The AFC Bournemouth under-18s are this week making the trip to Italy to take on two giants of Serie A football in friendlies.
The youth team will first face AC Milan at the Rossoneri’s training ground on Wednesday before taking on Sampdoria in a second friendly on Friday.
Ahead of the excursion, the side’s manager Alan Connell spoke about the experience with afcb.co.uk.
“It was an idea I had earlier in the season and then after the Tottenham FA Youth Cup game where you look at the fact that we go from playing Category 3 games every week to playing one of the best teams in the country.
“We want our players to have the best experiences possible and that includes playing against top-quality opposition.
“I spoke to Richard Hughes, our first team technical director, and with his links and contacts in Italy we felt it would be a really beneficial trip. It’s a short trip, so it’s not about the training but about playing against AC Milan and Sampdoria’s under-19s.
“We’re going to be full of 17 and 18-year-olds so it’s going to be a really big test for us with a different style of football from what we’re used to.
“The lads will also get that experience of going away as a group, going abroad. We’re only away from three nights so it’s action packed with two quality games but we’re all really looking forward to it.”
