FC Barcelona players including Andrés Iniesta
and Gerard Pique drop in on day one of The Chance finals.
“Day one is nerve wracking. You are
desperate to impress but my advice is to keep things as simple as possible.”
Reyaad Pieterse (South Africa) - one of the 8 winners of The Chance 2010/11.
The Final 100 were put through their paces
working at first on basic control and passing, followed by intense drills
concentrating on possession. "It was a great first session," enthused
Liam Baker, from London. "Today is all about catching the coaches’ eye and
it’s important to keep your head up if you make a mistake. Go and look for the
ball again, show you’re hungry."
Having trained hard in the Barcelona sunshine
for the morning the Final 100 players were rewarded with a visit from several
of FC Barcelona’s superstar players. Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Adriano
were among a group who after their own training session had ended, walked over
to meet the youngsters before joining in with some drills and offering their
own tips and advice.
About The Chance, Adriano said: "This is
such a big opportunity for the young footballers, they should take this chance
as if it was the last of their lives and show what they are made of."
And on the Final 100 working together as a
team as well as for individual merit over the week in Barcelona, Gerard Pique
commented: "At the end of the day football is a team game. Work as a team
and have fun, learn more and you will stand out and be noticed."
The Nike Academy's head coach Jimmy Gilligan was
pleased with what he saw. "The standard is very good," he said, “We
knew it would be but today was all about the basics. If a building’s
foundations aren’t done properly, that building will fall down. I equate that
to football and the guys didn’t disappoint."
Visit The
Chance homepage on NikeInc.com to follow the daily action at the
finals.
