It seems like the football fever in San Pedro never dies down, as there are always tournaments going on. After three months of competition, the Under-11 LAFALE Champions League came to a close with team Barcelona taking first place. Held at the Honorable Louis Sylvester Sporting Arena, the tournament saw children between the ages of 5 to 11 competing in a series of matches since November 30, 2014.
Six participating teams took on the names of some of the top European football clubs including Barcelona, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester City. The tournament was organized by Javier “Lalin” Calderon, Anthony Castillo, Fulli Hoare, Angie Olivarez, Luis Pant and Edgar Castillo with aims of providing a recreational activity for the island’s children.
After several game days, the top four teams moved on in the tournament finals. The first match of the finals was to determine third and fourth place teams. Inter Milan took on Real Madrid in a heated match that went into overtime. These young boys played like pros and definitely represented their teams’ name with pride. But in the end it was Inter Milan that managed to outscore Real Madrid and take the third place in a 4-3 point game.
The next game of the night was the super exciting championship match. Team Barcelona faced off against a very talented Manchester United team, and the crowd cheered as the future footballers of San Pedro gave it their all on the field. It was a tough match as neither team wanted to lose, but with a last minute goal, Barcelona managed to secure the win and the coveted first place. Manchester United has to settle for a “not too shabby” second place.
At the award ceremony, the top three teams were recognized for their hard work with a trophy and individual medals. Individual awards were also given out to outstanding players of the tournament. Gerardo Reyes of Inter Milan took the award for Best Goal Keeper. Juanito Olivarez from Barcelona and Jarrel Rubio from Inter Milan tied for Best Defense. The Best Goal award went to Adayne Luis from Barcelona, while Manchester City’s Arad Morey took the Most Improved Player award. Inter Milan’s Harold Ramos took the award for Best Midfielder and Manchester United’s Osylin Reyes took the Most Goals in the Tournament award. Jahid Flowers from Barcelona took both the Best Forward and Most Valuable Player award. The final award was for Best Coach and it went to Luis Panti from Manchester United.
Tournament organizers would like to thank Remax, the San Pedro Town Council, Gaby’s Construction Company, Mike, Caroline, football fans, parents, coaches and all the young football players for making the tournament a success.
