Everton College lift the Under-19 boys trophy at the Dallas Cup
Dirk Kuyt’s son scored to help Everton College win the Dallas Cup but ahead of the historic first Merseyside Derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium, their coach has joked that he doesn’t want the former Liverpool striker turning up to watch their matches.
The prestigious youth tournament has been played since 1980 and previous participants include Everton trio Wayne Rooney, Landon Donovan and Brian McBride, David Beckham, Raul, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe, Ledley King, Matheus Cunha, Michael Owen, Harry Kewell and Peter Crouch. Placed in Bracket G of the Under-19s section, Everton beat AMSG of Orange County, California, 1-0 before defeating Dallas Texans 2-0 and Bayern Munich’s Dallas South affiliate 1-0 in their other group games.
Moving into the knockout stages of the competition, the Blues then edged out FC Dallas 2-1 in their quarter-final before overcoming Solar SC of Allen, Texas, 2-0 in their semi-final. Playing at Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, Everton College then triumphed 3-2 in the final against Dallas Texans.
Coach Phil Oliver told the ECHO: “It was brilliant. Last year we got beaten in the final, so to take that one extra step and win it was great.
“The way we did it was in typical Everton fashion as we were winning 3-0 at half-time, but ended up scraping through to hold on for 3-2. Nothing is ever easy, I don’t think I ever enjoy football.
“You’ve got to play six games in eight days, so it’s a bit of a grueller. We’ve got a bit of a mix of students, some from the Wirral, some who are Goodison-based plus some international lads, the biggest issue was trying to get them all to play together, but they were brilliant.
“We’ve got Dirk Kuyt’s lad, Roan, up front. He scored the second goal in the final (Niall Barrow and Joshua Hughes also netted).
“I tell him all the time, every goal he scores for me knocks one off his dad’s total!
“Dirk hasn’t come and watched any of our games, but he’s constantly on the phone to his son. Our games get filmed and Roan sends the clips back to his dad, who gives him a few tips and things.
Roan Kuyt, son of former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt, playing for Everton College
“He scarred my childhood growing up, so I don’t particularly want to see him myself on the sidelines.
“Unfortunately, there are a few (Reds) who have infiltrated in. We made sure that Spirit of the Blues is played in the changies, which went down with a mixed response, but I think everyone was singing along by the end of it.”
Although it was Oliver who took the team over to the USA, during the week, the players at Everton College are overseen by Joe Parkinson, who played in central midfield in the Blues’ last trophy-winning side when they lifted the FA Cup in 1995. Parkinson told the ECHO: “The Dallas Cup is one of the biggest tournaments in the world. We’ve got to a couple of finals in recent years, but hadn’t quite done it.
“There’s been a big push to try and win it, but to be honest, if you spoke to the other coaches, there probably hadn’t been the same levels of expectations that there had been in the past, but maybe that helped if there was less pressure on us? It was a case of: ‘We’ll give it a good go, but probably not,’ but we’ve ended up getting through to the final and winning it.
“It’s outstanding for us with the amount of students we have. A lot of the other clubs have so many members, and are much bigger than us.
The Everton College players and coach Phil Oliver celebrate their Dallas Cup triumph
“It’s also difficult for us in terms of the climate, dealing with the heat and humidity and a lot of the local teams and the Mexican teams are much more used to that. We take two lads’ teams and two girls’ teams and this year they’ve all done well, but the Under-19 boys excelled and went on to win it, which is an outstanding achievement and we’re so pleased.
“The backgrounds of the kids that come here varies. They’re generally here for two years and you can see them develop at all different stages, as we’ve got 13 teams.
“To see the lads grow here first, but then go over there where the odds are stacked against them, and produce what the coaches have worked so hard to teach them, is fantastic.”
