Young athletes Juan Miguel Basmayor and Catherine Angelica Bradborn, representatives of the Philippines, took silver and bronze titles, respectively, at the 10th Allianz Junior Football Camp 2018 in Munich, Germany last Aug. 27 to 31.
The two were in the winning teams that bagged the silver and bronze medals at a tournament held at Säbener Straße in the finals of the five-day camp attended by 56 young athletes aged 14 to 16 years from 24 different countries.
The young athletes were joined by Ivy Tapiz from Dipolog, who won the Robotics’ competition in the camp, where her robot was chosen to be launched into the stratosphere by well-known Italian robotics’ teacher Valeria Cagnani.
“The kids at the camp were very competitive. They all played to make their country proud. But I had to make sure that despite our cultural differences and the language barrier, we understand each other. We speak the same language when it comes to football,” said Basmayor, a former national team player for football now playing for De La Salle Zobel.
“There’s a different approach to how the camp was undertaken, it was an opportunity for us to also better understand the generation of today, the digital natives. Not only are they passionate about football but they are also very much influenced by digital” said Brand Communications and Digital Director Rei Abrozaldo. “We’re happy with this batch, at least for the Philippines.”
Before kickstarting the tournament, the players attended three training sessions in theory and practice, led by World Cup winner Klaus Augenthaler, whose 15-year career playing for FC Bayern Munich led to seven Bundesliga titles.
The participants also got to see their idols up close during the open training and meet and greet sessions, where they landed photos and autographs with the likes of world champion Corentin Tolisso, Thomas Müller, Arjen Robben, Bayern captain Oliver Kahn and watched the farewell match of retiring Bastian Schweinsteiger in a game between FC Bayern and Chicago Fire at the Allianz Arena.
“Everything needs to be equal. Everything needs to be boosted especially the attitude and discipline of the player. Even if one is good at football, without it you’ll go nowhere. You can’t have improvement in your skills without discipline and attitude towards the game,” said Basmayor when asked what areas he thinks he needs to improve on in football.
The camp is aligned with the Allianz Global Explorer Program #ExploreWithUs that highlights the “digital natives” of today’s society revolving in everything that is digital and technological to better define the lifestyle, aspirations, and needs of the participants.