Levante Azzurro, Nuova Tor Tre Teste, Trento and Montebelluna are the four top seeds, the special prize being the Torneo Città di Levico Terme. The final rounds of the first phase have determined the sixteen seeded teams for the ninth edition of the Pulcino d’Oro International Tournament, which until Sunday 16th June will see over 1,200 young players take to the field in Levico Terme, Trentino.
Tomorrow, the twelve top clubs will take to the field. The other four, for a total of sixteen, were sanctioned by the final rounds of the first phase, played on the fields of Viale Lido in Levico Terme. The four groups promoted the Apulian Levante Azzurro, the Romans Nuova Tor Tre Teste, the Venetians Montebelluna and Trento. These teams will join the 12 top clubs in the competition: Juventus, Milan, Inter, Roma, Atalanta, the eagerly awaited Spanish Atlético Madrid and Argentina River Plate, as well as the Portuguese Benfica, the Dutch PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar, and the English Leeds United and Sunderland.
Levante Azzurro were drawn in a thrilling group with Real Sito of Campania and Vigor Perconti of Rome, with the first two teams meeting head-to-head. Lazio’s Nuova Tor Tre Teste overcame the opposition of Lucania’s Franco Selvaggi and Campania’s Paraiso. The second group was a closely-fought affair, with Trento and Liventina Opitergina sharing 4 points, but the shoot-out results decided the final standings. Third place went to Palombina Vecchia from the Marche region. Montebelluna topped the table in the final round, with Alcione Milano and Dolomiti Bellunesi taking the other two places.
All the clubs that did not qualify for the final group played for the special Torneo Città di Levico Terme prize. The winner was Vis Pesaro, ahead of Unterland Berg.
The Pulcino d’Oro Girls made an immediate impact. Inter took the first place ahead of Lady Maerne and Real Sala Bolognese. Juventus, Milan and Roma followed suit. The first team won the round with Rhodense and Lady Maerne, while the seconds were ahead of Treviso Women and Pro Vercelli. The final triangular was won by Roma ahead of Cittadella Women and Accademia Vittuone.
According to tradition, the second day was the official opening day. At the end of the matches, the amateur and professional teams made their way through the historic centre of Levico, starting from the thermal baths and ending up in the amphitheatre of the Parco Asburgico, where the young artists of the NTA Dance School, Noi Oratorio di Barco and the Scuola Media Coreutico Musicale di Levico Terme performed. Tomorrow the teams will return to the field for the addressing phase of the tournament, which will determine the eight final rounds for the Pulcino d’Oro, Pulcino d’Argento, Pulcino di Bronzo, Pulcino Gialloblù and Pulcino Arcobaleno (red, white, blue and green). The second stage of the Pulcino d’Oro Girls will be held in Caldonazzo, and the night stage will be held in Levico Terme.
The full list of the 16 seeded teams is the following: Juventus, Milan, Inter, Roma, Atalanta, River Plate (Argentina), Atletico Madrid (Spain), Benfica (Portugal), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Az Alkmaar (Netherlands), Leeds United (England), Sunderland (England), Levante Azzurro, Nuova Tor Tre Teste, Trento, Montebelluna.