Boys’ Soccer: Real Madrid CF 1, D.C. United 0

By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area

*Click the links on the top-left for all videos and photos from Saturday’s game.*

After its first game in the Tiffany Cup — and the marquee match of the group stage — the D.C. United U-16 team only has a 1-0 loss to the Real Madrid CF Academy team to show for itself.

But given its assertiveness in the attacking third, especially in the first half, and the mere moment of misplay that led to Madrid’s 51st-minute goal, United coach Richie Burke found more silver lining than cloud in the tournament-opening defeat at RFK Stadium.

“We did very well. If we get a goal in the first half, maybe that’s a different result,” Burke said. “We had a couple of chances in the first half in particular where I thought we were a little bit better than them.

“Their team was obviously schooled very, very well from a professional level, but I … thought we gave a great account of ourselves, a great account of the club and every time we play in a development academy, it’s about developing players, not winning games.”

United demonstrated its development minute-by-minute on Saturday, too.

On the opening kickoff, United played the ball directly back through the midfield, through the defense and gingerly to goalkeeper Samir Badr, with Madrid striker Alvaro Morata bearing down.

Badr was forced to clear the ball from the edge of the penalty area, and watched as Los Merengues — the nickname for Madrid, due to its all-white uniform — controlled possession near the United goal for the first three minutes.

Once it settled in, though, United held the majority of possession and proved a greater threat to tally. It had the best scoring chance of the first half when Ethiopian attacking mid Iyassu Bekele played a through-ball to striker Yaw Imankwa, the team’s leading scorer in league play.

Imankwa was one-on-one with Madrid goalkeeper Ricardo Alanso, but Ricardo came off his line to deflected Imankwa’s low shot out-of-bounds.

According to Burke, his club showed similar tentativeness — but that for the entirety of its 4-2 loss to Chelsea FC Soccer Academy — at the Disney Soccer Showcase in Orlando, Fl., on December 27.

“Playing against Chelsea’s youth team, our boys were like deer in the headlights and thought they were playing Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard,” he said. “But today, we quelled that. I just think our kids were a little bit nervous playing in a stadium for the first time, which any 15- or 16-year-old [will] — there was a 14-year-old for us on the field today.

“These kids are going to feel it; that it is a big step in their careers.”

Madrid’s goal came in the 51st minute when, after conservative play by both sides opened the second half, United played the ball back to Badr, who recently trained with Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto in Portugal.

Badr had an uncertain first touch and, with Morata closing, elected to play the ball around him rather than out-of-bounds. Morata, a Spanish national pool player, dispossessed Badr and flicked the ball into the open net.

Although Badr, a United States national pool member himself, made two spectacular saves after allowing the goal, United failed to equalize in the latter stages.

“It’s an instance when young boy is thinking he can play out [of] the back, and that ball really needed to go,” said Burke of the goal by Morata, the leading scorer from the 24-team, La Liga Nike Cup in 2008. “If that was a professional, first-teamer, that ball is in row zed. Unfortunately, he was trying to play a little bit out of the back.

“At sixes and sevens, they’re going get a result from it. So it was a little bit of immaturity; nothing about bad plays and a bad team, just a little bit of sixes and sevens, again, and poor decisions.”

Misfortune aside, United gave a promising showing and the U-16s proved their worth against one of the most groomed academy teams in the world.

The result, though, requires a minor miracle for United to win Group A and advance to the tournament championship game, to be played at RFK either on Friday or Saturday.

“When you lose your first match, you have to rebound back and hope the team that beat you has a dodgy result, as well,” said Burke, who returned Julio Arjona and Shaquille Phillips to the team from the U.S. Soccer residency program in Bradenton, Fl., specifically for the Tiffany Cup.

“I think that was the key match-up in this group, in particular. If we’re talking purely about advancing and winning the tournament, we have to hope that they have a mishap and we step up and play from now on in.

“From the stance of our development, I’d say that was a great step for us and I hope that the next couple of games — results aside — that we grow as much we did today. That’s all we’re looking for from this group.”

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

Real Madrid CF 0 1 — 1
D.C. United 0 0 — 0

Goals:
RM — Morata (51)

Real Madrid CF Roster
1. Andres, GK
2. Salazar, D
3. Nestor, D
4. Parla, D
5. Sergio, D
6. Juanfran, M
7. Esnaider, F
8. Koke, M
9. Morata, F
10. Aguza, M
11. Cristian, M
12. Jordi, D
13. Ricardo, GK
14. Buyo, M
15. Jaime, F
16. Vela, M
17. Altares, D
18. Rafael Perez, F
19. Delfin, M
20. Miguel Galan, M

D.C. United Roster (High School)
0. *Samir Badr, GK (Robinson)
1. Eric Valladares, GK (Magruder)
2. Coleman O'Neill, D (The Field School)
3. *Dominick Yin, D (Whitman)
4. *Shaquille Phillips, D (Sidwell Friends)
7. *Kennedy O'Shea, F (N/A)
8. *Sam Bradley, D (Bullis)
9. Yaw Amankwa, F (Damascus)
11. Steven Mashinski, M (Chantilly)
12. Noah Merlin, M (Oakton)
14. Luis Cartagena, F (Gar-Field)
18. Julian Saldana, D/M (Northwood)
20. Andy Najar, F (Edison)
21. Myles McGinley, M (Flint Hill)
22. Dallas Aminzadeh, M (DeMatha)
23. Josh Ellis, M (Langley)
25. Marcus Salandy-Defour, F (Georgetown Prep)
26. Allan Flott, D (Bishop O'Connell)
32. Iyassu Bekele, M/F (Wakefield)
33. *Julio Arjona, M (Clarksburg)