In the football motherland: Manuel Schöpf's special year at FC Portsmouth

He is currently preparing for his first league season with FC Obermais, he will soon be starting his high school year, but he is still enjoying the summer holidays a little - yes, Manuel Schöpf is slowly returning to everyday life in South Tyrol. It takes a bit of getting used to, after all his daily activities over the last twelve months have taken place in Portsmouth, 1000 kilometers away - and actually revolved solely around football.

Last year, the Nalser was one of the mainstays in the U-19 team of the third division club FC Portsmouth. An unusual point in the curriculum of a South Tyrolean footballer, which the economics student explains as follows: “Even as a little boy, I did one-week summer camps at Manchester United and Chelsea. I liked that very much. When the opportunity arose to do a year abroad in the fourth year of high school, I really wanted to go to England.” The 18-year-old soon came across some interesting offers. “After a few trial training sessions and test matches, I was finally able to choose between three clubs. I chose Portsmouth FC.”

Anatomy instead of mathematics In addition to the special nature of the club (Portsmouth played in the Premiere League until 2010), the decisive factor for this decision was also the special school that Schöpf attended last year: “The professional club has its own school, which numerous players from the youth academy go to and their exclusive focus is aimed at football. The main subjects were, for example, nutrition or anatomy, but courses such as history, mathematics or English could only be taken on the side.”

After going to school in the morning, there was usually training in the afternoon, and games were always played on Wednesdays. “At the end of the championship, which can be compared to that of Beretti in terms of level, our team ended up in the top third of the table,” explains the 18-year-old, who quickly fought for a regular place and was mainly deployed in the wing or midfield positions became. The young player particularly remembers a two-week trip to America to Memphis, the highlight of which was winning a tournament against a lot of university teams.

The big difference? The tactics Today, the former youth player for FC Südtirol from Portsmouth is enthusiastic about the British island - and also knows about the big difference between the football worlds in Italy and England. “Tactics are not so important in England, but the physical aspect is even more important,” said the offensive player, who had the opportunity and desire to continue chasing the ball on the island. “But if I had completed my school leaving certificate in Portsmouth, it would certainly not have been recognized in this country. That’s why I decided to return to my South Tyrolean homeland,” says Schöpf, who is now starting a new adventure with Oberliga club Obermais.

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In the football motherland: Manuel Schöpf's special year at FC Portsmouth

A South Tyrolean in the service of a traditional English club? Yes, that exists too. Manuel Schöpf from Nals completed the last season in the U-19 team of the English third division club FC Portsmouth. He told us his story.

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