Juventus FC and Metropolitan Oval Form Player Development Partnership

MASPETH, Queens - One that thing that's often overlooked about tradition is the simple fact that in order for it to continue, it has to be preserved by the smart choices of the personnel involved. One individual who understands this is none other than Metropolitan Oval's President Jim Vogt. 

In 1995, the Metropolitan Oval (Met Oval) was facing foreclosure over unpaid taxes. By stepping in and reorganizing the club as the Met Oval Foundation, Vogt and his team ultimately prevented Met Oval from becoming just a memory.

In a move to continue their tradition in being one of the premier youth soccer program which is "dedicated to the promotion and development of Youth Soccer in New York," Met Oval and world-renowned Italian soccer club Juventus FC has formed a Player Development Partnership.

At a Press Conference held at Met Oval, present with Vogt was the CEO of Juventus FC, Jean-Claude Blanc, and Juventus Soccer School (JSS) Head, Olivier Jaubert. While the atmosphere was electric and filled with enthusiasm because a form of synergistic soccer was forming between both respected soccer tradition entities, all three parties were realistic about what this means to Juventus and Met Oval.

One thing that was clearly established is that a merger as significant as this isn't going to guarantee that every child enrolled will eventually become a professional player and will have the opportunity to eventually play for Juventus FC.

"A lot of our parents today look for instant gratification," Vogt said. "This is not a google program. It's not going to google to get instant results right away. You don't start kindergarten and get your high school diploma."

"We know they will not become players," Blanc said. "They will not become professional. We know they will become men and they have to behave like good human beings [and have] values of respect for the rules, their teammates and other teams. That is going to be the key for success for any of those kids."

By partnering up with JSS, Met Oval joins Greece, Switzerland, Canada (Toronto) and United Arab Emirates (Dubai). Jaubert stated that the Greek partnership began in Athens 18 months ago with 60 children. Since then, enrollment has jumped to 650 children this year with 1,200 projected for next year's class.

Jaubert hopes that the Met Oval's Under-12 team will participate in a 70-team tournament in Turin in May 2012.

"We hope they will enjoy. We hope they will have fun," Jaubert said. "The most important thing in football for the kids is not to win, not to lose. It's just to enjoy, have fun and learn the game."

This partnership runs through the end of June 2015, when current Juventus' deal with Nike expires. Last year, Met Oval signed a 10-year deal with Nike which runs through 2019. It is more than likely that the partnership between Met Oval and Juventus will continue once Juventus reaches an agreement with Nike. 

In order for this partnership to be successful for both programs and the children both organizations will be serving, changes will have be made. Now that Met Oval is a Juventus Soccer School, their coaches will be trained by JSS coaches.

"Juventus coaches will come to the Oval to teach coaches their methods at least once a year to have a consistent curriculum," said Vogt. "Thanks to Skype, there also can be live sessions on the internet via video chats."

"Our goal is to have every one of the coaches at the Met Oval to go to Juventus," added Vogt. "The highest coach needs to understand what the youngest coach is doing."

As far as enrollment process, Met Oval is going to be more selective of who they admit into their academy. Vogt stated that they will most likely begin with 75 players because the focus is "quality" not "quantity."

"The dream for me is the one player who some day shows up wearing the black and white in the new stadium in Turin," Vogt said. "That will fulfill my dreams of putting the players at the right level where they've earned it."

In the meantime, current and future players will be able to do something that unique and almost exclusive. And that is represent two well respected soccer traditions.

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He's also a Columnist for USSoccerPlayers.com; your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at [e-mail] and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.