Crystal Palace's junior Eagles travelled to Italy over the Easter weekend to compete in the '28th International Friendship Tournament' and finished fifth out of the 10 teams competing for the Cup.
With teams such as Juventus, Spartak Moscow and Gothenburg all taking part in the competition based in Biella, it was a great chance for the selected U14 and U15 players to gain some valuable expereince according to Academy Manager David Moss.
"These kind of tournaments are incredibly valuable for our developing players, as they are exposed differing football styles and are able to test themselves against some of the best players from around the world in their own age groups.
"The food and the facilities at the tournament was something the players had never experienced before and they are incredibly grateful to the club and all of the sponsors who have made this trip possible."
In their first game the Palace Academy came out victors against host team Diella Liberta before drawing 0-0 with Genoa. Juventus would be their next opponents and according to Mr Moss, it was not a game for the purists.
"We went into our third game knowing that we had to get a result against Juventus to stand any chance of getting into the Semi-Finals stages.
"Up until that point we had played quite well and was playing good attractive football on the deck, however a downpour of rain before and during the encounter saw the pitch transformed into a mud bath.
"Our players continued to play their football on the floor but it kept sticking in the mud. Juventus decided to be a bit more direct and ended up winning four nil. A couple of their goals could have been dealt with better and the lads learnt a lot from that game, the experience will stand them in good stead."
With 16 Academy players representing the club on foreign soil, Academy manager Mr Moss had nothing but praise for the manner his players conducted themselves on and off of the pitch.
"When players are chosen to compete in these tournaments they are representing not only themselves, but the club as well. All of the players did themselves and the club justice with the way they behaved throughout the trip."
