The Maryland ODP teams traveled to Europe over Spring Break for some top quality soccer matchups and an enriching cultural experience. The 1993 boys team traveled to various cities in Italy; 1995 boys to Manchester, England; 1996 Girls to Copenhagen, Denmark and Sweden and the 1997 boys to Scotland.
While in Italy, the 97 boys played four games against Udinese F.C., A.C. Concordia Sagittaria, Calcio Union Quinto and A.C. Este 1920. They also had the opportunity to witness Udinese v Juventus! The 95 boys played four games against Everton Academy, Manchester City Academy, Bolton Wanderers Academy and Farsley Celtic. They also visited the EPL game, Bolton Wanderers v Aston Villa. The 96 girls played four games against Skovlunde (the Danish Champions), Farum BK, Brondby IF and Eskilsminne IF and watched the top professional game of the season, FC Copenhagen v. Brondby. The 97 boys played six against Glasgow Celtic Academy, Glasgow Rangers Academy, Hamilton Accies, Livingston FC, Stirling Albion and Cowdenbeath FC. They also joined 55,000 other fans in watching the U.S. Men’s National team player Maurice Edu score the only goal of the game as table toppers Glasgow Rangers beat Hamilton Accies.
While in Europe, the teams visited some of the continent’s most popular attractions including, Venice’s St. Marks Square, Liverpool’s Beatles Museum, Denmark’s Frederiksborg Castle and Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle. The trip was made possible by the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association and Excel International Sports, European Soccer Tour Specialists. For more information on the teams and/or the organizations visit their websites at www.msysa.org and www.eurosoccertours.net
