Dubai: Marcel Desailly’s Lizzy Sports Academy beat Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid on their way to winning the Under-13 Dubai Intercontinental Cup at Dubai Sports City on Saturday.
The Ghanaians, owned by former France and Chelsea defender Desailly, fought back from a goal down to beat Spain’s Real Madrid on penalties in the Gold Cup final. Real broke the deadlock and seemed to have the game under control but then Sumiala Alidu equalised in the second minute of added time before Lizzy went on to win the shoot-out 3-2.
Lizzy had earlier beaten Barcelona 2-0 to finish with an all-win record in the group with Seth Obeng and Nicolas Ablido finding the net. In the last 16, they then defeated Canadian Academy by the same score to book a quarters clash with Juve, edging them 5-4 on penalties after a goalless 90 minutes.
In the semi-finals, they again prevailed on penalties over Angola’s AFA after a goalless draw which preceded penalty kick success thanks to keeper Kingsley Asare, who won the tournament’s golden glove and most valuable player award.
“Guys, thank you so much for this victory,” Desailly wrote on Twitter after the win. “You are giving me lots of motivation to continue the work commitment for @lizzysports and for the foundation.”
Lizzy’s coach Nana Kweku Agyemang, added: “We had come here to show the world that Ghana is the gateway to African football. I have that we have achieved our goals, defeating clubs like Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid on our way to the title.
“We thank the organisers for giving us this opportunity and we will be back to defend the title next year.”
In the Silver Cup final, Russian club FC Rostov defeated Egypt’s Wadi Digla 3-1.
Held for the first time in April last year with 12 teams, the second edition of the tournament, from February 22-24, had attracted 20 teams from 13 different countries, including Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona, England’s Liverpool, Italian giants Juventus and Egypt’s Al Ahly.
