Puma and The FIGC Look For Who Wants To #BeTheNext
Youth Soccer News: Do you have what it takes to play football against some of the best in the game? Do you want the opportunity to play against an Italian Youth National Team on their turf? Il Viaggio is providing elite youth soccer players in the U.S. and Canada the opportunity to earn a spot on an all-expense-paid soccer trip to Italy and learn great soccer tips from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
The Italian Football Association (FIGC) and PUMA® have announced a new program named Il Viaggio, Italian for The Journey. This program gives U.S. and Canadian male and female players born in 2000 and 2001 the opportunity to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime experience to learn and play football the Italian way, in Italy. While male trails have already begun, female trials will take place in 2017.
Working with the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calico — FIGC for short –PUMA is hosting local tryouts and the top youth soccer performers will be identified and then invited to compete at the National Trial at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, FL.
In Florida, the final roster of 16 youth soccer players will be selected to #BeTheNext and will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to Italy.
Open to all players, not just those with Italian lineage, the first tryout in LA was packed with approximately 65 highly competitive youth soccer players, many sporting the new Italian National Team Jersey when they arrived. Not only attended by top soccer players from LA and San Diego, elite players from as far as Utah and Massachusetts flew to Southern California to participate.
SoccerToday’s Diane Scavuzzo and her 14 year old son Michael Scavuzzo interviewed Italy’s soccer coach Stefano Guidoni. Representing FIGC, Guidoni oversaw the trial in LA and worked with a team of coaches to select the top players. After the Il Viaggio New York tryout on April 23rd at Calvert Vaux Park, Brooklyn and the Il Viaggio Toronto tryout on April 30th at Ontario Soccer Centre, Canada — final player selections will be announced.
Diane Scavuzzo: Welcome to America – Happy to be here?
Stefano Guidoni: Yes, of course — the facilities are unbelievable in California. This is a great opportunity for 2000 and 2001 boys.
Diane Scavuzzo: What do you think of these elite youth soccer players who are participating in the Il Viaggio LA event?
Stefano Guidoni: There are a lot of talented players here today and it’s not so easy to see which players will be invited to Italy, but this is a great challenge and we try to do our best to find the right players.
All of the guys have a good chance because they have good technique. It is difficult to be a complete player at this age but I can see all the youth soccer players here have all the good characteristics.
Diane Scavuzzo: You’re only in the USA for 24 hours. You fly back today; Do you have to be back at work on Monday?
Stefano Guidoni: Yes, Monday morning I am working in Italy. This is a short trip just to evaluate these players today.
Michael Scavuzzo: What do you think is the most important characteristic for a youth soccer player? What does it take to be successful as a soccer player?
Stefano Guidoni: Soccer is very different from ten years ago.
The ideal soccer player is changing — because soccer is changing.
Now we look for very fast players with excellent technique and then the mix of the talents which are necessary to play with — great ideas, smart mentality, open-mindedness. It is so important that the player knows what to do before they receive the ball. With greater speed comes the requirement for greater and more accurate technique.
Michael Scavuzzo: Ten years ago what was soccer like?
Stefano Guidoni: Ten years ago soccer was totally different because you had more time to think.
Diane Scavuzzo: The game was slower?
Stefano Guidoni: The game was a little bit slower. Today, all the physical characteristics of the players have changed the game. If you are very fast, the opponent has less time to decide what to do. In this situation, you absolutely have to think before you receive the ball.
Guidoni was assisted by several youth and collegiate soccer coaches who were carefully selected by the Il Viaggio staff.
“It was great to be involved in the Il Viaggio event and work with Stefano from the FIGC — he has worked with some of the highest level youth players in Europe,” said Dan Richards who assisted at the LA trials. Richards is Head Coach for Strikers FC – OC & ECNL (OC & ECNL) and Assistant Coach at Cal Poly Pomona Womens Soccer Program.
“There is a tremendous amount of talent in Southern California and it is very easy to see why more and more organizations from outside the U.S. want to gain access to American youth players. Having youth soccer players travel from other states clearly shows the draw of this program. Any event run by Puma and the FIGC is going to be of the highest quality and I feel extremely fortunate to have been involved in these tryouts and work with so many phenomenal players,” said Richards.
Ben Helm, Director of Operations at So Cal Blues who also helped coach at Il Viaggio said, “It’s incredibly fulfilling as a coach to help young athletes realize their potential and achieve their dreams.”
Selected players will depart from New York City on August 31st to Italy, returning on September 5th. All costs associated with the trip will be paid for by PUMA including all flights, accommodations, meals, and on-the-ground experiences.
Who will succeed at the player trials to #BeTheNext and participate for the chance to meet with Gianluigi Buffon, Marco Verratti and the rest of the Italian Football National Team? It will be a tough decision for the head coaches of the FIGC who will be on-site to select the final group of 16 players, who will then be sent on an all-expense paid trip to Italy.
More information online at www.soccer.com/ilviaggio
Related Article: One in a lifetime experience – Il Viaggio
