Under 9's Shine in Germany:

On Friday January 2^nd, the Under 9 Luton Town Centre of Excellence team set off from Luton Airport to take part in the 20^th Euro Cup, based in Gladbeck near Dortmund in Germany.

We look to take all of our teams to compete in European indoor tournaments in January/February each year. When people talk about why we fall behind our European counterparts when developing young players, we believe that indoor "futsal" is one major reason why. Across Europe, youth football closes down in January and February. Rather than forcing young players to battle against the elements on muddy pitches, the football goes indoor and the emphasis is on technique, passing and moving.

Despite the early meet (5 a.m.) the boys seemed wide awake for the short flight, but nothing could prepare them for the minus six temperature and snow! The transfer from the airport went via Schalke's impressive football complex. Six training pitches, an old 80,000 stadium (currently being converted into flats) and the unbelievable Veltins Arena.

The stadium was completed in 2004, and was the first stadium in Europe to be given a 5 star rating by UEFA. As well as hosting Bundesliga games, the arena also hosts over 200 other events per year. To make this possible the pitch rolls out of the stadium for 320 days a year due to the roof being closed on the arena. The stadium has terraces that convert into seated areas for European and International games, its own chapel and a cubicle TV monitor overhanging the pitch weighing over 30 tonnes.

The most impressive statistics however concern Schalke's supporters. Since opening, games have sold at 99.6% capacity, not bad when you can fit almost 70,000 people in for each match! There is no cash accepted in the stadium, all spectators must use pre-paid credit cards to speed up transactions. Beer is sold before games, but it doesn't come from barrels or bottles, to save time it is all piped in from four enormous tanks under the stadium. Over 30,000 pints are sold per game.

The players had a great time doing a press conference, visiting the dressing rooms and sitting in the Presidents seat.

On the Friday evening we played three friendly games, which we were able to video for analysis. This allowed us to put highlight packages together stressing the importance of the three aims for the weekend:

1) Pass the ball simply, early and quickly.

2) Look to shoot off 1 or 2 touches.

3) Be responsible for your player defensively.

On Saturday morning we were in a group of four, and after wins against lower league teams in the morning we played Eintracht Frankfurt, founder members of the Bundesliga and former UEFA Cup Champions. A narrow 2-1 defeat didn't reflect the game where we created, but failed to convert chances.

Finishing second in the group was enough to qualify for the second group stages, where individual errors cost us against Duisburg before we won comfortably against Wattensheid to qualify for the Quarter Finals.

We felt that the boys had began to adjust to the demands of the indoor game by this stage and we were quietly confident going into the game against tournament favourites, Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld. After falling behind early on, we played at a great tempo and blew the opposition away to win 4-1. This really made the 400 strong crowd sit up and notice us, and it was great to hear the Bielefeld players stay and cheer us on.

The semi-final meant a rematch against Championship side MVSV Duisburg. We felt that they would underestimate us after our earlier defeat and this proved to be right as we controlled the game and won 2-0. This meant a final against nine-time German Champions FC Nuremberg, but we had won the Battle of Hearts and Minds, meaning that the large crowd were supporting Luton!

After conceding two early goals, we battled back and halved the deficit before half-time. After that we were camped out in the opposition half but due to some good goalkeeping we were unable to equalise. The boys were heartbroken after coming so close, but were soon cheered up with all of the German teams wanting their photos taken with the "famous" Luton Town team that had come so close to victory.

The big emphasis that Alan Neilson and I have tried to put in place with all young players at Luton is one of personal discipline. It was therefore particularly pleasing to hear the compliments from our hosts for how disciplined on and off the pitch. Little things such as shaking hands with people, trying to speak in German when possible, and ensuring that tables are cleared and cleaned after dinner set good standards for young players lives regardless of whether they make it as a footballer or not.

On the Sunday we played in a smaller event against more local teams, and we won the tournament comfortably. We were again pleased with the style of passing football we were able to play, and the individual skills shown by our players. The host club Gladbeck took us back to their clubhouse for dinner and a table football tournament before we flew back into Luton, to be greeted by a large group of parents complete with a great Luton banner!

The tour was a great success and considering it was the first time this age group had been abroad the attitude of the players was first class. On the pitch the learning curve was steep, but to be able to pass and move the ball at the tempo we did was a great credit to players aged 8 and 9. Finally it was great PR for the football club, and ensured that the great reputation that Luton Town's Youth Policy has is now spreads into Europe!

Squad: Conor Eblett, Alex Taylor, Jack Scott, Niall Kately, Jake Peck, Sam Gibson, Arthur Read, Joe Mead & Adam Mason.

Player of Tour -

On Pitch: Sam Gibson

Off Pitch: Adam Mason

Overall: Joe Mead