The French school claimed glory in both the Under-14s and U-16s categories during last season’s inaugural running of the competition.
As the action in Dubai got under way at The Sevens on Saturday, coach Frederic Deswarte pupils showed both grit and ability to overcome stoic opponents by an eventual combined scoreline of 12-0.
The younger players were made to wait until the midway point of the second half before man-of-the-match Lyes Messaoudi
It was a similar story for the older footballers against committed GEMS New Millenium Al Khail in Dubai 2. Winger Ralph Charaf’s outstanding free-kick – the first of his hat-trick – started the scoring just before the break, with Salim Sultan (2), Hugo Lourau, Rassem Zok and man-of-the-match Thomas Rousse notching as well.
“It is not about pressure,” replied Deswarte when asked about the challenges ahead. “The players always think game-to-game, they do not think about the group, who we play or how many games we have to play to win the tournament.
“We tried to spend some good moments together on a Saturday afternoon. I see my students away from the school, so it is good for us.
“It was very hard with the weather. It is still very hot for November, so to put a high tempo for the kids against a team who is fighting for every ball and to avoid conceding any goals.
“The more you miss the chances, the more the opponent is confident and you are losing confidence.”
Meanwhile, Millennium School Dubai U-16s star Tito Titus received the perfect birthday present when he became the rarest commodity in football – a goal-scoring goalkeeper.
The shot stopper joined the likes of mavericks such as Jose Luis Chilavert, Peter Schmeichel and Rogerio Ceni by finding the back of the net with a booming long-distance attempt during the 4-1 triumph against Wellington International.
This achievement was made extra special by the fact it fell on his 15th birthday, a fact not forgotten by joyous team-mates as they crowded around him to celebrate.
“I was thinking ‘should I shoot, or take time and relax?’ We were leading, so I took a shot,” said the shocked pupil, whose excellence when performing his usual tasks helped him to come away with the man-of-the-match honours from this Dubai 3 opener.
“It went in perfectly. I was happy and it is my birthday and I scored a goal – it is the best present I got.”
Outstanding displays were not the exclusive preserve of LFI. Springdales School U-14s earned an eye-catching 10-0 win against Apple International in Dubai 4, attacker Navakrishna Sajeevan firing in from distance for one of the best goals of the day.
“I scored so many goals before, but I never scored this many,” said Sajeevan, who scored a hat-trick and won man of the match. “I felt really good today.”
Angad Khurana helped make the difference during a tight U-16 Dubai 3-clash, which saw Delhi Private School earn a 2-0 win against GEMS Our Own Indian.
“The first half was fine, with no goals,” the man of the match said. “We went full on in the second half and starting gaining confidence.”
