James Collins has labelled his time in Mumbai, which concluded by winning the Next Generation Cup, as an “incredible experience”.
Wolves under-19s spent 12 days on Indian soil competing in the end-of-season tournament, while also taking in the culture the country had to offer. After leading his side to glory following a penalty shoot-out victory against Stellenbosch in the final, Collins has offered his reflections on the football in India, the experience as a whole and the once in a lifetime opportunity.
On the final
“I thought it was our hardest game and I expected it to be. What a terrific team they (Stellenbosch) are – we knew it was going to be tough.
“They’ve got good ball players and almost street footballers who play, combine and produce. I thought they were excellent and our boys stood up to it well.
“It’s nice to come all this way and go back to the hotel with the trophy.”
On his own team
“They’re such a good group of lads and they’re at the early infancy of their careers. Who knows where they’ll end up – some may end up not playing and some may end up playing in the Wolves first-team and playing Premier League and international football.
“That’s the excitement of all of this and playing in a competition like this – it’s brilliant for their experiences.
“To take penalties under pressure and practice those moments is why we’re here. It could’ve gone either way and that would’ve been fine, but it’s nice to come out on the right side of it.”
Mumbai 2023.
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) May 27, 2023
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On impressing from set pieces
“We’ve done well all week on set pieces and we’re not normally as good as that. My assistant Sean (Parrish) does our attacking set pieces, studies the opponent and tries to find weaknesses.
“The boys then have to do it. They practice and have to put it on the pitch, which they have done.
“Set pieces win and lose you football matches, although it’s not the fun side of the game so credit to Sean and the players for scoring that way.”
On the experience as a whole
“It’s been an incredible experience and it’s nice to win it. We weren’t sure what to expect coming out here and it’s at the end of a long, hard season.
“The people have been wonderful and they can’t do enough for us when trying to help and support us.
“It’s been good for us to try and give our side of it in terms of giving English football to them, which has been nice.”
On experiencing the Indian culture
“The cultural experiences have been magnificent. The IPL was a once in a lifetime experience for us. We see it on the telly but to be there and see it was great.
“The slums was probably the most humbling experience of my life and will stay with me forever.
“That all you can ask of these trips – incredible.”
𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 😍@Wolves broke out into joyous celebrations as they clinched the Grand Final on penalties 🎉@ril_foundation @PLforIndia @WolvesAcademy | #RelianceFoundation #PLNextGen #SFCWOL pic.twitter.com/Lxaly8i7On
— RF Youth Sports (@RFYouthSports) May 26, 2023
On the Indian opposition
“The Indian opposition have been very together, very spirited and technically very good. There's obviously some good coaching going on.
“We’ve maybe got that little bit more tactical knowledge. My Dad was taking me to football at two years of age, which is a bit like cricket over here.
“It’s very difficult to gain that tactical knowledge in a short space of time. You’ve got to be patient, but I see enthusiasm, togetherness and technical ability.
“Improved physicality would be one improvement and the other would be that little bit of game understanding. If they do improve that, then they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”
