Real Madrid won the Mundialito 2012, the world's largest youth football tournament, in the Children's category, by beating Betis on penalties, in a game played in Vila Real de Santo António.
In a game without great chances of goal, the Madrid took the lead, until Betis equaled the result very close to the final whistle.
Only in the third round of penalties did the meringues manage to get the better of the Andalusians, thus rewarding the visit of José Mourinho, who insisted on being present on the opening day of Mundialito.
On a very lively afternoon, where the rain gave truce and did not spoil the shine of any of the finals, around seven thousand people completely filled the stands of the Sports Complex of Vila Real de Santo António, joining almost two hundred clubs in a party where sport and fair play went hand in hand.
In the category schools, the young Barça players ended up beating Ajax on penalties after ending the match with a XNUMX-XNUMX draw. Although both teams managed to score in the first penalty round, the Barcelona goalkeeper stopped the Dutch attack on the second attempt, putting an end to the match.
In the finals of the preschools, Sevilla showed superiority by beating Barcelona 3-2. In this "Spanish duel", Sevilla asserted themselves from the first hour, having even taken a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard and scored one of the most spectacular goals of the tournament.
already in step «Cherubs», the children of the Ricardo Godoy International Football School beat Sevilla 4-3, in a close match that demonstrated the success of this new category.
For the Mayor of Vila Real de Santo António Luís Gomes, the city is once again proud of having hosted what was the biggest edition of Mundialito ever, bringing together 4000 thousand athletes, and for having shared, once again , the organization of the tournament with the neighboring city of Ayamonte.
“We are proud to have contributed to the formation of 4000 children who will be the great players of tomorrow and for having broken borders, bringing together young people of 54 nationalities”, said Luís Gomes.
Also present at the closing ceremony, Francisco Rubiño, vice-president of the Ayuntamiento (Municipal Council) of Ayamonte, praised the organization of the tournament and underlined the fact that the two border cities have known how to share the organization of Mundialito.
Facts and trivia about Mundialito:
> During the competition, 4000 children of 54 nationalities and 192 teams played almost 700 games on the nine fields of the Vila Real de Santo António Sports Complex and on the Lusitano (2) and Beira-mar (3) fields, in Monte Gordo.
> This year, Mundialito was divided into four groups. In addition to the usual formations (7/8 years old, 9/10 years old and 11/12 years old), which competed in the tournaments in the form of football 7, a new class was joined – the Cherubim – for children born in 2006 ( 5).
> Mundialito conquered an Iberian dimension, integrating the neighboring city of Ayamonte in the organization of the event, where some games took place.
> In addition to the sports festival, the venue hosted the «Museu Mundialito», a 130 square meter space where 3 pieces autographed by the big names in football were on display.
> The FIFA World Cup, donated by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, won by the Spanish national team in South Africa in 2010, was exhibited at the museum.
> Mundialito 2012 brought together 150 volunteers who, over a week, accompanied the 192 teams in competition.
Mundialito in numbers
>4000 children
> 54 nationalities
>192 teams
>700 games
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