Mixing with footballing genius

21/7/2009

James Watson (Year 13) remembers marking a skinny Italian teenager when Otago took on the might of Manchester United in foortball's Milk Cup last year.

At the time no-one had any idea then that Federico Macheda would enjoy such a rapid rise from promising soccer player to football idol … but his goal against Aston Villa while on debut for the Red Devils received global notoriety and thrust him into the international spotlight.

Brush with stardom . . . James Watson (left) will never forget playing Manchester United at the Milk Cup last year. The United team contained Federico Macheda, pictured being mobbed by his team-mates after scoring against Sunderland in the Premier League.

Before he was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, Macheda was trying to find a way around the Otago defence, which included James.

"He wasn't a bad wee player," James told the Otago Daily Times, understating the obvious.

"I think he scored two goals against us but we gave a pretty good account of ourselves.

"And when we got home and saw him scoring against the likes of Aston Villa, and making his mark in the Premier League, we felt a wee bit better."

Otago lost the match 4-0 but James said it was "a great experience and good story to tell our friends."

It was also a good learning curve.

James, one of five returning players, will captain Otago at the Milk Cup this year.

The team leaves for Coleraine, Northern Ireland, today and although it faces a daunting challenge, James is confident the side will perform.

"You can't switch off at all. If you slack off a wee bit you get punished.

"Most of the players we play against, it is their job to play football, so they are pretty sharp."

The draw sees Otago pitted against the highly fancied Shamrock Rovers, from Ireland, and European high flyer Porto, from Portugal.

"We won a game last year so we'll be trying to better that."

As well as the football experience, the trip is often the first overseas experience for some of the boys. It is also an opportunity to impress one of the many scouts who flood into Northern Ireland looking for the next Macheda.

The Otago squad is selected from seven catchments which stretch from Timaru to Invercargill and from Dunedin to Queenstown. James is joined by Matt Brook (Year 12) as the Otago Boys’ representation in the squad.