Eight Rush players recently competed in the Capelli Sport Elite Cup in Køge, Denmark. The tournament hosted a pool of 6 BU19 teams from Sweden, Denmark and the United States, with one of the teams being the Capelli Sport owned Cedar Stars Academy team out of New Jersey. Rush Soccer sent 8 Rush players from Miami Rush, Hawaii Rush and Rush Brazil to compete on the Capelli Sport Trialist team. The Trialist team had a roster of players from Germany, England, Morocco and Portugal, plus the Rush players. It was an exciting experience for all the boys to take part in such a unique event where they were able to compete against players from multiple different countries while working to be noticed by high level scouts on site.
In attendance at the event were professional scouts from several clubs, including Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon. Over the course of the 4 day tournament where each team played 3 games total, Diego Aires of Miami Rush was offered to stay and train with the HB Køge professional Team.
Overall, the Trialist team went away with a 5:2 win over the Cedar Stars team, a 1:2 loss versus the Swedish team and a 1:3 loss against the Danish team in attendance. While other Rush players on the squad were not offered contract opportunities at this time, the players from Hawaii, Brazil and Miami Rush are able to return to their home clubs with a great experience and potentially a more open pathway to receive a future invite or opportunity in the years ahead. As a case in point, Nicolas Villalobos, an ‘04 player from Miami Rush, is currently in Denmark training with HB Køge for a one week training stint, upon invitation after the tournament.
Due to success abroad, as many of the Rush players (‘02 and ‘03 players, with one ‘04 player) showed well, the goal is to continue to send Rush players to Denmark to help them gain experience and exposure in a highly competitive and elite environment.
It is clear the Capelli Sport connection with George Altirs as the majority owner at HB Køge will allow the Rush Pathway for Rush Soccer’s male players to be extended like never before! Rush Soccer is excited to showcase this opportunity and open doors for players to experience a full Rush Way Pathway from recreational to competitive, to the elite levels of Rush Select, and further on into the professional ranks of what a club like HB Køge can offer in players’ development.