Hard work only way for amateurs

MANCHESTER: On the monring after the Budweiser Cup Internationa 6v6 football tournament at Old Trafford people were mulling what's the road up for the amateurs who took part.
Manchester United stars of yesteryears, Dennis Irwin (7 Premier league titles) and Clayton Claymore (one Premier league and one Cup Winners Cup) were present all day to encourage the amateurs o fall ages.
The Man U pros were amazed at the standards of players who should not have played any local leagues. They liked the technical excellence of surprise finalists Viet Nam. "Europeans are more robust, India were good technically also. Argentina were class," said Irwin, who added," The next stage is hard work. There are no short-cuts." He thought some Argentinians were worthy of semi-professional grade.
The players, most of them middle-aged, surprised the internationals by playing on for over two hours, 12 ten-minute games.
Gavin Rhodes, the Man U academy chief coach who supervised the event, said, "The pluses were they were competitive, they played simple football. The minus points were they were sometimes ill-tempered, had too much touches, didn't communicate enough and sometimes showed lack of combination."
The Indians were let down by the goalkeeping after a good start. Taking shots was critical. As Bobby Charlton told them,"Don't look at the goal. If you don't know where you are shooting, the goalkeeper won't either."
"It was a dream come true to represent my country at the Budweiser Cup finals," said Cedrick Fernandes, Captain, Team India. "Stepping onto the Old Trafford pitch to challenge footballers from around the world and also meeting the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton, Bryan Robson, Dennis Irwin and Clayton Blackmore is an experience that none of us will ever forget."
In the plate division, Team India lost to Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Malta. "Even though we lost our first three matches in the plate division, our 1-0 win against Ireland lifted our spirits."
In a nail-biting match, Team India managed to pull back one goal to tie 3-3 with Belgium in their last game. "Playing in this tournament has been an eye-opener for us and helped us identify our strengths and weaknesses," said Cedrick Fernandes.
"It was a fantastic moment to Live the Dream and we hope to inspire more amateur football teams in India to participate in the Budweiser Cup." Team India's defender Bertram Jacob and striker Vidit Tewari made sure their presence was felt and provided all-round support to the team.
"We would like to congratulate all of the Budweiser Cup teams on a tremendous tournament," said Anil Manjunath, Head of Marketing for Budweiser in India."
The Budweiser Cup offered football fans the thrill of representing their countries on a world-famous pitch, as well as the chance to meet fellow football players from around the globe. This was truly the opportunity of a lifetime and we are proud to have helped fans in India live the dream of being football stars."
Teams played 10-minute games on quarter-sized fields under the 6-on-6 format. Six players were able to play at a time and teams were permitted up to eight players on their rosters, allowing for substitutions throughout the game.
Budweiser is a proud supporter of the Premier League and Manchester United football club. Budweiser also has been the official beer sponsor of the FIFA World Cup since 1986, continuing in 2010 and 2014.