Spain's Real beats Italy's Inter to win Shanghai Future Star Cup
Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 3-0 to become the champion of the 2024 Shanghai Future Star Cup, which dropped curtain at the SAIC Pudong Arena on Sunday evening.
The international youth competition gathered eight teams from home and abroad, providing local football talents a chance to communicate and exchange skills with their foreign counterparts.
Real Madrid players celebrate their victory at the SAIC Pudong Arena.
The international players were also invited to tour around the city's landmarks to experience Chinese culture and even watched the Chinese Super League local derby between Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai Port during their one-week stay in the metropolis. Shenhua won that match 3-1.
The La Liga and Serie A powerhouses were drawn in the same group as host Shanghai and Serbian side FK Partizan for the group stage.
After round-robin matches and playoffs, Spain's Real and Italy's Inter set up the final. Real built its advantage in the first half with a 2-0 lead, and managed to find the back of the net again despite Inter's counterattack in the second half.
Real Madrid established its advantage in the first half.
Eventually, Real raised the trophy in front of more than 3,700 spectators at the SAIC Pudong Arena.
Teams ranked from third to eighth were: Dutch club Feyenoord, CR Flamengo from Brazil, German Bundesliga runner-up VfB Stuttgart, Partizan, Shanghai and K League side Ulsan Hyundai.
The tournament was in its third edition. The inaugural event in 2022 involved only domestic teams due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. International teams became involved from the second edition last year.
International players visited Shanghai landmarks during their one-week stay.
"This year, we invited a South American youth team for the first time," said Shanghai Football Association vice president Lin Yi.
"After three years, the tournament has grown at both the competitive level and in the diversity of football styles."
He added that the organizers hope to create a first-class youth football competition in Asia within five years, and thus help improve the level of Shanghai football.
"Ensuring the stability of the tournament is the current goal," Lin noted. "With the increase in the event's popularity, we will consider expanding its scale, and cooperate with other partners to take the tournament out of Shanghai in the future."
The tournament serves as a communication platform for local youth players and their foreign counterparts.
