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Kids play the beautiful game

DUBAI — Dubai’s future soccer stars got a taste of one of the beautiful game’s most celebrated rivalries on Thursday as they pulled on the famous shirts of Arsenal and Barcelona at 7he Sevens.

The players – representing Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai and FCB Escola (Barcelona Soccer School) – faced off in a series of friendly matches to mark the end of term, a press release said.

The fixture came just over a month since the clubs – hailed as the two most entertaining and skilful teams in the world – met in the Champions League.

And the youngsters were keen to follow in the footsteps of their heroes - Arsenal stars Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott, the two shining lights of the 2-2 first leg at the Emirates Stadium, and Lionel Messi, who produced one of the finest individual performances in history as he netted four times to send Barca into the semifinals.

With an army of friends and family cheering from the sidelines, the schools, with two teams from the 9-10 age group and two from 11-12 section, contested four seven-a-side matches.

It was an opportunity for the Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai pupils to showcase the skills they have learned during the first year of the school, which was opened in May 2009 by Gunners defender Gael Clichy and Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group.

Gareth Hamilton – head coach at Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai - was delighted his pupils got the chance to showcase their new skills.

He said: “This is a great reward for all the hard work the kids have put in over the past few months. It is very satisfying to see them demonstrate the progress they have made.

“The training programme at Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai has been developed based on the same principles taught to first-team players: developing young players’ technical skills and passion for the game to ensure they become the best players they possibly can.

“We also put a strong emphasis on enjoyment and understanding the spirit of football, so it was great for our players to host the pupils from FCB Escola in what was a great afternoon of football.”

The matches with FCB Escola capped off a successful first year for Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai: pupils not only got the chance to develop their skills, but also got to meet a number of their heroes, with Clichy, Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Keiran Gibbs, Manual Almunia and Mikael Silvestre all visiting Dubai.