Former FC Bayern Munich striker Giovane Elber (fourth from left) joins PH’s Konrad Keim Sollorin, JM Mitra, Jasper Beruan. Aeron Tenollar and Jeofrey Fresado at theAllianz Junior Football Camp at Finns Recreation Club in Bali, Indonesia.
BALI, INDONESIA—More than skills training and the much-coveted trip to the FC Bayern junior camp in Munich, Germany, camp directors want the 49 teenage players participating in a football clinic here to learn teamwork and improve on their character.
Coach Jess Landagan of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) said the five Filipino players, all aged 14, at the ongoing Allianz Junior Football Camp (AJFC) have yet to overcome their timidness and develop concentration.
“They get shy around the other kids,” said Landagan. “At the same time, they’re still very playful.”
“I told them to interact with the other kids and assert themselves on the field,” he added.
Konrad Keim Sollorin of Ateneo de Iloilo, Aeron Tenollar of Baguio City, JM Mitra of De La Salle Zobel and Gawad Kalinga Football Program’s Jasper Beruan and Jeofrey Fresado arrived here Monday and began camp the following day.
They were accompanied by Allianz PNB Life brand director Rei Abrazaldo. Mitra’s parents and Sollorin’s father are also here.
The five were chosen after the National Youth Futsal Cup organized by Allianz PNB Life, PFF and Henry V. Moran Foundation last May.
The four-day AJFC, now on its ninth edition but with the Philippines in the lineup just this year, is being held at Finns Recreation Club under the supervision of FC Bayern coaches led by Klaus Augenthaler and retired striker and AJFC ambassador Giovane Elber.
“Have fun and enjoy,” Sollorin remembered the coaches telling them.
Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Singapore also sent their players aged 14 to 16. The final cast will fly to Munich on Aug. 17 to 22 to meet the FC Bayern players, train under the coaches of the German club and watch the Bundesliga 2017-2018 opening match at Allianz Arena.
One participant will also get the Good Sportsmanship award which is equivalent to a one-week scholarship later this year at Aspire Academy, an internationally-renowned sports institution in Doha, Qatar.