With the end of the last match day on November 11, the nine-day 2017 National Youth Men’s Football U15 Championship was successfully concluded at the Kunming CITIC Jialize Sport Club. As one of the foreign teams invited to participate in the championship, A.J. Auxerre U15 Team from France came to defeat the Guangzhou Football Association No.5 Middle School in the final game at 6:0, resulting in a record of three wins, one draw and one loss, and ranking second in the championship standings. Another foreign team, Spartak Moscow, won the championship with a winning record. The third place was attributed to this year’s domestic U15 championship Shandong Luneng.
Metsoko (No. 9) of A.J. Auxerre U15 Team won the top scorer in this match with 4 goals. For the top scorer who won the event, Metsoko continued to emphasize the teamwork spirit. He said, “As a striker, as long as there is a chance to score a goal, I will try my best to help the team win the opponent. Also, with energetic team and excellent command of the coaching team, I believe we can win over all opponents.”
After the game, Chief Coach of A.J. Auxerre U15 Team - David fully affirmed the performance of players at the game, “Although the average age of our players is relatively small, their spirit of dare to fight on the court is still worthy of recognition. In addition, throughout the five games, we have both a hearty victory and fightback. In general, the actual experience of this game has played a very good role in the future growth and development of the players.” Mr. Francis Graille, Chairman of A.J. Auxerre, also fully affirmed the performance of the players at the conclusion meeting. He also extended his gratitude to O.R.G. Packaging and Mr. Zhou Yunjie who contributed to the game participation of A.J. Auxerre U15.
Although they have not won the laurels, for these minor football players from France, the trip to China not only gave them a good opportunity for practical training, and deepened their understanding of Chinese minor football players, but also provided them with the opportunity to experience the local customs and understanding of brilliant Chinese history and culture in addition to the intense game. At the same time, the A.J. Auxerre U15 Team, which was mixed with players born in 2002 and 2003, also showed the profound historical and cultural heritage of A.J. Auxerre to the same-age players of other participating teams with high professional performance inside and outside the stadium.
Style on the Court
For these minor A.J. Auxerre players who were in the growth stage, they were confronted with the intense 5 matches in nine days, let alone they had to overcome the adverse effects of jet lag and altitude. Despite this, the A.J. Auxerre U15 Team was still awesome in this game.
On November 3, the minor A.J. Auxerre players played ruthlessly against the domestic minor training team - Shandong Luneng. Despite advantages in the players’ personal technical abilities or the overall tactical skills, A.J. Auxerre was still tenaciously balanced by its opponent - Shandong Luneng at the last moment with a 1-0 lead, and DOS Santos (No. 10) scored the first goal of the event for A.J. Auxerre. On November 5, A.J. Auxerre matched with Guangzhou Evergrande Football School. The minor A.J. Auxerre players did not fall behind because of the age difference. Instead, they repeatedly threatened their opponents in the offense, and finally relied on Herve (No. 5) and Metsoko (No. 9), and A.J. Auxerre beat Evergrande Football School to win the first victory of the championship at 2-0. On November 7, A.J. Auxerre played a strong dialogue with another foreign team, Mosts Badak. This game was also destined to sparkle from the opening. The attack and defense rhythm of the two sides was quickly changed, and the fight was very fierce. In the end, A.J. Auxerre regretted the opponent with a score of 0-1, and suffered the first defeat. On November 9, A.J. Auxerre welcomed the fourth opponent - Langzi Codion United. At the start of losing a goal, the minor A.J. Auxerre players were not in a hurry, defeating Langzi Codion United with a 2:1 successful reversal with Billet (13) and Metsoko (9). On November 11, A.J. Auxerre played against the Guangzhou Football Association No.5 Middle School, and faced the previous 1 draw and 3 losses and the second-lowest Guangzhou Football Association No. 5. The minor A.J. Auxerre players broke out completely, and used a 6:0 victory to draw a successful conclusion for this trip to China.
Training Guarantee
Obviously, during the nine-day game, the A.J. Auxerre U15 Team not only showed high technical and tactical level and professionalism, but also proved high level of daily training and team management of the entire team.
Although it was only a club echelon level game, A.J. Auxerre’s coaching group carefully prepared according to the professional team standards. Whether it was on the training day or match day, from the training plan arrangement to the technical and tactical skills against different opponents before the game, the coaching group was targeted at every link. In addition to the strict management of the A.J. Auxerre coaching team, the O.R.G. work team, headed by President of O.R.G. Sports Culture Department - Wang Meng and the Chinese Affairs Representative of A.J. Auxerre Club - Feng Xiaojing, provided the most solid logistical support for A.J. Auxerre U15 Team to participate in this game. In order to ensure that the minor A.J. Auxerre players could maintain their best in the intensive schedule and avoid injuries, the O.R.G. team specially arranged the full-time physician Doctor Qian to join the team’s medical insurance team, not only actively helping the players to recover after the game, but also following the team’s training and games to ensure that injuries could be treated immediately. Kunlunshan, which provided drinking water support for the A.J. Auxerre team, had become another beautiful landscape in this game. Not only did it appear in the game suits of A.J. Auxerre players for the first time, but also the painful drink energized players during the training.
Cultural Journey
In addition to the satisfactory results of the game, under the careful arrangement of colleagues from O.R.G. Kunming, the A.J. Auxerre U15 Team’s trip in Kunming was rich and colorful. Beautiful scenery, tasty food, god interaction, and smooth communication were all indispensable.
In this game, the schedule of one match per two days was not tense. In addition to training, the minor players who came to China for the first time visited the first scene in Kunming - Golden Horse and Jade Rooster and Law Circle Temple Forest Park. Whether it was to witness Kunming’s centuries-old history and branding the purest Kunming imprint of Golden Horse and Jade Rooster, or the long-standing Fajie Temple that began in the Jin Taihe Period and was praised by the Ming Dynasty Geographer Xu Xiake as “Very Beautiful Scenery”, these attractions had brought the most profound Chinese culture to the coaches and players. In addition to enjoying the beautiful scenery, it was also essential to taste Yunnan specialty dishes. The team members not only appreciated the elegant beautiful dance of the Kunming girls, but also experienced the customs of ethnic minorities in Yunnan, tasted the authentic fragrant amaranth, and deeply remembered this unfO.R.G.ettable Chinese taste. Most notably, the team members of A.J. Auxerre U15 also came to Kunming No.1 High School’s Economic Development Campus, walked into the English class on the Chinese campus, interacted with classmates, gave gifts and took photos. At this moment, the friendship messengers fully felt the pride of being the promoter of the Sino-French campus football cultural exchanges.
Time flies. The A.J. Auxerre U15 Team, which had won the 2017 National Youth Men’s Football U15 Championship, is about to embark on a return flight. However, the trip to China had left a deep imprint on minor French players. They will also continue their football journey with this wonderful memory. Perhaps in the near future, they will become the future superstars just like Cantona, Cisse...
