The Vice President of Atletico Madrid, Mr Lazaro Albarricin was on hand today (15^th March 2010) to launch the Joeys / Atletico Madrid S.A.D.partnership in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire.

Amongst the guests attending the launch were An Cathoirleach Cllr Marie Baker (DLR Co Co) and the Spanish Deputy Head of Mission Mr Ildefonso Castro.

Joeys have become the first club in Ireland to form an official sporting and cultural partnership with a Primera La Liga club.

 The programme put in place by Milinko Pantic (Technical Director – Atletico Madrid Academy) and Will Clarke (Director of Football Performance – Saint Josephs Boys FC) will concentrate mainly on the development of the Small Sided Players in Joeys and will be delivered by 4 UEFA A coaches.

Will Clarke: - We feel in Joeys that our focus on Player Development must shift towards our youngest players if we are looking to develop a more technically gifted player in the long run. In Atletico Madrid, we feel as though we have found the perfect partner to work alongside with. We want to combine the playing and coaching styles of the Irish game with the best of what the Spanish game has to offer.

This partnership will provide players in Joeys the opportunity to work with some of the best coaches in Ireland alongside some academy coaches from Atletico on a weekly basis whilst also allowing our coaches to visit Madrid on a regular basis to study their coaching and playing styles.

Mr George Forsyth (Chairman – Saint Josephs Boys) commented “this is a particularly exciting time to be part of Joeys, alongside this unique partnership we have recently opened our new Astro turf pitches in partnership with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and work has been completed on the 10 additional dressing rooms in the club. None of this would have been possible without the help of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council who as usual have been extremely supportive”.

Speaking at the launch, Atletico Vice President Mr Albarricin commented that he “looked forward to a long and fruitful relationship between the two clubs that hopefully will last many years” and concluded that he “looked forward to visiting Joeys again this August to watch Atletico Madrid participate in the 2010 Hibernia Trophy”. 

To view the gallery of the launch click here 

Please contact Will Clarke  -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further information.