Following a Sunday night arrival in Manchester, the boys were extremely excited to explore another part of this intriguing island. Once again, our hotel was with minutes of a massive soccer landmark, on this occasion it is Manchester United's world renowned Old Trafford stadium. Coach Siebert and a few of the players found out en route to our hotel that northern accents are just slightly different than in London. This occurred following an amusing encounter with a Manchester City fan on his way back from the community shield. They all needed confirmation he was in fact speaking English!
However, despite warnings about persistent northern rain, we had a beautiful morning for training at the ground of a lower level English side. We were followed by a Dutch academy team so it was fantastic to be once again in such a professional environment.
This afternoon we ventured to the city of Chester, which is about 30 miles from Manchester. We enjoyed a lovely little walking tour through the narrow and haunting medieval architecture of the city. Following that, we had some free time to roam the city centre and sample some traditional English grub. Once again, the weather gods shined down favourably on us!
The day was concluded with our first ever international match against a highly competitive semi professional team. This team included a few ex professionals. It was an extremely tight game and once again a unbelievable experience for the guys. They all officially now have international experience under their belts!
The fun continues tomorrow as we head to the city of Liverpool during the day to visit the greatest team in the world, Liverpool Football Club, and that other club in the city, Everton ;). Before at night we'll be watching Louis van Gaal's first home fixture as Man united boss against Valencia. I still ask myself every night. Is this real???
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