YOUTH
04/26/2019

Porto approaching: the countdown begins

The first day in Nyon is over. The TSG contingent have arrived at Lake Geneva and the players have conducted their final training session on training pitch 3, behind the main stadium, at the Centre sportif de Colovray. Preparations are complete and it is now just a matter of time before TSG Hoffenheim − the first-ever Youth League debutants to reach the semi-finals of the competition − take on FC Porto in the final four tournament, which is held in the vicinity of UEFA headquarters (Friday at 14:00 CET, live on DAZN and Sport1).

Two years ago to the day, the U19s were invited to the Cobham training ground of London-based club Chelsea to play the Blues in a friendly. The match might have ended in a 2-2 draw, but there was no disguising the gulf in quality between the two teams. The Londoners were the reigning Youth League Champions at the time, while Hoffenheim were an unknown quantity at international level. But both teams arrived in the dining room at the Best Western Hotel Chavannes-de-Bogis at dinnner time on Thursday on a more equal footing. Chelsea are in town for a repeat of last season's final against reigning champions Barcelona, whom they face in the second semi-final (18:00 CET).

At 9:15 CET, the TSG bus departed from the training ground in Sinsheimer Straße and headed for Frankfurt airport. A 15-minute delay meant that the flight landed in Geneva shortly after 13:30 CET. Then came the transfer to Nyon, check-in and a lunchtime snack, before finally heading out to the training pitch. "We've all been extremely motivated for days and are hugely excited about this game," said captain Benjamin Wallquist after the final training session and a subsequent visit to the match venue, where UEFA employees were bustling around conducting interviews, setting up ticket offices and equipping the stadium – which is normally home to the third-tier Stade Nyonnais – with the appropriate advertising hoardings to make the big event television-suitable.

Nothing left to chance

"Obviously it fills us with pride to be involved," admitted U19 coach Marcel Rapp. "But equally, we know that we've earned the right to be here." The tactician is perfectly prepared to accept the underdog role his team have been handed, yet he remains quietly confident. "All the teams that are here are capable of winning the competition."

The two physiotherapists Fritz Gard and Sebastian Holzhäuser had a busy time of it in the evening as they attempted to massage away the last aches and pains, while delegation leaders René Ottinger and Dirk Mack attended the organisational meeting – uncharted territory for TSG but very much a matter of course for the other clubs – along with the two supervisors Hans Schobes and Willi Unser as well as team doctor Dr. Yannic Bangert. They were there to receive the final instructions; nothing is left to chance.

"On Friday, I just want to see what I've been seeing in the training sessions," said Rapp as he outlined his expectations for the big match. "As they've done in the other Youth League matches, the lads need to play to their limits and then we'll perform well," said the 40-year-old. "Porto are a very mature team that make hardly any mistakes and ruthlessly punish the mistakes of their opponents, they have extraordinary quality. However, we've overcome many such challenges in the course of our campaign and we'll rise to them again today. The lads will give everything. Let's see what happens in the end."

The forecasted rain poured down over Nyon on Thursday evening and is expected to last all of Friday. True Fritz Walter weather. But that shouldn't be a problem for TSG. Real Madrid know all about that.

Youth League Semi-Final
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Vs. FC Porto
Friday 26 April at 14:00 CET, Centre sportif de Colovray in Nyon

The match will be shown live on Sport1, DAZN and the streaming service airtango.

Matchday -5: FC Porto | Club history
Matchday -4: Alfons Amade: Our road to Nyon
Matchday -3: FC Porto's U19
Matchday -2: "Easter is every year, the final four in Nyon isn't"
Matchday -1: U19s ahead of semi-final: "We can hardly wait"

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