Aspire International down Real to give cracking start

Aspire International players (in blue) celebrate after scoring a goal against Real Madrid during their Al Kass International Cup match at Aspire Zone yesterday. PICTURE: Mamdouh.

Right: Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi meets Barcelona players ahead of the start of their match against Paris Saint-Germain. Barcelona won the match 4-3.

By Joseph Koraith/Doha

Parachutists landing on the football pitches of the Aspire Zone was a great start to the third edition of the Al Kass International Cup but it was Aspire International boys who provided the fireworks by defeating Real Madrid 3-2 yesterday.

The Spaniards were the favourites but it was the Senegal-based Aspire International team that produced an 86th minute winner to cause a huge upset.

The match started with Real getting an early goal in the 16th minute through midfielder Alvaro Martin Alcantara. Real were controlling the game in the early stages of the first half till Silas Gnaka equalised for Aspire International through a penalty. Real got the lead again in the 41st minute through a good header from Jose Manuel Hernando Riol.

Aspire International regrouped better in the second half and were playing a more attacking game. And then in the 72nd minute, Real goalkeeper attempted to dribble the ball inside his box. Wise old men say that goalkeepers should never use their feet on the ground, except to kick the ball away. Real’s Luca Zidane, son of the Zinedine, didn’t know that. He lost the dribbling battle with Jean Jules Sepp Mvondo, who gladly put the ball into the back of the net.

This changed the game and Aspire International got more and more confident. Their pressure tactics paid off when Aspire International’s Ishmael Baidoo converted a wonderful cross from the right flank into a winner with a header. The boys celebrated widely with their goalkeeper Francis Odinaka Uzoho running right across the length of the field to celebrate with his teammates.

“This is a big step for the boys,” said Sergine Mbacke Dia, coach of Aspire International after his team’s brilliant victory. “We played against one of the biggest teams in football and won. We are happy but victory doesn’t mean we have qualified. We need to do well in our next game too,” he added.

“Real played well and were leading the game for most of the match but we kept the pushing the game into their half and made them make mistakes, like that by their goalkeeper,” Mbacke Dia summed up his team’s strategy.

Real coach Ruben De La Red Gutierrez was left ruing his team’s missed chances. “The missed chances hurt us. The Aspire players were more organised. They knew how to win the game,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Paris Saint-Germain took on FC Barcelona in the tournament opener. And that turned out to be a cracker with Barcelona winning 4-3, despite a hat trick from PSG striker Odsonne Edouard.

The final match of the day also saw an upset with last year’s winners Fluminese FC being beaten 2-1 by Auxerre.