Scouts zero in on Zurich

By Matthew Allen

Which international competition have Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, Sir Bobby Moore, Jay-Jay Okocha, Fulvio Collovati, Markus Babbel, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Kaká all played in? The answer is not the FIFA World Cup, but a little known annual tournament in Switzerland that has been hosted by amateur club FC Blue Stars Zürich since 1939.

Youth competition
If you are looking for the football stars of the future then this under-20s club event, known since 1995 as the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup, is a good place to start. It has attracted sides of the calibre of Manchester United FC, Santos FC, AC Milan, FC Bayern München, Boca Juniors, Arsenal FC, PSV Eindhoven and São Paulo FC. This year, United's youngsters retained their title in some style with a 2-0 win over Stockholm's AIK Solna in the Letzigrund stadium on 5 May, further enhancing the reputation of their formidable academy.

New stars
The Blue Stars tournament claims to be the place 'Where stars are born', and the sight of several talent scouts mingling with the 15,000-strong crowd proved the event is a showcase for serious young talent. United winger Chris Eagles showed his class in the final, cutting the AIK defence to ribbons, and striker Giuseppe Rossi was a handful throughout the tournament. The twinkling blue boots of Sporting Clube de Portugal's João Moutinho also caught the eye, as did Renatinho from Santos.

Humble beginnings
The tournament grew from humble beginnings in 1939 to become the major international event it is today, explained Blue Stars technical director Marcel Staub. "Blue Stars Zürich were known for their youth development in the 1930s, but the club wanted to make their academy better so they invited other Swiss teams to take part in a youth tournament," he told uefa.com.

Rising stature
"After the [second world] war some foreign clubs joined in such as [RC] Strasbourg and [FK] Austria Wien, but things really took off when Manchester United's 'Busby Babes' came in 1954. Ever since then the tournament has attracted big teams. One year Gary Neville was playing with United when he was called up for an England international and had to fly off in the middle of the tournament. This demonstrates the calibre of players that come here."

Important date
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of United's involvement in the Blue Stars tournament. Youth coach Brian McClair said the event has become an important part in the development of the academy players. "It is a top-class international youth competition, it has excellent facilities and is very well organised. It has become a part of our club's history," the former United player told uefa.com.

Educational tournament
"It is a good education for the players to meet quality international opposition with different styles of playing the game," he added. "When our youngsters see what their predecessors have achieved after coming here it gives them a lift and makes them realise what they can achieve themselves."

More opportunities
McClair believes that proposed new UEFA rules requiring clubs to field set numbers of academy players in European competitions in future has put a new emphasis on youth development. "Clubs will have to rely more on players they have nurtured through their own academies," he said. "But it will be a tremendous boost for the players who have come to this tournament to know that they will have greater opportunities of making it to the first team and playing top-class football."