Carrington dream comes true for Bud Cup aspirants

MANCHESTER: The hundred amateur footballers of the world gathered for the Budweiser Cup six-a-side event realised one segment of their dream when they got to train at Carrington, the sprawling centre of the Manchester United team.
Part two of the dream will be when they play on the hallowed turf of Old Trafford in the 12-team event. The centre has two indoor full-length football pitches of artificial surface, one outdoor pitch also artificial, besides the gym and pool.
And outside there are ten, yes ten grass pitches that stretch out for nearly a mile into the countryside. Huge pictures of the Man U legends from Bobby Charlton to Cristiano Ronaldo stare at you at every nook and corner of the centre.
There are cut-outs of the current team members on the field. Luckily the sun kept peeping out from time to time and the weather was bracing.
Pune team Cedrick's 8 skipper Cedric Pereira said, "The training was good but nothing new for us."
There was an introductory talk by legend Bryan Robson, who later said the amateurs looked good and played at good pace.
There were ten coaches of the academy. Head coach Gavin Rhodes stressed on discipline, reminding how he sent back one team from the Budweiser Cup last year because of indiscipline.
The ground rules thus set, the players, two teams in one group (India and Ireland), had three 30-minute sessions each in passing and receiving, dribbling and turning and finishing and shooting.
The goalkeepers had special session, with balls fired at them from far and near in quick succession. Sanjeev Saran, the India team manager, was among those under the bar.
Coach Rhodes said the level of skill of the amateurs was good. "Some of them I am sure could go to semi-professional level if they wish to. We prepared them for the Monday event."
Rhodes stressed that if the teams followed the principles showed to them they would definitely do well. Above all it would depend on how they performed as a team. "The sport is not about individuals but about the team."
For sixes events he said it would depend how strong they were at the back, if they got the width and how they finished with their shooting.