After beating their opponent comprehensively in the previous encounter, FCV International faced Hedgewar Boys for the second time, with the latter stepping up the competition with few first team players of extra quality brought in the Squad.

Having started the academy couple of months back the FCV international aims to play in competitive football league next year and are preparing their young players with competitive game time by playing against other Mumbai clubs.

After the win few days ago against the same side, confident FCV Academy boys faced a stepped up Hedgewar Boys for another friendly. Having been training and honing defensive skill set and high press football for the past two weeks, the FCV boys were up on a test after conceding early in the game. Mid-way through the first half, FCV conceded the ball away cheaply in midfield which was well countered by Hedgewar Boys to nick the ball past an on-rushing Shahit in goal as the score read 0-1.

Despite going down by a goal, FCV boys continued to their principals of high press with captain Tilak leading from the front, shouting orders to his teammates (push, slide, drop, hold, out) and the rest of the defence responding. Although FCV were guilty of ball watching at times, losing focus on the marked players, the boys yet showed a lot of improvements from their previous games.

The equaliser came when the two standout players of FCV Academy Ramsempam and Karthik combined together down the left flank for the latter to coolly turn inside the opponent full back and loop it over the onrushing goalkeeper.

Soon FCV completed the comeback when the winner came through new recruit Jerry, who finished the ball well after it came back to him off the underside of the crossbar, following a brilliant run and hit by Grimson on the left.

It was a good all-round performance from the FCV Academy boys cemented by Ramsempam pulling all the strings in the middle of the park with some fantastic good passing and Karthik, who did well to switch positions at different points of time during the game. From a successful spell on the left to a completely different role as a defensive midfielder he did his job wonderfully with tracking and coverings, doing the dirty work in midfield protecting his back four.

The new boys fit in the game well contributing the two wins in a row as FCV International Academy now looks forward to the next game with confidence.

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Even if the Academy has just been around for around two months, it has already began making the right noises. Enrolments for footballers are now on and youngsters can be a part of it. Those interested can visit the facility from 3 pm to 5 pm on Monday, Wednesday or Friday.

The academy has made sure that boys play competitive friendly matches on Saturdays and would be looking to participate in private tournaments across the city. The Academy will also look forward to fielding a team in MDFA next season.

After two initial friendlies ended in loss the recent friendly match on 18^th November 2017 was played against Hedgewar Boys FC where the Academy boys came out with a 2-0 win.

After a brief meeting with the boys the coach spent the entire week solely on concentrating on defending and in particular pressing high. As the boys had previously lost the 2 friendlies they played, it was very important to show promising signs in this match and apply what has been taught over the past week. The coach was aware of what the team’s priority was and the players knew what the coach is asking from them.

In a brief conversation with the coach he said, “I wasn’t sure what the net result of this (the practice sessions) would be to be honest and if we conceded less goals than previous games, then that would be a small victory in my mind.  But to their absolute credit the boys went out and put on a display of pressing that Pep Guardiola would have been proud of. They barely met the opposition out of their own half and when they resorted to going long, it played right into our hands with a commanding back 4 mopping up all that came their way.”

FCV academy defeated Hedgewar Boys FC with a comprehensive 2-0 win. First goal was from a long distance shot and the second one was nicely worked goals with a neat finish in the box.

But the coach was most impressed by the heart and desire to win every ball and counter attack when in possession. The coach also went onto say, “If we continue to progress in the same way as the past week and a half as gone then the future is bright for these boys.”

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Speaking to FootballCounter.com Ian seemed pretty excited about his first visit to India, “This is my first time in India. And I am enjoying the different culture over here, a lot different than back home in England but great to see so many children playing football.”

Watching the young ones giving trials for the academy Ian believes there is enough talents among the children’s in India but there are certain differences too when compared with the European counter-parts. “There is a difference in the way they play football. They are a little bit slower probably because of the heat but there is a lot of enthusiasm from all age groups and that has been very impressive.” When asked about what he is looking for in the trials, Ian replied, “We are judging the players based on their techniques, athleticism and understanding of the game, Based on that players will be divided in to development and Performance group.”

This might be Ian’s first visit to India but it is not his first connection to Indian football. Former Bengaluru FC manager Ashley Westwood is a friend back from their playing days for Northampton, while Bengaluru FC’s central defender John Johnson was a player under Ian when he became the Manager at Northampton, “I know a little bit about Indian football, I have some friends who played for or Managed Bengaluru FC, I was John Johnson’s manager while Ashley Westwood was my teammate at Northampton. And then there is ISL, which is more high-profile with big players promoting the game”

When asked about the young players ability to compete on par with their European counter-parts, Ian stated, ”I am sure there would be 1 or 2 undiscovered gems here it’s not easy to judge anyone in 2-3 hours but there is definitely a talent here.” Although Ian won’t stay long in India with work at crystal palace calling, he assured he would comeback whenever Tony would need a break.

There are good players with great athleticism and techniques – Tony Walmsley         

FCV head coach Tony Walmsley echoed a similar line when asked about the comparison between young players of Europe and India, “Players here haven’t been exposed to a structured football, Players without these experience of structure find ways to play themselves which is great but If we can just take these players and put them into more structured teaching environment then we can capture all the creativity and give them a football education at the same time.”

Regarding speed of the game he continued, “I think the tempo of the game is certainly slower but there were few players with exceptional speed. So the heat does affect the tempo of the game, they don’t press a high line but there are good players with great athleticism and techniques so I can’t really compare them with any other ways at the moment.”

Tony was also happy with the turn out for trials, “Over 100 players on day 1. I am happy with the start”. Tony will focus on developing the talents of Indian players, from Under-12s to Under-21s, through FCV and SRS Sports established coaching curriculum that utilises best international practices.

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FCV Academy’s first Indian foray looks to be in right course with more than 100 young trialists attending the day 1 of trials. Despite the mid-afternoon time, the young kids showed a lot of enthusiasm, a fact which impressed even the coaches –Tony Walmsley and Ian Sampson.

The best parts were the bunch of teenagers who had travelled all the way from Manipur just for the trials. Despite the academy not affording a residential program for now, the Manipuri boys were ready to make-shift a arrangement accordingly, Yangmaso Ramdan, one of the 16 years old Manipuri boys seemed excited and happy about the opportunity recieved to showcase their talents in front of International coaches, “It was a good experience, we did our best and hope we get selected.”

The Manipuri boys at the trials

The trials started from 2:30 with kids separated in different age groups of U12, U15, U18 and U-21 with Ian and Tony along with SRS Head Coach Fermin D’souza with his team of coaches personally supervising the young talents in action. At the end of the day, a short game was played between players selected by Ian against players chosen by Tony with the latter’s team emerging triumph.

Also Read: I wish to see our young academy players represent country in next 7—8 years – Firmin D’souza

The trials will continue to run till October 2^nd, and the selected kids will be given a call in a few days time. Meanwhile Chief Guest Aaditya Thackeray – MDFA president graced the occasion to boost the confidence of the young kids while he thanked SRS Sports and FCV International Academy for bring this opportunity to the youngsters of Mumbai.

With figures expected to rise in next few days, let’s hope that with the international infrastructure and coaching, Mumbai finds a gem for the future.

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