Orlando - Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy has added an international component to their MAST tournament that bring together the best teams of every region of the United States. MAST will now feature a total of five teams from outside the United States including teams from Guatemala, Brazil, Netherlands, Germany and Spain.
Leading this imitative for SIMA is the Italian scout and trainer Juan Jose Morales Rossi. Rossi has worked with top coaches across Europe and Latin America to scout and draft players with top teams. Rossi says he saw an opportunity to bring teams from Europe and Latin America to compete with American academies as a way to expose American players to elite competition.
“Many young players never get the chance to play against teams from across the Atlantic or from Latin America, they are missing out on competition that will help them improve their game,” says Rossi.
Rossi believes that the reason that soccer in America has struggled is because young players in their development stage are not exposed to international competition.
“Every one in America plays the same type of soccer. It is soccer more about speed and work ethic rather than skill and tactic, so when American trained players reach the major leagues that is when they finally get international exposure and, frankly, it’s too late. Soccer development academies in Europe and Latin America are always playing in competitions overseas”, opined Rossi.
With the hope that elite academies like SIMA can produce the next Messi, Rossi is helping it create world-class opportunities for their talented players.
“Being able to compete here with teams like Flemengo will give our players tremendous experience, said SIMA Director Mike Potempa. “We are thankful to Juanjo and Anderson for their creativity and ability to create meaningful partnerships,” he added.
MAST International Championship occurs every December but the elimination rounds begin in August.
See SIMA.org for more information.
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