SHANGHAI – The brand-new Inter Academy in Shanghai, which sees the Nerazzurri team up with local club Yitao FC, is now two weeks into operation. Technical operations manager Aldo Montinaro and coaches Kevin Cauet and Matteo Torresi were on the ground in Shanghai to kick off the training of the 76 Yitao FC coaches belonging to the network of 20 Soccer Schools currently active in China.
Theoretical and practical lessons have formed the basis of activities so far, as well as the analysis of past matches. Moreover, the first four Training Centres have been inaugurated, in collaboration with the Jin Cai School. In a few days Inter youth academy coach Nello Russo will link up with the group in China for the second part of the first phase, which will end just before Christmas.
What has emerged from the early stages of the project is the sheer dimension to the Inter Academy initiative, which is a direct expression of Inter itself and in particular the Nerazzurri youth academy. The parents of the many young players involved have shown great interest in the model, and indeed the meeting of two cultures is seen as something that will help to strengthen the training of the coaches: the figures who will oversee the development of these future footballers, not just from a technical perspective but also in terms of moral integrity and professionalism.
"Men first, footballers later" is very much the mantra of the project, one that encapsulates the values at the heart of Inter Academy Shanghai.
