Inter CEO Ernesto Paolillo eagerly anticipating under-19 Champions League
Posted Monday, July 04, 2011 by YAHOO Sport
Inter CEO Ernesto Paolillo is eagerly anticipating next season's inaugural NextGen Series, an under-19 European club competition with a Champions League format that starts on August 31.
The world champions are the only Italian side that will take part, and Paolillo expects an interesting tournament.
"Inter were invited to take part in this experiment on merit. The teams were chosen based on the results obtained by the respective youth sides over the last five years, and this tournament will develop into a de facto junior Champions League, involving the top European clubs," Paolillo said on the club's official website.
"We are the only Italian side taking part next year and that is something we can be proud of. It's a very interesting competition and we already know we are in a tough group: first up we have Tottenham on August 31, followed by Basel and PSV Eindhoven - a club with a top-notch youth academy, as everyone knows."
The Inter supremo went on to explain that some of Europe's biggest teams will take part and made it clear that the competition will be a great experience for the club's youngsters.
"There will be big teams, such as Bayern Munich and Barcelona, in the other groups too; it will be a novel experience. The lads involved will be those born in 1993 and 1994 - so we're talking about very young players indeed - but we have some exciting prospects in that age range and it will be a great opportunity for them to pit themselves against some of the best foreign talent."
The world champions are the only Italian side that will take part, and Paolillo expects an interesting tournament.
"Inter were invited to take part in this experiment on merit. The teams were chosen based on the results obtained by the respective youth sides over the last five years, and this tournament will develop into a de facto junior Champions League, involving the top European clubs," Paolillo said on the club's official website.
"We are the only Italian side taking part next year and that is something we can be proud of. It's a very interesting competition and we already know we are in a tough group: first up we have Tottenham on August 31, followed by Basel and PSV Eindhoven - a club with a top-notch youth academy, as everyone knows."
The Inter supremo went on to explain that some of Europe's biggest teams will take part and made it clear that the competition will be a great experience for the club's youngsters.
"There will be big teams, such as Bayern Munich and Barcelona, in the other groups too; it will be a novel experience. The lads involved will be those born in 1993 and 1994 - so we're talking about very young players indeed - but we have some exciting prospects in that age range and it will be a great opportunity for them to pit themselves against some of the best foreign talent."
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