Valencia lift Hamdan U-19 football title
Valencia CF scored three goals in five minutes to secure a 4-1 win over gallant Al Nasr to lift the 3rd Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed International Under-19 Football Tournament at Al Nasr Club’s Humaid Al Tayer ground on Monday.
Matched well by the Dubai team till midway in the first half, Valencia settled the issue within five minutes: scoring in the 22nd, 24th and 27th minutes through captain Augustin Delgado, Fernando Gomes and Vincent Albert Garcia, to secure victory.
To their credit, Al Nasr tried their best to fight back, but the early goals were too much of a challenge to match.
They did score a consolation goal through Khalaf Ali Saeed with ten minutes remaining, only to see David Martinez come up with a solo effort in the 84th minute to wrap up things 4-1 and the title.
Dr. Ahmed Al Sharif, Secretary-General, Dubai Sports Council was the chief guest and handed over the trophy to Valencia captain Delgado along with Marwan Bin Ghulaita, CEO of Al Nasr Club and Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Technical Director at Al Nasr Club.
Valencia coach Sergio Pellicer was pleased with his team’s first major win in an international competition.
“This has been an unforgettable experience for us and if we are invited next year we will surely be back to defend our trophy,” the coach promised.
Earlier, last year’s champions Lega Pro Italy ended in third place following a scrappy 2-1 win over Al Ahli.
Giovanni Laraia cancelled out Saeed Ahmed’s early strike and Sebastiano Dalio gave the Italians the lead in the 43rd minute. In the second half, the home side went all out for an equaliser and the Italians did enough to contain them and hold on to their narrow lead till the end.
“Third place is good enough for this young side. It would have been good to be in the final or defending the title we won last year. But, we are happy with what we have achieved by being together as a team,” Lega Pro Italy coach Valerio Bertotto said.
This year’s competition saw the five clubs from Dubai: Al Nasr, Al Ahli, Al Shabab, Dubai Club and Al Wasl join three foreign teams and fight for the crown.
The annual tournament was held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of the Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, with sponsorship from Emirates Airline, Kia Motors, Saif Belhasa Holdings, B360 Watches, Rayhaan Al Ghurair, Arjaan Al Ghurair, Dubai Sports Channel and DEWA.