Former Real star to show sportsmanship

Former Real Madrid star Fernando Morientes, second from right, poses during a press conference introducing the Real Madrid summer football camp program at the Spanish Embassy in Seoul, Tuesday. From left are at North London Collegiate School in Jeju principal Paul Friend, Real Madrid Foundation director Joaquin Sagues, Morientes and Spanish Ambassador to Korea Gonzalo Ortiz.

By Baek Byung-yeul

A football camp by the prestigious Spanish football club Real Madrid will teach sportsmanship to young Koreans on Jeju Island next month.

In a press conference held at the Spanish Embassy in Seoul, Tuesday, the Real Madrid Foundation said it will hold the two-week event at the North London Collegiate School Jeju (NLCS Jeju), a private international school, from July 24 to Aug. 6.

Introducing the Real Madrid Foundation Campus Experience, former Real Madrid star Fernando Morientes, 40, attended the press event and said he will take part in the camp as an instructor to impart lessons on fair play.

“The goal of this football camp is to teach sportsmanship to every participant and I hope they will prove the value in their everyday life,” Morientes told reporters.

The foundation has been holding football camps in around 80 countries all over the world and more than 3,000 children have already participated.

The foundation said the summer camp will not only feature football classes but also different kinds of sports programs to nurture leadership, team spirit, compassion and independence.

Beginning his professional football career at Albacete Balompie in 1993, Morientes spent most of his career with Real Madrid, scoring 72 goals in 182 appearances.

Morientes is known to Korean football fans for playing in the quarterfinal match against Korea during the 2002 World Cup. After 90 scoreless minutes, Morientes headed the ball into Korea’s net during overtime but the goal was disallowed. Korea ultimately defeated Spain in a penalty shootout.

“We didn’t need a shootout if my header was allowed as a goal,” Morientes recalled.

When asked for his thoughts on the recent friendly match between his country and Korea, Morientes said the match was like “paying the debt off.”

“Of course I watched the match. Though it was a friendly, I feel like we finally paid the debt off,” Morientes answered, laughing. In a match against Spain in Salzburg on June 1, Korea was defeated 1-6.

Morientes, who pinpointed that “Korea needs to work more on defense,” said “we had go to back to Spain with a sad result during the 2002 World Cup.”

The Real Madrid Foundation Campus Experience is available for youths aged between eight and 17. More details are available on NLCS Jeju’s webpage.

The foundation said the camp will welcome around 100 participants, and the participating fees will be about 3 million won ($2,600).