For one lucky AYSO U11 Boys team, the venue was remarkably different. Instead of playing on the well-worn Barrington Fields in Brentwood, they played their first international tournament, the Gothia Cup 2017, in Goteborg, Sweden.
Coached by two Palisadians—attorney Mychal Wilson and three-time Academy Award-winner Swedish sound designer Paul Ottosson—the AYSO team was one of 129 teams from 28 countries participating.
Representing Region 69, the players included Moses Wilson, Braun Levi, Nolan Miller, Theo Ottosson, Jackson Hubbard, Tess Hubbard, Myles Elder and Theo Nydes. Two other players dropped out just before the tournament started, leaving this group just one substitute in the 7 vs. 7 game format.
They lost their first game, 4-0, against Makati FC of the Phillipines on Monday, July 17. It was a tough loss against “a well-oiled team,” Wilson said.
Next up was “an exciting 4-2 loss against Bk Moosens,” one of Goteborg’s oldest youth club teams, Wilson said.
That Wednesday, the AYSO team then faced the AP Top 541, losing 12-0 to the best boys U12 team in Poland, which destroyed everyone and took first in the bracket.
The following day, the kids lost to a team from Singapore in the playoffs, which ended their chances of advancing.
Wilson said the idea to play came about because his wife Simone Rodman, who grew up in the Palisades, has dual citizenship in Sweden. The family lives there during the summer.
“This year I begged and organized a team to play,” Wilson said, noting that the Gothia Cup is one of the largest European youth soccer tournaments with 1,762 teams from 82 nations. The youngest players are U11 and the oldest are U18.
“This was our first international tournament but we will be coming back next year,” said Coach Wilson. “We had fun and it was a great experience.”
Three other area teams played in the tournament: Westside Breakers, L.A. Galaxy Conejo and Olympiacos Academic.
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