KOCHI: Football of the highest quality is what the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup promises. With the next generation of stars from Spain and Brazil, who have won half of the last six World Cups between them, arriving in the city on Tuesday, the stage is all set for the football extravaganza to roll.The tournament in India is the final audition for the future stars of world football -- a competition in which these teenagers can earn name and fame. For many of the players from Spain and Brazil who will dominate international and club football for years to come, this is their final step up.
Spain were the first to arrive at the Cochin International Airport in the early hours of Tuesday. The team includes highly-rated forward Abel Ruiz Ortega who is a product of the acclaimed La Masia academy of European giants FC Barcelona. Coached by former Atletico Madrid defender Santiago Denia, they have four Barcelona and five Real Madrid academy graduates on their side.
Clad in blue polos with the famous Selecao crest emblazoned on their chests and shorts, Brazil arrived on an IndiGo flight at 1.20 pm from Mumbai where they were based for the better part of last week.
Conspicuous by his absence was Flamengo starlet Vinicius Junior. Vinicius was touted as the potential stat of the tournament, However, the 17-year-old was denied permission to participate in the eleventh hour by his club and Real Madrid who prised him to the Spanish capital earlier this year for a reported 46 million Euros.
However, led by their coach Carlos Amadeu, the team did not seem lacking in confidence as they waved at the cameras as their made their way into the team bus headed for their hotel. The players were welcomed to the city with roses by the local organisers and airport officials. DPR Korea soon followed them arriving via Abu Dhabi from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. Sporting a red, blue and white tracksuit, the North Koreans will be hoping to reprise the effort of their girls’ team which won the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup held in Jordan last year. The fourth team in Group C, Niger, also touched down in the city during the day.
However, the teams had little time to rest and recover from the jetlag as they continued their preparations for the showpiece event. Spain, Brazil and North Korea headed to the training grounds at Fort Kochi, Maharaja’s College Stadium and Panampilly Nagar ahead of the group opener on Saturday.