Olympique de Marseille were proclaimed champions of the Adeje International Youth Football Tournament, after beating Real Madrid in the final, in a match that went to a penalty shoot-out (7-6) after the 90 minutes of play had ended in a draw (3-3) Third place went to UD Las Palmas with a 4-2 win over Sevilla FC.
Olympique took the lead through a Lafont goal. And although Real Madrid equalised thanks to Izan, the French side made it 3-1 at the start of the second half with goals from Bezahaf and Daubenfeld.
Madrid didn’t give up and equalised thanks to goals from Reyes and Dani Yáñez, the latter in stoppage time. But in the penalty shoot-out, Gomis' save from Dani Pérez's spot-kick gave the French side the victory.
In the match for third and fourth place, UD Las Palmas dominated against Sevilla FC (4-2), thanks to a great performance by Tomás, who scored a hat-trick in the first half. After the break, the Andalusian side did fight back, with goals from Collado and Bakary, but the Gran Canarian side were unfazed and finished the game off in stoppage time with a great goal from Abu.
Adolfo Alonso Ferrera, Adeje Sports Councillor said he was "very happy with the development in all aspects of the game. The reception by the public has been fantastic in the sense that it has generated a lot of interest among fans here in the south and in Tenerife in general. Having this line-up of teams has increased the interest in this event, which is a great showcase for football. This year, many people have followed us, not only here on the pitch, but also through live streaming provided by the Tenerife Football Federation".
The head of sport in Adeje underlined that "from a sporting point of view, we have seen a fairly high level of football and it has generated a lot of expectation and, above all, there is one aspect that I would like to highlight, which is fair play, there have been no notable incidents in the course of the game, which also says a lot about the quality, both sporting and personal, of the different teams. Another aspect to take into account, above all, when a tournament of these characteristics is held close to the start of the official competition, is that there have been no injuries, which is always appreciated because injuries bring complications and can ruin the season".
RESULTS
Champions: Olympique de Marseille.
Runners-up: Real Madrid CF
Third place. UD Las Palmas
Fourth place. Sevilla FC
Fifth place. Tenerife
Sixth place. CD Tenerife.
Least beaten goalkeeper. Marc Dolz, Sevilla FC
Top scorer. Gael Lafont, Olympique de Marseille.
Best player. Gael Lafont, Olympique de Marseille.
Commemorative plaques were also presented to the College of Referees of Tenerife and the Inter-island Football Federation of Tenerife.
Media coverage
This tournament was broadcast live via the Tenerife Football Federation, Radio Sur Adeje 107.9FM and other media. In total, according to data available, 6,000 people followed the streaming of all the matches played.
These new resources have make it possible to reach many people who may not be able to travel to attend the tournament in person, but can still enjoy it, says Alonso Ferrera, who took the opportunity to thank the media working during the tournament.
