While the world marvels at Argentina’s ability to produce soccer talent, Oakwood SC gets a first-hand look.

America’s youth soccer boom has hit Europe big-time. At major summer tournaments, it’s not unusual for one U.S. team to face a rival from its own league back home. And major European clubs, which a few years ago were eager to play American squads, now refuse to schedule anyone below the ODP regional level.

Which is why Oakwood, Connecticut’s most successful club, heads south for training and competitive opportunities.

The Hartford-area club, which last spring garnered a half dozen state championships, has spent six years building and nurturing a relationship with clubs and professionals in Argentina. Interest began in 1995 when Ricardo Ansaldi invited coaches from across the country to visit the South American country. Two years later, Oakwood sent down its first U-15 boys team.

“We were in a bit over our heads,” says Oakwood director Dave Farrell of games against youth teams from clubs such as River Plate and Boca Juniors. “It was like playing 5-v-2 for 10 days, and we were always in the middle.”

Oakwood has sent U-15 teams each of the last three years. The result is a unique soccer and cultural experience.

This summer’s 10-day trip included friendly matches, 7-v-7 and full-sided tournaments, training at two soccer schools and a session with some of Argentina’s most promising youths.

In Cordoba, Oakwood played a memorable match outside the 1978 World Cup stadium. The opponents were top players in a program giving poverty-stricken youngsters a chance to become professionals – and gain life skills in case soccer does not work out.

“Our kids thought they were the best players they’ve ever seen — and they just went half-speed against us,” says Neil Brickley, a former University of Connecticut player who accompanied his two sons on the trip.

The Oakwood team played an excellent game against a U-14 Talleres club. Then the coach invited the Americans to watch the senior team train. It was all part of their immersion in a soccer culture.

“We went down with the idea of doing our best, not necessarily having to win the tournament,” Farrell says. “We wanted the cultural experience, too. In Argentina, they don’t eat dinner until 10:30 or 11 at night, and that wore us down physically.”

Oakwood seems to have struck a good balance: It required seven penalty kicks to eliminate them in the semifinals of one tournament.

In Rosario, the boys trained at Renato Cesarini’s soccer school with Jorge Solari, former Argentine star and 1994 Saudi Arabia World Cup coach. Each American was paired with an Argentine player his age. All instruction was in Spanish, so the Connecticut boys had to pay close attention and pick up cues from their partners. Gradually, they worked up to playing together in mixed groups.

In both cities, the Oakwood players stayed with Argentine families.

“They treated us so graciously,” Farrell marveled. “The day we left, they gave our kids full national team strips as gifts.”

This month, Oakwood hosts a U-12 team from Rosario’s Jockey Club. Farrell also hopes to organize for players a month-long visit to Argentina.

For two Oakwood players, the effects of the trip were more immediate. They enjoyed the training at Cesarini’s soccer school so much, they asked to stay another week. Ansaldi made a few phone calls, and the arrangements were set.

by Youth Soccer Letter Editor Dan Woog