TEAMWORK, spirit and passion are three ingredients the Juventus U10 soccer team seem to have in abundance. The team, coached by Justin Singh, recently triumphed in the Durban Central Football Association (DCFA) knockout cup conceding a miserly goal in 200 minutes of game time. The little tykes beat cross town rivals Virginia Utd FC 4-3 on penalties.

“We’re thrilled, it was an awesome performance by the boys. We didn’t have the best of times in the league but to finish with a cup victory was the perfect way to end our season. The lads are all good mates and have been playing together for a while, so collectively they’ve gelled really well. It definitely showed in the knock out competition,” Singh said.

A key part to any successful team is the man between the sticks and the team had the perfect shot stopper in the form of Allesandro Bou Melhem.

“I’m extremely proud of my teammates. We showed a lot of character in the final to come back. We were 2-0 down on penalties and I managed to save two which felt great,” the La Lucia Junior Primary pupil said.

When asked what his secret to stopping goals was, he replied “my job is to make myself as big as possible as the striker bears down on the goal and I wait for him to commit before diving to the ground.”

The Juventus U10 squad was among four other triumphant teams in the cup competition. The Juventus U11A won the cup, the U11B team won the shield. The U17B team won the shield and the Juve U19 team won the cup and league.