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Young Wall soccer player savors tournament in
Spain
Luca Lubrano, 9, is selected to play in
international youth tourney in Barcelona
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By Len Bardsley
MANASQUAN — There is travel soccer, and then there is the travel soccer
9-year-old Luca Lubrano experienced last month.
Luca, who is a fourth-grader at Old Mill Elementary School, recently
enjoyed a trip to Barcelona, Spain, for a week of international soccer.
Luca earned a trip to Barcelona after being selected at a soccer camp in
July.
FC Barcelona, which is one of the top professional soccer teams in the
world, runs youth soccer camps throughout the globe, including six in
the United States.
The camps are a form of a tryout where FC Barcelona trainers select
players from different age groups for a tournament in Spain.
A total of around 3,400 youth soccer players attended six camps
throughout the United States last summer, with one or two players from
four age groups picked from the camps.
Luca felt the camp was like a longer version of practice with his travel
team, PDA Bergkamp.
“It was hot,” said Luca. “We had six hours of training every day. It was
pretty much like regular practice, but longer.”
9-year-old Luca Lubrano of Wall, recently
enjoyed a trip to Spain to play in a soccer
tournament run by the Barcelona Football Club.
Photo courtesy CARA LUBRANO
He knew the camp was also a tryout, but he did enjoy the experience
and tried not to put pressure on himself.
“I was having fun, but it was serious, too,” said Luca.
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The family found out via email in late December Luca had been selected for the team.
The Lubranos were sent a roster with Luca’s name on it to post on the door to let him know the
news.
The family left for Spain on March 27 and the following day, Luca started to practice with his FC
Barcelona U-10 United States team.
The tournament featured teams from Dubia, Singapore and Santo Domingo, that — like Luca’s
team — went through the same tryout camps in their respective countries.
The best game, according to Luca, was the toughest when his team played the FC Barcelona U-10 club team.
The FC Barcelona U-10 Club team plays year round and is a feeder program for the professional team.
A few of the Barcelona players have been with the club for over 10 years before reaching the highest level.
The FC Barcelona U-10 team had defeated opponents by the score of 21-0, 11-0, and 17-1.
Luca’s team held them scoreless for the first 15 minutes before an eventual 5-0 loss.
At the end of the tournament, Luca and all the other players got medals which were handed out by Xavier Herndandez
Creus, known as Xavi, who started playing for FC Barcelona when he was 11 years old.
“[The highlight] was probably playing the game [against FC Barcelona],” said Luca. “That was fun, and seeing a
professional player.”
Luca had an excellent tournament, scoring four goals and adding five assists in six games.
The 9-year-old enjoyed getting a little feel for what it is like to be a professional player.
In the mornings, he would meet his team for breakfast and say goodbye to his parents, Cara and Dominick.
The team would eat together and then take the bus to the field with the parents on a different bus.
“We did chants on the bus,” said Luca.
Luca and his family enjoyed a tour of Camp Nou, the stadium where FC Barcelona plays, which was next to the playing
fields for the tournament.
It was no doubt an experience Luca will never forget.
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