Interview with Andreas Zagklis: to keep popularization of basketball with all-round strategy
08 Jul 2024 16:14
On Monday, Liu Ziyang and five other teenage footballers from China, stepped onto an international field for the first time in their lives. The boys had come all the way from their home country to compete against a team of Italian teenagers.
"I love football games," said Liu Ziyang, an 11-year-old boy from Guangzhou, China.
"My dream is to join European football clubs as a professional player in the future," he said hopefully.
The game was hosted in the "Kinder+Sport" Area which covers 3,600 square meters at the Expo site. During the warm-up, Chinese footballer "Steel Rose" Sun Wen, along with Italian midfielder "Engine Room" Albertini, gave some tactical advice to their respective teams.
At around 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), the young players stepped onto the field in high spirits, looking like a real national team. After the whistle blew, the two teams quickly adapted to the intense pace of the match, switching between attack and defense. Chinese boys moved stealthily while Italian boys guarded with an iron defense. The two teams met their matches, making for a dramatic game.
"Today it has been a precious experience for the kids," commented the "Kinder+Sport" Italian ambassador Albertini after the game. "There is no winner or loser in this game, only the joy of players and the fair-play spirit of sports that the two teams have learned from each other."
Sun Wen, the "Kinder+Sport" Chinese Ambassador, agreed with Albertini. "I'm so glad to have brought these kids, who are so passionate about football, to the Milan Expo. Football brings children from different cultural backgrounds to an equal platform, overcoming any language barrier."
At the end of the match, players from the two countries waved their trophies and medals to the crowd to the sound of cheers and applause.
Interview with Andreas Zagklis: to keep popularization of basketball with all-round strategy
08 Jul 2024 16:14
Expert insight | New changes on UEFA EUROs: growing maturity of Hisense and other Chinese brands
22 Jul 2024 19:18
Related coverage
Chongqing Lifan to partner with Feyenoord Rotterdam
26 Oct 2017
Favorable interaction required for healthy development of Chinese football
18 Jan 2017
Guangzhou Evergrande raises US$132mn from investors
18 Jan 2016
A new buzz swirling around sport
29 Jul 2015
Team China Football greets new equipment supplier
29 Aug 2017
More from Yutang Sports
Interview with Andreas Zagklis: to keep popularization of basketball with all-round strategy
08 Jul 2024
Expert insight | New changes on UEFA EUROs: growing maturity of Hisense and other Chinese brands
22 Jul 2024
Hisense Named Official Partner of FIFA Club World Cup 2025
01 Nov 2024
The United States Tops Skema Publika's First Annual Sport and Soft Power Ranking
27 Mar 2025
SPORTACCORD confirms Istanbul as Host City for 2025 Convention
13 Mar 2025
Yutang Sports
loading...