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Welcome To The Home of FCNY...(tm)
The Football Club of New York (tm)
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The 2008 trip is now history as our teams returned from England on August 10, 2008. With over 140 people traveling with us to the tournament, we had quite an experience full of excitement, joy and opportunity.
Upon their arrival on Saturday August 2nd, the first group headed to Old Trafford where they were able to see the 2008 EPL Champions, Manchester United take on Espanyola in a pre-season tuneup before heading to Shrewsbury. On Sunday August 3rd, the second group arrived in time to watch the FCNY BU11 group play in one of two opening exhibition games. Upon the conclusion of the game, all of the teams in attendance were invited to participate in the opening ceremonies with our FCNY girls leading the parade, waving American flags as they entered the stadium.
Monday August 4th brought the start of the boys tournament with each of our 4 teams 1997(BU11), 2)1995/96 (BU12) and 1993/1994 (BU14) participating. Additionally, our girls 1995/96 (GU12) were treated to a special training session led by Mr. Andy Baker, coach at the exclusive Shropshire Girls Centre of Excellence. The girls play began with an exhibition match on Tuesday August 5th with match play beginning on Wednesday the 6th. As play continued during the week, our teams were matched against academy teams from such powerhouse clubs as: Cardiff City (English Coca Cola Championship League and 2008 FA Cup Finalist), Swansea City (English Coca Cola Championship League), Bangor City (Welsh Premier League), Levadia FC (FC Levadia currently play in the Meistriliiga, the highest level of Estonian football) and Blackpool FC (English Coca Cola Championship League) amongst others. Three of our oldest players had the unprecedented opportunity to play for a 1991/92 (BU16) squad from the Roman Road FC, our "sister" club from across the pond, coached by Mr. Steve Greene. Steve was most accomodating and his boys welcomed ours to their team with open arms. They inspired our younger players who had an opportunity to watch this exciting, hard hitting squad take on teams such as Ulster Schools FC and Newtown Town FC. Our BU14 team had the opportunity to play with a group of players assembled to play for FCNY by our "sister" club. With the addition of players from the local Shrewsbury club, we had several boys join us from Manchester, Wales and Scotland. At the end of the trip, all of the boys exchanged email addresses so that they could stay in touch. Our boys did not even realize the depth of the cultural differences between this diverse group. Under normal circumstances the dislike between the Welsh and English boys would have led to a "civil war" (the closest relationship we have in the States is the relationship between Bostonians and New Yorkers). What a tremendous cultural experience for our boys...not only did they get to play against boys from other countries, they got to play with them!!
In between match play, we were able to squeeze in a mid-week trip to Old Trafford to see United take on Serie A powerhouse, Juventus. Although the trip was tiring, it was an unforgettable experience for those who joined us (0-0 draw) as they saw world class players Van Der Sar, Teves, Ferdinand, Scholes, Giggs, Buffon, Camoranesi, Sissoko and Del Pierro perform on the beautiful, manicured pitch.
The week also brought visits from Shrewsbury Town defender Marc Pugh (future EPL player?) who took photo's with and gave autographs to the entire girls squad, Shrewsbury Deputy Mayor Mr. Alan Parkhurst, former Manchester City striker Carl Griffiths and Mr. Mike Smith former manager of the Welsh and Egyptian National Team Squads. Place this link into your web browser to see copies of the Village News which provided a daily summary of the previous day's events...http://www.soccerdestinations.com/index.html
An added bonus for our club was the attendance of scouts from professional English Premier Academies Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa FC, Blackburn Rovers, Everton FC and the Chelsea FC! While watching the dozens of daily matches, several of these scouts approached the FCNY coaching staff to inquire specifically about two of our players...Shaquell Moore and Trevor Howe
Shaquell, who hails from Georgia was recruited to join our squad specifically for the opportunity he would be presented by playing with FCNY for this event. Trevor, a local Long Island product who hails from Bellmore, NY plays for the POB Pirahna's in the Long Island Junior Soccer League. Upon the conclusion of the tournament, both boys were asked to stay on "trial" with several English Premier Acadamies.
Trevor Howe
Began trial with Aston Villa FC on August 12, 2008
Began trial for Manchester City FC August 15, 2008
Began trial for Blackburn Rovers FC August 18, 2008
Shaquell Moore
Began trial at Manchester City FC August 11, 2008 (Shaq has been offered contract by Manchester City – currently negotiating)
Began trial with Aston Villa FC August August 12, 2008
Began trial for Blackburn Rovers FC August 18, 2008
Began trial with Chelsea FC on August 20, 2008
We will continue to track the boys progress with postings on our website.
If you are interested in finding out about our 2009 trip, please contact us at fcnysoccer@optonline.net.
FCNY is the authorized, official
US Club registrar for the
HBC Soccer Club
The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.
--Babe ruth
Posted 7/16/08
NY Daily News 8/2/07
NY Daily News 4/19/07
For a complete calendar listing, click here!
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