Tsukuba Junior's Italy tour has reached its second day. The days are hot, and mornings and evenings are more comfortable.
In the morning, we took a walk and did some exercises. The dedicated tournament bus parked in the hotel's parking lot was imported from England, and there are only two of them in Italy.
After breakfast, we headed to practice. We practiced at RAPP.VALLE BREMBANA, who will be our opponents tomorrow. It was a club located in the mountains, about a 15-minute bus ride from the hotel, and had an artificial turf field.
During the morning training, we started with a lively warm-up and Brazilian exercises to boost our spirits, vocalize, and heighten our concentration. We worked on ball possession, shooting from lost balls, functional training, and then returned to the hotel.
After stretching, we received towel scarves from the club staff and players who kindly lent us their field today. It was a place of beautiful scenery, rich in nature, surrounded by mountains.
After lunch, the players rested and recovered.
The main participating teams in this tournament are as follows:
Kashima Antlers (Japan), HJK Helsinki (Finland), MALMO FF (Sweden), AC Milan, Inter, Juventus, Atalanta, Torino, local club teams, and others.
The opening ceremony began with a parade through the town to the stadium, led by a marching band. And guess what, we Antlers were chosen to lead the parade! We marched at the front with the national flags of each country and our team flag.
The stadium was packed with locals and stakeholders. Although the stadium wasn't large, the atmosphere of the tournament was wonderful. Player Maruyama was interviewed by a local TV station on behalf of the players.
After the opening ceremony, the opening match between Inter and Atalanta was held, and we watched only the first half. The parade started around 8 PM, and the opening match began at 10 PM.
A moment of silence was held for those who lost their lives in the recent earthquake in Italy.
The matches will finally begin tomorrow. At 8 PM, our opponent will be AC Milan. And we are scheduled to play another match at either 9 PM or 10 PM.
