really a dream come true for me to play for Huelva. When I left Fulham I really had no options, I was looking to find some work to support my family and maybe play semi-pro or amateur football. Only six weeks ago I was supplementing my income as a waiter and contemplating my future and then Glenn got me back here for a tournament.
“After spending this time with Glenn I now have the chance to really make it at the highest levels as a professional, in the game that I love and this would not have been possible without my time at the academy.”
Former England manager Glen Hoddle believes amateur footballers, such as Anya, Cowley and Goncalves, given the right development, can play at the highest level.
Glenn Hoddle said, “It’s been a busy week this week, we had Ikechi Anya moving to Sevilla on Tuesday and now Dave and Lino are on the way to Huelva. This is a very proud day for me.
“It also vindicates my belief in the concept of giving players released too soon a second chance. With the right mental approach, the right development, in the right surroundings, what we are doing in Spain really works. The proof here is in the four lads we’ve got back so far in only our first year.
“Both the lads have come on so much this past year. I have been really impressed with their attitude and willingness to develop. We’ve worked hard getting them playing with both feet, improving their observation and touch and really developing them in to all-round players ready for the professional game.”
---
Two young footballers who were told they would not make it as professionals have sealed a dream move to Recre - and now have set goals in mind...
Dave Cowley and Lino Goncalves have today joined Recreativo de Huelva on two-year contracts with a further two year option.
Released from their pro clubs in 2008, both Cowley and Goncalves were offered trials with Glenn Hoddle’s academy and impressed enough to be offered full-time contracts, which saw them move to Spain for unique professional football development supervised personally by Glenn Hoddle.
Hoddle’s academy hit the headlines only last week with Sevilla’s much publicised signing of Ikechi Anya,
When asked about signing for Recre, both Cowley and Goncalves were understandably delighted. Cowley said, “I am over the moon to get a contract with Huelva. This is a huge opportunity for me and I am definitely going to take it and show the Spanish clubs just how good English players can be on foreign soil.
Goncalves commented, “This is really a dream come true for me to play for Huelva. When I left Fulham I really had no options, I was looking to find some work to support my family and maybe play semi-pro or amateur football. Only six weeks ago I was supplementing my income as a waiter and contemplating my future and then Glenn got me back here for a tournament.
“After spending this time with Glenn I now have the chance to really make it at the highest levels as a professional, in the game that I love and this would not have been possible without my time at the academy.”
Former England manager Glen Hoddle believes amateur footballers, such as Anya, Cowley and Goncalves, given the right development, can play at the highest level.
Glenn Hoddle said, “It’s been a busy week this week, we had Ikechi Anya moving to Sevilla on Tuesday and now Dave and Lino are on the way to Huelva. This is a very proud day for me.
“It also vindicates my belief in the concept of giving players released too soon a second chance. With the right mental approach, the right development, in the right surroundings, what we are doing in Spain really works. The proof here is in the four lads we’ve got back so far in only our first year.
“Both the lads have come on so much this past year. I have been really impressed with their attitude and willingness to develop. We’ve worked hard getting them playing with both feet, improving their observation and touch and really developing them in to all-round players ready for the professional game.”
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Ikechi Anya has Glenn Hoddle to thank for Sevilla contract
I have given you stories of big name players falling down the league below, well here is the opposite. Story from the Telegraph.
---
In a week where 80,000 people turned out just to see Cristiano Ronaldo put on a Real Madrid shirt for the first time, the signing by Sevilla of a player once deemed to be surplus to requirements at Wycombe may pale in comparison.
Yet the story of 21-year-old Ikechi Anya, who has been handed a two year contract by the La Liga side, is nonetheless a remarkable one.
Anya was rescued from non-league obscurity and the need for a part-time job to supplement his income from the game by Glenn Hoddle, whose eponymous Academy in southern Spain opened its doors last summer with the aim of giving young players released by mainly Premier League and Championship clubs a second chance.
Hoddle conceived the idea after seeing the devastating effect on youngsters of being told they had no future at the clubs they were contracted to when managing Swindon and Chelsea, and a belief that the final decision, in many cases, was taken too soon.
“I could see there was potential going to waste that needed to be nutured and coached right,” says Hoddle, who had a group of teenagers break down in tears in his office at Swindon when he was forced to let them go.
“What this gives us is an example we can show to other players, both already at the Academy and new ones yet to come, of what can be achieved.”
“Ikechi told me he was thinking of giving up; thought he may not play again before he came to us. We’re changing people’s lives here.”
Ikechi’s dramatic boys own stuff rise from the amateur leagues to the genuine possibility of facing Ronaldo and Kaka on equal terms in the space of a year appears to validate Hoddle’s belief.
“When I attended the trial [at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground last June] I had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” says Anya, whose blistering pace was put to better effect by Hoddle in converting him from a winger to a striker.
“I didn’t ever imagine I would end up at a club as big as this and I can honestly say that without the Glenn Hoddle Academy I probably would be playing non-league football today.”
And the possibility of sharing a pitch with Ronaldo? “I won’t even think about that at the moment, I think it’s best to stay on planet earth for a while.”
---
In a week where 80,000 people turned out just to see Cristiano Ronaldo put on a Real Madrid shirt for the first time, the signing by Sevilla of a player once deemed to be surplus to requirements at Wycombe may pale in comparison.
Yet the story of 21-year-old Ikechi Anya, who has been handed a two year contract by the La Liga side, is nonetheless a remarkable one.
Anya was rescued from non-league obscurity and the need for a part-time job to supplement his income from the game by Glenn Hoddle, whose eponymous Academy in southern Spain opened its doors last summer with the aim of giving young players released by mainly Premier League and Championship clubs a second chance.
Hoddle conceived the idea after seeing the devastating effect on youngsters of being told they had no future at the clubs they were contracted to when managing Swindon and Chelsea, and a belief that the final decision, in many cases, was taken too soon.
“I could see there was potential going to waste that needed to be nutured and coached right,” says Hoddle, who had a group of teenagers break down in tears in his office at Swindon when he was forced to let them go.
“What this gives us is an example we can show to other players, both already at the Academy and new ones yet to come, of what can be achieved.”
“Ikechi told me he was thinking of giving up; thought he may not play again before he came to us. We’re changing people’s lives here.”
Ikechi’s dramatic boys own stuff rise from the amateur leagues to the genuine possibility of facing Ronaldo and Kaka on equal terms in the space of a year appears to validate Hoddle’s belief.
“When I attended the trial [at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground last June] I had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” says Anya, whose blistering pace was put to better effect by Hoddle in converting him from a winger to a striker.
“I didn’t ever imagine I would end up at a club as big as this and I can honestly say that without the Glenn Hoddle Academy I probably would be playing non-league football today.”
And the possibility of sharing a pitch with Ronaldo? “I won’t even think about that at the moment, I think it’s best to stay on planet earth for a while.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
