Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy brought some of their best coaches to north London in order to hold trials for late bloomers potentially trying to make it in professional football.
The incongruous setting was made just outside of Barnet FC, where two AstroTurf pitches were used for the trials. The Western Conference placed charges of around £150 for each player willing to attend in order to ward off the chances.
Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy brought some of their best coaches to north London in order to hold trials for late bloomers potentially trying to make it in professional football.
The incongruous setting was made just outside of Barnet FC, where two AstroTurf pitches were used for the trials. The Western Conference placed charges of around £150 for each player willing to attend in order to ward off the chances.
The players were therein offered two 60-minute games to show off their skills to the Galaxy coaching staff with only 10 of a possible 600 in line to earn a trip to California where they will have trials with the second string squad. The MLS club have previously tried out similar trials, but only one player was offered a short-term contract with under-18 side. LA Galaxy II currently play in the United Soccer League and the prospect of training alongside the likes Ashley Cole and Giovani dos Santos would be a huge opportunity for the lucky one, who could in turn play against former Chelsea heroes Didier Drogba, Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Philips.
Among the participants, Kyle Rennock, a Sunday league footballer from south Croydon, is eager to earn his first contract with the MLS club following years of striving to make the big stage. The 23-year-old said: “I’d just thought I’d give it a chance. I don’t see why not. I’ve got just as good a chance as everyone else. I expected the standard to be really high but I thought I did really well. It really exceeded my expectations. It’s never too late – there are plenty of players who are late bloomers.”
The MLS club have not quite attracted the best talents from European football in recent years, but the California-based side still possess the talents of an Ashley Cole, who enjoyed a trophy-laden career with Chelsea.
