Young Champions live the dream

While Diego Milito's two goals for FC Internazionale Milano will be the abiding memory for most from this season's UEFA Champions League final in Madrid, away from the stars on show at the Santiago Bernabéu it was also an unforgettable week for the youngsters who got to parade their skills on the same stage as their heroes as part of UEFA’s Young Champions Tournament.

An idea that began with 27 schools in Glasgow in 2002, the Young Champions Tournament is an event for children aged nine to 16, arranged by adidas in cooperation with UEFA, that has become a fixture in the lead-up to each UEFA Champions League final since. "The UEFA Young Champions concept was created to give the younger consumer the opportunity to be connected with the ultimate stage, the UEFA Champions League," explained adidas' senior manager of UEFA affairs, Eric Vlieg.

"The concept is based on a five against five football match on a pitch measuring 30m by 20m. In the tournament we have only match observers, this means that the football values are the key for success. One of the most important of these values is respect."

The 2010 event began with a series of qualification tournaments. These mini competitions were divided into four age groups – boys aged ten to 12, 13-14 and 15-16, as well as girls aged 12-14. "What was special about this year's UEFA Young Champions competition was that we recruited boys and girls from all over Spain, including the various islands," said Vlieg. "The preliminary rounds were played in March 2010 and the winners of these events represented their city or region at the finals in Madrid."

Staged from 20-22 May as part of Madrid's week-long 'Fiesta de fútbol', which culminated in the UEFA Champions League final, the UEFA Young Champions finals involved a total of 180 boys and girls, playing in 30 teams. The matches were all played at the Parque del Retiro, where other UEFA Champions Festival events included the popular all-star UEFA Ultimate Champions match, this year involving luminaries including FIFA World Cup winners Alessandro Altobelli and Bebeto.

"The location is where the best meets the best," says Vlieg. "In order to give the kids this special UEFA Champions League feeling, it is important that the location is the ultimate stage. This was certainly the case again this year. Along with this we also had great football ambassadors as part of the event, like Zinédine Zidane and Emilio Butragueño."

UEFA Champions League final ambassador and Real Madrid CF legend Butragueño was also on hand to present the UEFA Young Champions finalists with their medals. The winning teams were Navarravs (boys, aged 10-12), Castilla Leon (girls, aged 12-14), Galiciavs (boys, aged 13-14) and Canillas (boys, aged 15-16).