Sunday August 7th:
The session after our first game of the trip was very light. Today most guys were just about settled in with the time change and well adjusted to the schedule that was laid out for us. Still, a recovery session that featured some soccer tennis was very welcome to the team. The coaches set up a mini soccer tennis tournament to help us relax after a tough match, while still getting something out of our training session. I paired myself with fellow Canadian senior Jackson Goyette, as we sought to take down other teams on our quest to soccer tennis glory. Sadly, our conquest was thwarted by a few close games and questionable calls. Juniors Marshall Hodge and Kelby Zeiger finished on top, earning bragging rights for the next little while.
Not long after training, the team departed on a bus to Girona. I didn't know much about Girona beforehand, but from what I heard, it is one of the most desirable tourist locations in Europe. Upon arrival, it was easy to understand why. We were immediately greeted with a long bridge that led into the town, that provided us with a beautiful view of the large cathedral as the highlight of it all. We quickly learned that certain scenes from Game of Thrones were shot here, and as a fan of the show, knowing this was extremely exciting. During the tour, we stopped at a little restaurant/bar to cool off and relax for a bit in the shade. As we were there a Spanish man approached us and asked if we could sing Happy Birthday to a woman who was celebrating there. Of course, we obliged, and sang our best rendition of Happy Birthday. It was a fun experience, not only because we were doing something nice for someone, but for the fact that she enjoyed it so much. Although this gesture seemed small and insignificant in the grand scheme of the tour, it definitely made it more enjoyable for all of us. After a quick gelato stop, we departed from Girona back to our hotel. Words really cannot describe how beautiful the town was. It was not a place I had on my list going into the tour, but it is now definitely on my list of places to go BACK to.
Monday, August 8th:
This morning we all took a walk down to the Santa Susanna beach in order to soak up some sun and relax by the water. The water was absolutely perfect, so I can safely speak for all the guys when I say that this time to horse around in the water was more than warranted. Aside from relaxing, there were also pranks pulled. Junior captain Sam Rauf baited Goalkeeper/"Team Dad" Nick Tadros into a good ol' fashioned table-topping. Thankfully Nick was not hurt, as that would leave the squad with no actual goalkeepers. Even though I didn't bring a bathing suit to the beach, it seemed not to matter much, as the wild and crazy Cole Thornton and Orestis Ilias made to the water in only their boxer briefs. Thankfully in Spain, this was completely normal and common. So, I fell victim to peer pressure and joined them, which I'm glad I did because I had an awesome time.
That night we played our second match of the tour against UE Castellbisbal. Unlike the other teams we played this squad was an actual professional team with men that played in the 6th tier of Spanish football. Like the last club, the referee was a member within the club, and it was made apparent by the three penalty shots that he gave to our opposition - one in the first half and two in the second. Overall, our performance was much better than our first game; we had numerous effective spells of possession, with only the final pass lacking in the run of play. Shortly after Nick saved the first penalty shot, I slid into a 50/50 tackle with a very stocky opponent. After the ball went out of play, he fell on top of me, and the force was strong enough to separate my shoulder from its socket. It had never happened to me before, but as soon as it did, I knew it was out. Evidently so did my opponent, as he noticed I was in pain and swiftly forced my shoulder back into place with a few strong hits on the side of my arm. Immediately after he put it back into place, the pain subsided. It caught me off guard since the whole incident happened so fast, and I was taken aback. I actually got up and asked him, "Did you do that?" He smiled, nodded and said, "Si, si." So, I guess on the bright side, the whole process ended on a high note, even though it was quite unfortunate in the first place. I soon realized that this injury would keep me out of training and playing for the rest of my trip. There's no real way of saying it politely. Explicitly, it sucks. But, there are still plenty of other experiences on this trip that I'm glad I've had, and am still looking forward to experiencing. One little injury won't dampen my spirits in one of the most beautiful countries in the world!
The rest of the game was fairly intense, as we were attempting to make up a two goal deficit. The deficit was cut short thanks to a Jackson Goyette header that was placed perfectly to the far corner, going off the post and in. It was quite frankly an amazing finish coming off a perfect cross into the box; I'm sure the coaches were very pleased to witness that in a game before preseason. The rest of the game was pretty scrappy, as we were pushing lots of guys forward trying to find an equalizer. In attempts to come back, both coaches were yelling "Penal!", the Spanish word for penalty, essentially every time there was contact in the box. If not for a hometown advantage, we may have been able to get one called our way. Unfortunately, our comeback fell short and the game finished 2-1. It was definitely a much better performance than our first game, so moods weren't too somber. We had another game the next day, so we used the rest of our night to relax and take it easy.
Tuesday, August 9th:
Today we didn't have any training or sightseeing planned because of our next game being the second leg of a back to back, only against a different team. We traveled to play C.E. Jupiter, and immediately were all impressed by the facility. It was a very professional set-up, located in the middle of a calm downtown area. It was like a soccer oasis hidden in a busy city. Probably due to a combination of playing an exhausting game the day before, and the quality of our opponent, today's game was very tough. The opponent moved the ball in possession very well, switching it from side to side and moving in and out of spaces with great fluidity. They played a great brand of football that is going to be similar to that of which we will try to implement on our opponents in the NCAA/ODAC this upcoming fall. Yet again, two more penalty shots were called in this game, but one was thankfully called in our favor. Although rising Junior Tim Mahabir buried it, C.E. Jupiter came right back after to make the score 3-1. The game finished that way, which was more a testament to the quality of our opponent, rather than a poor performance.
Tomorrow we are heading to the famous Camp Nou to catch the first competitive match of FC Barcelona's season against Italian side Sampdoria. Stay tuned for updates coming in the next couple of days from junior midfielder Marshall Hodge.
Hasta la vista,
Aidan Nagy
