Wellington Phoenix arrives for “The North East Lajong Super Series”

Wellington Phoenix , a top Australian A-League club, arrived in New Delhi on the 19th of August. The team is here to compete in a triangular series, titled, “The North East Lajong Super Series”.

They had a practice session today from 11am to 12.30pm – mainly training drills and testing everyone on the hard surface and extreme heat in the middle of the day.

The tour, which includes participation in a four-team tournament, was the brainchild of former Phoenix and New Zealand player Tim Brown, who represented the New Zealand Professional Footballers Association in India in May.

“We have struggled for meaningful pre-season games at times in the past and this will give our players a real workout,” Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert said.

“Some of the boys from our school of excellence will be on the trip and it will be a great experience for them, as well as giving the coaching staff an opportunity to assess their progress against good teams in a challenging environment.” He added.

Captain Andrew Durante was however apprehensive about the pre – season tour to India.

“At first I was a little bit hesitant and I wasn’t sure why India was chosen,” he said. “But it’s probably a place that none of us would ever really go and visit so it’s a good opportunity for us to go over there.”

“A pre-season trip is always good. It gets the boys together and helps them bond whether it’s good, bad or indifferent experiences. We’re looking forward to it. I’ve got no idea what to expect of India because I’ve never been there but it should be interesting.” the captain added.