On Wednesday, Red Bull New York’s Academy Under-18 squad were given the once-in-the-lifetime opportunity to train with the Argentinian national team, FIFPro World Player of the Year Lionel Messi among them.
The session was in preparation for the South Americans’ friendly against the United States at New Meadowlands Stadium this coming Saturday night, and for Sean Davis and his team-mates, the opportunity not only to see but also to play with one of the best international sides in the world was an unbelievable experience, standing side-by-side with FC Barcelona megastar Messi, along with other world-class players globally known through just by their last names: Cambiasso, Zanetti, Mascherano, Di Maria.
“You see it on TV and you see how they do it and they make it look easy,” Davis said. “And then, you play against them and it’s just incredible how fast they move, how simple they keep it and how they just can dominate us so easily. It’s definitely something that we talk about now and we’re going to build off of and try to replicate what they do.”
The idea to have the Under-18s train with Argentina came about after their federation contacted Red Bulls Head of Scouting Cris da Silva early last week. When the sessions were finalised, the players were informed and couldn’t believe what lay in front of them.
'It’s just amazing to actually get out there and play with them' – Dan Metzger
“I thought we were just going to be cones, if anything, and no one really thought it was serious until we actually got here today,” said Dan Metzger. “It’s just amazing to actually get out there and play with them.”
After Argentina had gone through several warm-up exercises on their own, they joined up with the Under-18s for two smaller sided games and a larger field drill. Most of the time, the Red Bulls were chasing to get possession back against the faster members of the national team, while trying to soak the entire experience in.
RBNY
“When we started to play in ‘5 v 2’ everyone was nervous, [saying,] ‘Oh, what if you mess up?’” said Bryan Gallego. “But once you got into the game, once you got your first few passes in, you kind of settled in. It’s hard to play, they’re good, they’re playing one-touch around us, but we stayed composed.”
Despite obviously being outplayed, there were some small victories for the youngsters, Gallego remembers that he was able to poke the ball away from Messi while Davis said he got by Javier Mascherano once or twice – something the intimidating Barcelona defensive midfielder apparently wasn’t happy about.
'The Red Bulls are getting worldwide recognition, it shows that Argentina respect us' – Bob Montgomery
However, though those memories will always endure for these players, the lessons learned on the pitch were invaluable in the development of the Red Bulls.
“Seeing [Argentina play] is one thing but being in the middle of it is a completely other thing,” said Red Bulls Director of Youth Programs Bob Montgomery. “The game is the best teacher and this was the day that it could be demonstrated.
“The Red Bulls are getting worldwide recognition, it shows that [Argentina] respect us, the fact that they would invite us and the way they’ve treated us since we have arrived. We’re very thankful for the opportunity.”
Want more?
- Check out the official Red Bull New York website
- More on Messi at the lionelmessi.com fansite
- Thierry Henry profile page
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