Two London, Ont. soccer teens earn week-long trial with top Croatian club

When London-St. Thomas Croatia Soccer Club (LSCSC) formed an affiliation with Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia, they imagined a partnership where local boys could earn opportunities overseas.

A year into their agreement, it has started to pay dividends.

Jaden Ngufor, 14, and Anis Chibane, 12, from London, Ont., are headed to Croatia’s capital this week for a week-long trial with Dinamo Zagreb’s academy.

“I realized this is once in a lifetime,” says Ngufor who plays striker for LSCSC. “I never thought I'd get this opportunity, so it's a big blessing.”

Chibane, who is a left-winger and midfielder, is excited to learn a different style of soccer from a top European club.

“I'm excited to see how they play, and I want to see if I can change something when I play with them,” says Chibane.Anis Chibane (L) and Jaden Ngufor train with London St. Thomas Croatia Technical Director Mladen Vugrinicek at BMO Centre in London, Ont. on Sunday Feb 27, 2022. (Brent Lale / CTV London)

The boys are getting their trip paid for by their club, and will be accompanied by LSCSC vice president Joe Ostojic, and their technical director Mladen Vugrinicek.

They leave Friday, March 4 and when they get off the plane, they head straight to a Saturday match between Dinamo Zagreb and Sibenik.

Sunday they will attend the Dinamo academy and have an afternoon session before a busy next five days.

“From Monday to Friday, everyday they have a minimum one or maybe even two practices,” says Vugrinicek.

“We will try to accommodate them to be with their age and depending on the coaching suggestion maybe they will go for a higher age to just get that experience. We hope there will be an opportunity during the games they will play some games with those players.”

They even received a special welcome video from Dinamo Zagreb star Luka Ivanusec.

“Dinamo Zagreb is happy to provide you further opportunities, enjoy and work hard,” said Ivanusec.

“Special congratulations to Jaden and Anis, see you soon in Zagreb, we’re waiting for you”.

Chibane has big dreams of playing professional soccer, and thinks this opportunity is a great start toward improving his skill set.

“I just want to see what the difference is from here,” says Chibane.

“Europe is very difficult for soccer and competitive, so I want to see if I can handle that myself.”

Ngufor feels his strengths are shooting power, passing, dribbling and positioning. He wants to pick the brain of Dinamo’s coaches and discuss what he needs to improve.

“I want to make my name be a presence in their field,” says Ngufor.

“So I want to make sure I work hard over there and make sure they have eyes on me.”

And the affiliation is just getting started. This summer from July 3-10, Dinamo coaches will be coming to London to host a camp, which will be open to local players.

The sessions will give players and local coaches a chance to learn from European experts.

“From that camp, Dinamo will choose one to two players to send in for officially tryouts if they're really good for that,” says Vugrinicek.

The plan is to do these exchanges on a yearly basis.

“Next year we want to bring more of our coaches to Zagreb for a week,” says Vugrinicek.

“The coaches can see that environment, but also players. The kids have a chance now to prove themselves during the year if they deserve to go there”.

And they are also about to start working with Dinamo’s female club, to give the same opportunities to local girls.