ASA has arrived! After a full day of travel, direct to Barcelona and connecting to Milan, we arrived in Turin, Italy around 4pm. Players, coaches and chaperones were reenergized as we hopped off the bus and checked into our hotel.
After a short rest, we were off on a walk around downtown Turin, passing through Palazzo San Carlo, Palazzo Madama, the gardens of Real Turino and Palazzo Della Regione before finally heading to dinner.
A surprise Italian third round Super Cup (the equivalent of the US Open Cup) match was being held at Stadio Grande Torino, where the opening ceremonies of the ’06 Winter Olympics were held. The two teams, Palermo (second division) and Cagliari (first division) were both away teams who traveled over 1000 miles to reach Turin.
For some in our group, it was their first international match and it did not disappoint!
Palermo scored in the last minute of the first half to take the lead at 1–0. Cagliari was able to equalize half way into the second half, forcing overtime. Overtime proved exciting with chances from each side, but penalties were inevitable. Cagliari was able to put away their first shot, Palermo missed their first two and were unable to recover. Cagliari buried their 4th shot for the game winner and cheering ensued from the supporters!
After a full day of travel and an exciting night of activity, it was finally time to call it a night. Stay tuned for another update tomorrow, our first practice session and a tour of Juventus stadium! Ciao!
