The U15’s arrived at London airport where they got on the bus to their hotel near Liverpool. The day of arrival was focused on checking in at the hotel and getting some rest after the long flight.

On Wednesday morning, the 14^th of August, the day started with a training session. After having a healthy lunch at the hotel, the whole team went on the bus to get to the center of Liverpool. They discovered the beauty Liverpool has to offer and went to the stadium of Liverpool FC to do a phenomenal stadium tour at Anfield. After all the impressions of the beautiful stadium the team enjoyed some free time in the city center of Liverpool.

The next day began the first day of the Merseyside U15 tournament. After a breakfast at the hotel the team went on the bus to the Liverpool FC Academy. Upon arrival at the academy the group phase of the tournament started, with games against Premier League and Bundesliga giants Liverpool FC and BVB Dortmund. IF Gnistan from Finland completed the group with 4 teams. After though games against Liverpool FC (2-0 loss) and BVB Dortmund (2-2 draw), the match against IF Gnistan was won 3-0. These results made Columbus Crew become third in their group.

Friday, the second and final day of the tournament took place. With a solid 1-0 win over FC Spartak Trnava from Slovakia, Columbus Crew got to play their final for the 5^th or 6^th place against the other American team Atlanta United FC. After 40 minutes the battle for 5^th and 6^th place between Atlanta and Colombus Crew ended  in a 0-0 tie, which meant penalties had to be taken. After the penalty shoot-out was won, which means that Columbus Crew received the 5th place trophy for this year’s Merseyside International Cup U15. After the ceremony, there was a quick shower and boarded the bus towards Manchester. After all, there was still a great extra to the tournament scheduled, namely, visiting the opening Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham FC.

After a memorable evening, it was already time to board the bus again on Saturday towards Leicester city’s training complex. A friendly match against Premier League team Leicester City awaited. This was a very exciting match that ended in a 3-0 win for Columbus Crew.

On Sunday, a slightly more relaxed day was scheduled. Namely, after breakfast at the hotel, the bus was boarded towards central London to spend some free time and enjoy what London has to offer.

On the final day, a match against Fulham FC was scheduled. After leaving London in the morning for Fulham’s training complex, an exciting match was played. After 4x 20 minutes of play, a score of 3-1 for Columbus Crew was on the scoreboard.

All in all, Columbus Crew’s U15 team had a great time in the UK! Are you interested in making a trip? Then be sure to check out our page and read all about the possibilities.