Eagles have landed from Euro giants

Aug 20 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

THE Lions and the Eagles joined forces this week to help groom the next generation of football stars for the top level at Almondvale.

Coaches from the Portuguese giants Benfica, known as the Super Eagles, visited the home of Livingston’s Lions to give youngsters pointers on improving their own game.

And everyone attending agreed that the sessions were of enormous benefit and also very enjoyable.

Benfica coach Hugo Vincente took the classes, which are run in conjunction with Coerver Coaching, and put a host of players aged between seven and 14 through their paces on a fun-filled week.

Vincente has worked with many of the top youngsters at Benfica but recently he has been taking drills and sessions around the world visiting Canada and Ireland and of course Scotland.

And Hugo revealed it has been a great week for the players and the coaches at Livingston.

He said: “It’s not been raining which always helps and we’ve had a great week here.

“We try and reproduce training at the Benfica Academy via a series of exercises and drills to work the Benfica way.

“It is very important that the young players think before reacting and we work hard on that to take conscious decisions on the football field.”

Hugo also revealed to the Courier that young players who do catch his eye could clinch a dream move to the Super Eagles although he stresses he is not a scout.

He added: “If I see an exceptional young player I’ll report back to Benfica and tell them but I’m not a scout.

“For example I was recently in Canada where I came across a really outstanding goalkeeper. I reported this to Benfica and it is now up to them to track him if they want to take it further.”