VCF Academy Greece & Cyprus visit Paterna training ground | OneFootball

“For the past eight years I’ve been coming to Valencia, and it’s always an honour to visit these Valencia CF facilities and connect with such a high level of expertise,” said Dimitris Zisimatos, Director of the VCF Academy Greece in Kefalonia, as he described his recent experience in Valencia accompanying a large group of players and coaches from the VCF Academy Greece and VCF Academy Cyprus, with whom Valencia CF has been working for almost a decade.

In recent weeks, more than 60 players and coaches from different parts of Greece and Cyprus have taken part in Training Experiences that allowed them to train at the facilities of the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna and gain a deeper understanding of the Valencia CF Academy methodology, a benchmark for player development in elite European football.

This May, two teams — a selection of 20 U14 players from all VCF Academies in Greece, and U13 and U15 girls’ teams from Greece and Cyprus — took part in a Training Experience at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna. In addition to training sessions, they also played friendly matches against clubs from the Escoles VCF programme, visited Mestalla Stadium, and attended the La Liga match against Rayo Vallecano.

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Earlier, a group of U16 players took part in a comprehensive Training Experience last March, also having the opportunity to meet first-team players from Valencia CF as well as Andreas Pieri, an Academy VCF player and Cyprus U17 international.

“These experiences create so many emotions and lasting memories for everyone who feels connected to Valencia CF, because Valencia CF is a club that is always writing history,” highlighted Dimitris Zisimatos, who, together with other coaches from VCF Academy Greece, also took part in the III VCF Academy Coaches Convention, attended by 60 coaches from VCF Academy Programs across the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

“It’s valuable because it allows us to exchange opinions and ideas with people who share the same love for football — a very useful experience that helps us pass this knowledge on to our players in Greece,” he concluded.

VCF ACADEMY PROGRAMS

The VCF Soccer Academies — through which the Valencia CF Academy operates in strategic markets across North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania — along with the VCF Soccer Camps, international partnerships, technical consultancy, and the VCF Academy World Cup, are all part of the VCF Soccer Academy Programs that help expand the Valencia CF brand worldwide and everything its colours represent.

Each season, more than 5,000 players and 500 coaches from around the world take part in the various initiatives organised through the Valencia CF Academy Programs.