Twelve soccer obsessed, and very lucky boys from the Father Ray Children’s Home in Pattaya recently took a day off from school to travel up to Bangkok to claim a prize after winning a competition – a day of football training with coaches from the Real Madrid Football Academy.
Arriving at the SCG Stadium, home to Muang Thong United, the boys were greeted by former Spanish international, Real Madrid, Liverpool and West Ham United footballer Alvaro Arbeloa.
The Children’s Home was one of three charities that were chosen to train for the day, and each boy received a Real Madrid kit, shirt, shorts and socks as well as a pair of brand new soccer boots.
For more than six hours the boys were put through their paces by the Spanish coaches. They played in small and large groups, learned new skills such as passing and heading the ball, and teamwork, and by the end they were so exhausted that they slept all the way home to Pattaya.
The training must have done some good as two days later the boys played in a local match and won 5-2, their first victory of the year. Imagine playing more than ten months without a win, it is hard to put in to words just how excited they were when the ref blew the final whistle.
