Denise

We are going to Lisbon…

The final day scheduled in Cortegaca began with breakfast and a training session with Carlos and Nuno. This would be the last session for the week with them and was a lighter practice that involved some agility work, finishing, 1v1s and 2v1 with 3v2 transition. 

We had a tight schedule after training to eat lunch on the beach and make it out of there in time for the long trip ahead to Lisbon for the BENFICA game. It was our final lunch by the beach so the owner felt the proper send off meal was squid, chicken, rice and potatoes!  The lunch was delicious however everyone was caught by the view of the ocean and decided to take some photos and stay by the water before leaving!

We said our goodbyes and began the journey to Lisbon for one of the most exciting parts of the trip, the stadio da luz. Attending the Benfica game on Saturday night was a magical experience that the boys will keep with them forever. The game was sold out with 62,958 fans in attendance and this is not “tickets sold” this is the exact entrance into the stadium. The group witnessed not just a professional soccer game but a religion that is carried out through songs, chants, tradition and a sense of belonging!  The crowd adores Benfica and everything that goes with being a member of the club. The color Red, the eagle, the beer sponsor, you won’t see too many benfiquistas drinking super bock and the overall welcoming of people from all over the world into their sacred grounds and way of being.    

I could go on and on about the game in terms of technical quality and synchronized movement of players in attack and defense but I want to point out the moments that I find impressive in terms of the connection to the fans. 

The game was 40 minutes from kickoff and the fans were anxiously entering the stadium with many already in their seats. 10 minutes later there is a large cheer in the stadium as if a goal was scored but the game hasn’t even started yet…It didn’t take long to realize that everyone was following the score of the FC Porto game and waiting to celebrate the loss of their opening game. FC Porto is the biggest rival to Benfica in Portugal as they are the 2nd most winning team in the country after Benfica. The attention to the other game along with the reaction to their loss shows the competitiveness between the two clubs is at an all time high. 

Benfica supporters are educated in the game, appreciate hard work and sacrifice for the good of the team and have the expectation to compete to win every game regardless the opponent.  With that said there was a sign of compassion continuously demonstrated from the crowd when they noticed the difficulty involved in a play and a poor outcome. The reaction was a quick applaud rather than a whistle.  My clearest moment of this was around the 60th minute when Benfica began a counter attack with Pizzi on the left side and Seferovic and Rafa made about a 65 yard sprint to get into the best position to finish the attack. Pizzi played a perfect ball right into the path of Seferovic who had difficulty timing his connection with the ball while in stride of running. In the end the ball traveled well wide and high of the goal and a chance went wasted. A hunched over and disappointed Seferovic was supported by the fans because his effort was incredible. They were by his side knowing he wanted the goal just as bad as the fans did!  This type of response and support is earned over time when educated fans pick up the little meat details of players. It was satisfying to witness this act of kindness and support in such a tense environment when stakes are high. Seferovic did go on to score the 3rd goal of the game and you can credit a piece of that to his fans reminding him he is giving his best and another chance will come.  This romantic outlook to the game is something that is a part of me when watching soccer.  The smallest details can have a greater meaning to a person in soccer and life. 

The game finished with a score of:

Benfica 5 – 0 Pacos de Fereirra and the celebrations continued as the fans exit the stadium chanting, signing and smiling the entire walk to the cars! No one seemed to care for the traffic or slow exits but rather took in the satisfaction of 3 points at home to start the 19/20 Primeira Liga season!

After an experience like Saturday night the schedule for Sunday mapped out as follows:

Breakfast -> Baixa Lisbon touring -> Belém Lisbon touring -> Lunch & BENFICA STADIUM AND MUSEUM TOUR -> Relax -> Dinner in downtown Lisbon -> Walking the streets of Lisbon at night eating dessert, dancing, and telling jokes on the final night of the trip. 

The votes were taken and after doing both tours of the stadium and museums of Benfica and Porto the results are in; Benfica wins with 85% of the tour participants voting in favor of RED. With respect to both clubs there is so much history and the detail that goes into creating the museum and stadium to ensure there is a great meaning to the club is impressive. My personal opinion is that Benfica has a more elegant approach to their stadium and museum that is more appealing to a neutral person. 

The night ended with a meeting about the week of soccer they experienced here in Portugal . They had to express their greatest moment of the week along with demonstrating an appreciation for everyone involved in the trip. The boys were a pleasure all week and impressed our coaching staff and the opposing teams staff and players. Many are looking forward to the next trip. 

The boys flew back today and I’m happy to report they have landed safely and have reconnected with their parents. 

Until next time Portugal 🇵🇹 ⚽️

A long day is followed by an early start as there is no time to waste here in Portugal. 

7:30am came quick for the boys who were coming off a tough game and late arrival back to the hotel but all of them were on time for breakfast and ready to depart. 

We needed to make it to Espinha sports complex in time for a 10:00am kickoff against a Japanese team who has been here for a couple of weeks training for their upcoming season.  Before the game started they were kind enough to give a gift to every player on our team as well as a club Pennant. The game was one-sided however with our boys in control of the match from the beginning. The score ended 6-0 in favor of JPSC. 

The game was followed up with a lunch with the opposing team near the fields and a chance for the boys to play more in one of the smaller fields.  We had to them transfer to our next training session which would be run by Individual Football Training. This company is a training company for players throughout the area and all of Portugal to assist in their development. Bruno Fernandes is one of the bigger name professionals to have trained with the company. The session was run well with 4 coaches running similar exercises minus the goalkeeper. Jason got the best workout out of the entire team with a goalie trainer that was one of the best I have seen. The technique in his distribution, his communication and motivation were top notch and high energy throughout. 

After training, we made it back to the hotel for an earlier dinner than normal which was good as the boys were starving. This would be our final dinner at this hotel as we are off to Lisbon tomorrow after training. We will be visiting the Champions of Portugal Benfica for the opening game of the League!  We are very excited about the game and it will be another chance for the boys to see a live match of one of the best clubs in the world!

We will try to capture as much as possible on the Instagram story!

A day in Porto…

The second day of the trip began with an early breakfast at the hotel before heading to the stadium of FC Porto for a tour of the stadium and Museum. 

FC Porto is Benfica’s biggest rival in Portugal and challenges them every year for the title. As many of you know, our Academy is supporters of Benfica and work with them on various projects abroad and at our home fields. These tours are to give a total soccer education and experience to the players and today was a day to show how competition makes everyone better!

I have had the pleasure of touring the Benfica Stadium and Museum multiple times and used this as a comparison for today’s experience. There were many similarities that show me that the clubs are keeping tabs on each other. Taking what they like or noticing what works for one and making it their own. This is a necessary skill of any competitor in the sport, business, and life in general. Whether it was how we entered the stadium or the darkness of the room we were in there was a reasoning behind each step of the way through our tour. I respect this in-depth thought when it comes to the supporter experience, non-soccer fan or rival entering their home. They have pride in their colors, history, and people and must make others feel that presence each time they visit.  The special tributes and rituals are to be announced and celebrated in hopes of growing a passion from fans or respect from rivals. The videos, trophies, statues, books, mascots, and more than the boys saw today are all existing because of competition. I know many FC Porto fans are not too fond of Benfiquistas and vice versa but recognize without one another pushing to be better we wouldn’t enjoy these beautiful experiences. 

Which brings me to how delicious lunch was. We ate lunch at one of the best restaurants in the area that opened up their second dining area across the street just for us. a simple meal was delivered with chicken, rice, salad, fish filet but the privacy of the lunch and intimate feel of having a balcony view with a one-man service who was working tiresomely to deliver plates 6 at a time was appreciated. With that appreciation comes admiration for one mans hard work and a good word that gets past along about how we were served. They opened specifically for us as it was in the off hours of their weekly schedule. Again, competition drives people to go to lengths that are not often reached. When going the extra mile becomes part of the routine that is a true improvement. 

Finally, the competition for our boys on the field came at 16:00 against FC Porto. The opportunity to play against an Academy team of a successful and historic club like Porto is a win, to begin with. The professionalism was evident and expected. Leading up to this game, the boys were nervous and unsure of the level that would be displayed but preparing for a tough challenge. Our opponents ended up being a younger squad of 14-year-old mix and the B group of this division. We won the game by a score of 4-2.  The score doesn’t tell everything and the age of a player is often confused with the level. These boys had good technique in the fundamentals of the game, structure, organization, communication and a fearless mentality. These “B” players are selected from not just all over Portugal but throughout Europe and into Africa. Many of the players are receiving room and board to be a part of the FC Porto school. Physically they could not match up of course and I feel we were a good opponent for them to work on things before heading into the season. For us, It was a game that will most likely be the lightest of the week here in Portugal.

Tomorrow will be a double session with trainers Carlos and Nuno who have expressed that the boys must be ready. I am anticipating a tough 2 sessions in the morning and afternoon back at our favorite home base Futpark in Cortegaca.

Tune in tomorrow! ⚽️

B2010 – James/Brian ||| B2011 – Joe/Jaime

Tonight’s practice was once again, a work of art!  It’s unbelievable how disciplined these 7 and 8 year old athletes performed in the session!  Tonight’s theme involved 15 minutes of personal ball ownership with intent to pass and receive, the follow-up was a sequence of dribbling, passing, and receiving exploring various areas of the field to produce attacking, dribbling, back passing, and changing point of attack to end with a pass to a player positioned to receive and shoot on goal!

I’m sure that a visual would have been better than this explanation!

At the same time, Jaime worked with the goalkeepers on basic coordination and movement as it relates to protecting the goal!  Jaime emphasized footwork and mobility as well as eye/hand coordination by teaching catching and distributing the ball.

Jaime showed his expertise in this area by creating an environment which challenged our young keepers and the variety of exercises deployed kept them focused and hungry for showing a good performance!

Practice culminated with four teams of 5 playing a round robin tournament which was won by the team led by Anthony Rui Patricio, Ascenso!

Our youngest JPSC teams B11 Red and White Topolini, are a joy to teach!  Their ability is unblemished and if they stay disciplined and focused, as well as patient, the potential is there to create future stars in the game!

Thank you Jaime, and Parents: Thank you for getting the kids to practice and continue to praise their effort which will help in their development.

B10: James and Brian!  I did not see the practice but looked awesome from a distance!!

Yesterday’s training was absolutely spectacular! 

Thursday is my day to supervise, participate and evaluate our staff!

This great spectacle was twofold:

1. Our staff was well prepared and ready to teach and inject passion into the exercises that were performed by our JPSC players in various age groups! This helped to reinforce our motto and kids responded! I was particularly impressed with our staff’s physical involvement in exercises and demonstrations.  Aaron even guided play last 15 minutes of practice by entering the match and physically showing his technique so players could imitate it!  A valuable tool in development!

2. Our players, for the most part, were prepared, on time, and ready to work!  One slight imperfection, which I had to address to all teams at the end of practice, was the play-like attitude that some on each team displayed and subsequently caused a distraction in training!  For the most part, it was a pleasure to witness the energy of our players and self-discipline put into each exercise with conviction and attitude that they’re here to prepare to compete and not just on a play-date to socialize with their peers!

I really enjoy watching our JPSC teams train and very proud of the work our staff is displaying.  I look forward to this weekend’s games so our kids can display the skills learned in competition on Saturday and/or Sunday!

Yours in Soccer,

      Joe Palumbo

• JPSC 04 PREMIER PLAYER •
We want to wish good luck to one of our premier players, @kyle_arraiano as he will begin a week of training with Futebol Clube de Cortegaca at Fut Park in Portugal tonight! We are so very proud of your accomplishments thus far and so eager to hear all about this once in a lifetime experience!  Be sure to take everything in and enjoy the experience as much as possible!