du LaLiga HPC teams stun Sevilla

In an intense week of competitive matches, the du LaLiga High Performance Centre (HPC) U18 and U16 teams established themselves as formidable opponents to Spain's LaLiga top youth club teams Sevilla and Cadiz, grabbing victory with a bold display of strategy, strength and teamwork.
The du LaLiga HPC U18 and U16 teams, comprising players scouted through duFC, are in Spain as part of an annual 21-day intensive LaLiga Camp with competitive matches against the top LaLiga youth clubs. While it's the second such trip for the U18 team, it's the first for the U16 team who joined the by-invitation only du LaLiga HPC three months ago, after the end of the duFC season.
On the heels of their 2-1 win against Cadiz CF U18 earlier in the week, the du LaLiga HPC U18 team dominated their match against Sevilla to snatch a 1-0 win. Driss Matni opened the scoring 15 minutes in after a failed clearing attempt from the Sevilla defense enabled team captain Bouherrafa to send a beautiful through-ball to Matni who relayed an effortless ball through the last defender's legs and into the back of the net. From there on, the du LaLiga HPC team maintained a strong defensive stance, stifling all Sevilla attempts on goal with man-to-man marking and solid defensive lines blocking any counter attacks.  
As for the du LaLiga HPC U16 team, they recovered from the loss of their first competitive match ever, against Cadiz CF, going into their second match against Sevilla with great confidence and a determination to win. It was an intense match from the kick off, with both teams battling it out for the win, but du LaLiga HPC lead striker Elkhamlichi lived up to his position and sliced open the Sevilla's defensive line on three separate occasions scoring twice in the first half in the 10th and 25th minute and finessed his hat trick in the 56th minute of the match with some technical footwork eluding all Sevilla defenders in his path. The fourth goal scored by 13-year-old Abhinav John was the goal of the match as he scored a swooping goal from 25m out taking the Sevilla goalie by surprise and the game to its final score of 4-1.
Adham Bayoumi team captain of U16 said: "Going in you see the name of the team and see the badge and you ask yourself how are we supposed to play on the same pitch as them but then we played our game and put everything into it and when the first goal went in the whole team was amazed. But we kept a cool head and we kept scoring all the way to the end whistle. Even though we beat them 4-1 we still have a huge amount of respect for the team and their football history as a club."
With LaLiga scouts closely watching the matches from the sidelines, the du LaLiga HPC players gave it their all, with the dream of being recruited to play professionally in the top clubs of LaLiga an ever-closer possibility.  
In the lead up to their matches, the du LaLiga HPC teams were in top form physically, mentally and emotionally following grueling four-hour daily training sessions with LaLiga's UEFA certified coaches, focused on fitness drills, strategic and tactical skills development and recovery- all executed to LaLiga's rigorous standards.
Commenting on the teams' performance, LaLiga head coach Rafael Gil said, "The high intensity training the du LaLiga HPC teams have undergone has developing our players into world-class footballers, as we saw in this week's matches against LaLiga's top youth clubs.  The players have worked hard to earn a spot at the LaLiga Camp in Spain and I have seen them continue to push themselves every day. I look forward to even stronger matches and more victories in the days to come."
Commenting on his trip experience for the second year running, du LaLiga HPC U18 team captain Bouherrafa, said, "Over the last year, we have acquired a lot of confidence thanks to the intensive training and coaching we received as well as learning to play the LaLiga way. I am so proud of this moment for my team.  Winning our matches against Cadiz CF and Sevilla means the world to us; we worked hard for it, but we will not stop here."
With three matches to go the du LaLiga HPC teams will continue their relentless training and remain focused on their development while facing off on Aug. 12 against Almeria, followed by their Granada match on Aug. 15 and their final match against Malaga on Aug. 19.

Source: Khaleej Times