Dubai Intercontinental Football Cup: A great opportunity for UAE academy teams

FC Barcelona legend Carles Puyol (left); Saeed Hareb, Dubai Sports Council secretary general and former Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado at a press conference in Dubai on Thursday. (Supplied photo)

They were foes on the pitch, their club rivalry as fierce as they come. But off it, they formed a special bond during their time with the Spanish National team which translated to an everlasting friendship, built on respect.
FC Barcelona's Carles Puyol and Real Madrid's Michel Salgado, legends in their own right, faced off in many El Classicos, 19 to be precise.
But having called time on their careers, the duo are thick friends, so much so that, Puyol, despite being a bit under the weather, jumped on a flight to Dubai, at Salgado's invite, to lend support for the Under-13 Dubai Intercontinental Football Cup that runs from February 14 to 16.
And the pair felt that the tournament, into its third edition, and boasting of some top 20 clubs from 13 countries, will be a learning experience for UAE's academy teams. 
"When we were young, we didn't have such an opportunity of a structured competition for academy teams. But now, this is a great chance for young footballers to grow, especially footballers in the UAE," Puyol, who is also the ambassador of the competition, said on Thursday.
And Salgado, who is the chief executive of the tournament, echoed his Spanish counterpart and said: "There are so many kids here in the UAE who are gifted and this tournament is a wonderful opportunity for players and coaches in the UAE to be challenged by the best clubs and academies in the world. They will be able to see different coaches, different systems and different styles of play."
The UAE has a sizeable representation with Dubai clubs Al Nasr, Al Wasl and Shabab Al Ahli participating along with Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda and Al Ain.
The tournament will play out at Dubai Sports City with the other teams being Spanish clubs FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Celta Vigo, Italian giants Juventus, England's Chelsea, FC Porto and Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
A Tokyo Select All Star team from Japan will also be here along with Australia's Pascoe Vale FC, FC Twente of Holland, Levante Azzuro of Italy, Japan's JEF United Chiba and a team representing Cairo. The Canadian Academy of Futbol will be flying the flag of the Americas once again, while the Spanish Soccer Schools complete the list of 20 teams.
"I am really pleased to see five local UAE teams in the competition," said Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council.
james@khaleejtimes.com