Two young Taiwanese soccer players will have the opportunity go to Germany this summer, where they will be able to meet with Bayern Munich stars such as Phillip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Manuel Neuer, and get some coaching.
The “Football-for-Life” program is a collaboration between the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) and Allianz Taiwan, a German insurance and financial services company.
The selection of Taiwanese soccer players aged between 14 and 16 is being held on May 25 at Taipei’s Bailing Soccer Field in Shilin District, to the north of Bailing Bridge.
Photo: Reuters
According to a spokesperson at Allianz Taiwan contacted by the Taipei Times, six players will be selected to represent Taiwan and they will the travel to Thailand for the Asia region’s “Football-for-Life” summer camp from June 28 to June 30.
“The Taiwanese players will join participants from other Asian countries at the football camp in Thailand, to vie for final selection — an invitation to a six-day camp in Munich, Germany, in August, where they will get to meet the stars of Bayern Munich and be coached by the club’s youth team coaches,” the spokesperson said.
“Out of the six Taiwanese representatives chosen in the Asia round in June, two will be invited to Germany. Therefore two Taiwanese players are guaranteed spots at the six-day Bayern Munich training camp,” she added.
Photo: Reuters
The spokesperson said the Taiwan round is open to girls and boys, and the deadline for registration is May 16. Information on how to apply can be found on the company’s Web site at www.allianz.com.tw.
According to the information on the Web site, the six Taiwanese players chosen for the Thailand camp and then the two selected to travel to Bayern Munich will have all their accommodation and traveling expenses paid by the program’s main sponsor, Allianz.
Taiwan was added to the program last year. In 2011, 52 teenagers from 16 countries traveled to Germany, and 63 teenagers from 21 countries participated last year.
One of the highlights of the program last year was that the participants got to meet Bayern Munich stars such as captain Lahm, as well as Germany internationals Schweinsteiger and Neuer.
In related news, the CTFA recently announced that a new foreign assistant coach is on the way from one of England’s top clubs to help train Taiwan’s junior players.
The CTFA said it hired Judan Ali to travel to Taiwan. Ali is a junior team coach with Blackburn Rovers, English Premier League champions in 1995, when Alan Shearer played for the Lancashire club. Rovers were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season and now play in the second-tier Championship.
“We have invited Judan Ali to help develop our youth players, as part of our national juniors program. Ali was recommended to us by a friend of mine who works in English professional soccer,” CTFA secretary-general Wang Sheau-shiun said
Ali is an ethnic Indian, born in London’s East End, and as a teenager he was an emerging young soccer talent who had a spell as a trainee with Arsenal, training and playing alongside Gunners legends such as Ray Parlour and Paul Merson.
However, according to some British media reports, he had a somewhat checkered sporting career, as Ali had trials with 32 professional soccer clubs in the UK, but failed to clinch a contract as a professional. He has cited racist attitudes in Britain during the 1980s and 1990s for his failure to break into the professional game.
Eventually, Ali joined Spanish second-tier club Real Murcia and after his playing career ended, he took up coaching jobs in India.
According to a CTFA statement, Ali was a pioneer, the first Asian player who tried to break into top-flight soccer in Britain and that “currently Ali is being cultivated by the English Football Association as a potential future coach for professional clubs.”
The CTFA said Ali’s life story was adapted for the 2007 Bollywood movie Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, in which he played himself. The film was based on Ali’s experiences as a British youngster with an ethnic-minority background trying to overcome the many barriers in British professional soccer.
“I have discussed the job with Ali. He and I have common visions and similar goals. We believe Taiwanese soccer can shine on the world stage. Our first goal is for the Taiwan national junior squad to make it to the finals of the under-17 FIFA World Cup in 2019. The other goal is for Taiwan to produce 10 top-level international players in the next 10 years,” Wang said.
“I am very happy that Ali has chosen to come here, to help our national soccer program. We also want to thank the many international organizations who assist behind the scenes and help support Taiwan’s soccer development,” he said.
The Taiwan Daredevils yesterday won one and lost one in the Taiwan Premier League, dispatching TCA with ease, but stumbling against Formosa. In the morning match at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), the Daredevils’ Johan Koekemoer carried his side to 141-6 with 44 from 45 in their 20 overs. George Klopper’s right-arm spin dominated in the run chase. He claimed 4-5 from 3.3 overs as TCA slumped to 77 all out. The highlight of the innings was a stunning catch at cover as Jeff Black turned back the years to pull in a full-blooded drive on the dive
The Hsinchu Titans yesterday made a strong start in Group A of the Taiwan Premier League in Taipei, winning two games as the 10-team T20 competition began at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground. Chetan Sharma scored 57 from 30 deliveries in the morning match as the Titans made 178-7 against the Taipei Indians, who helped their opponents’ cause with 26 extras. Pramod Mandal took 3-11 as the Indians struggled to 126-8 in reply. The Taipei Stallions posed a greater hurdle to the Titans in the afternoon match, posting 163-7 after choosing to bat first. Hassaan Samad smashed 77 from 44 with seven fours and six
Alexander Zverev on Wednesday reached his 18th ATP Masters semi-final in Rome, but only after a worrying fall which sparked memories of the horror injury he had at the French Open two years ago. The world No. 5 from Germany defeated Taylor Fritz of the US 6-4, 6-3 in Italian Open to set up a last-four duel with Alejandro Tabilo, the Chilean journeyman who had stunned world No. 1 Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Zverev’s moment of concern came in just the third game on center court at the Foro Italico when he fell on the clay and landed on his
Andre de Grasse, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200m, and many other top-class international athletes are to showcase their talent in Taipei at the Taiwan Athletics Open early next month, according to the event’s official Web site. The Canadian sprinter, who clocked 19.62 seconds to top the podium in Tokyo in 2021, is to compete at the Taipei Stadium after the two-day event was upgraded to a leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour. The elevated status of the Taiwan Athletics Open means participants can earn more ranking points, making it possible for the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association (CTAA), the