A transfer bus was waiting to whisk us away to our destination,which was approximately 20 minutes away from the city center.At the school we were welcomed by the four hostesses in charge, Johanna, Marie, Caroline and Charlotte. We would be one of 17 teams!!! those were put up at the school. Accommodation was in a dormitory fashion and we were provided with mattresses, bed sheets and blankets. Besides us there were teams from Latvia, Germany, Brazil, USA and Sweden that were put up at the school. The boys wasted no time in settling down and within an hour were on the adjoining playing fields for their first training session.
Whilst planning this trip to Gothenburg, we knew we were visiting the cradle of football, i.e., Europe. There was never the slightest of doubt in our mind about the high standard of football we would be confronted with. And we were not disappointed. The boys 13 were divided into 28 groups of four teams each (112 teams) Our group consisted of two teams from Sweden, IK Kongahalla and Athletic FC besides a Romanian outfit Sportul Studenc. The boys 15 were divided into 53 groups of four teams each(212 teams) This group consisted two teams from Sweden Bjorndammens BK and Ljusdal IF besides a crack Norwegian outfit Lillestrom SK. Although the boys improved their performance from game to game they were no match to their opponents in terms of speed, stamina, skill, passing and ball possession. It was a great learning curve not only for the boys but the coach alike. For the record our boys came home without a win but it was a lesson well learned and implemented next time round, when we shall be far better prepared.
After four days of grueling football, the boys were ready to put their feet up and indulge in a bit of sightseeing and shopping. The most sought after destination was the Liseberg amusement park which offers more then 100 rides and other thrills for the children. Each child bought the day pass priced at 290 kronas (unlimited rides) and going by the reactions of the children; they could have easily spent couple of days here. Next they visited Universeum, the largest Science center. Here the children experienced the space, the rainforest and the ocean - all on the same day. One of the levels was dedicated completely to the world of simulation activities which the children loved it. Universeum was designed to impart knowledge to children in a fun way. For shopping the children were taken by train to Freeport mall, in the beautiful countryside of Hede. Freeport mall is where all the global leading brands in apparels have put up their factory outlets. The children had a field day shopping in Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Puma and other sports shops.
The other highlight of this trip was the Olympic style opening ceremony of the Gothia cup, which was held in the brand new multi purpose Ullevi stadium. This stadium had recently witnessed the finals of the Euro under 21 competitions where Germany had triumphed over England. It was a memorable evening with the stadium packed to capacity of 51,000 people and each participating country was represented by a club. I must admit that the Indian contingent made a huge impact when they entered dressed in the traditional dhoti and a saffron kurta. The packed arena were entertained by the local artistes and the biggest cheers came when 600 dancers paid a tribute to late Michael Jackson. The evening ended in midst of a spectacular fireworks. Besides the opening ceremony the Gothia organizers had arranged a special leader’s party on the second day which was held in the indoor arena Scandinavium. Over 3000 team leaders from all parts of the world were hosted to an evening of cocktails and dinner followed by a musical entertainment show which had the crowd on their feet and a song on their lips.
The Gothenburg sojourn was coming to an end and the week had passed by in a wink of an eye. It was a great football learning experience and a melting point of various nationalities and their cultures. Lots of friendships made and the children are already looking to renew this bond come July 2010. A special thank you to the Gothia organizers for putting up an absolutely stupendous event. Farewell Gothenburg we ll be back again.
