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Team captain Malin, who plays striker and midfielder, won the U-15 MVP award.

“There were 60 to 70 teams in our age group and I was lucky enough to have won the award,” shrugged Malin, who was making a second appearance in the Beijing tournament.

“It helps us, sharing the game with other people and other cultures and everything. Two of the three Asian boys I played with last year, so it was great seeing them again. And they’re actually really great players and it was awesome playing with them again. To have them celebrate with us was just the greatest feeling.”

Saskatoon’s Simon Weber also made the trip and played on a Chinese team in the under-11 division.

“I didn’t know a couple of the boys who came with us and I didn’t know how we were going to fare,” offered Oteruelo. “We had no idea what the competition would be like. The boys just decided to play some soccer and we got through some tough games later and it was amazing just watching a group of boys, having not all known each other, in a place very far away and a culture extremely different, how they handled themselves and how they behaved.”

Oteruelo also led a group of 20 soccer players to Spain a couple of years ago in partnership with Football Club Barcelona.

“The training was amazing (in Spain), but we didn’t get to play and we weren’t integrated with any Spanish kids there, so there was piece missing from that trip,” noted Oteruelo.

“For these guys, what I try to get out of these trips the most is the integration with the kids from there. We played on a Chinese team with Chinese players. We were part of the club there. The parents from the Chinese team are part of it. We’d go to the younger kids’ games. For me, it’s the opportunity to meet kids, to see how they do it in other countries. Soccer is just an excuse, almost, to get the kids to experience something beautiful.”