An American in Bordeaux

There was a new face in the group when the Girondines hit the field for training last Tuesday. At just 17 years of age, Danielle 'Dani' Fuentes, from sister club Girondins USA, was in Bordeaux for a week-long trial. As Girondins USA coach Nenad Vilotijevic explains, "Dani is the first players from our academy to head over to Europe for a trial." Dani enjoyed the experience to the full, despite the jetlag. Throughout the week she trained with the women's pro squad, as well as working with club legend Pierrot Labat and the U19 squad. She quickly picked up on some of the differences in style of play between France and the USA, noting that things are "much faster over here" and that the players are "a lot more technical than in the US." Dani also watched two matches, visiting the Matmut ATLANTIQUE for Bordeaux – Angers on Saturday before taking in the D1 Féminine game between Rodez and Bordeaux (2-2) on Sunday. Dani returned to the US earlier this week, and says she "hopes to come back." If that doesn't work out, she hopes to play her way through the American college system before potentially trying her luck in Europe again. Girondins USA coach Nenad Vilotijevic was quick to praise the "welcome we've received from the club, the players and the president (Stéphane Martin)" with whom he met, expressing his hope that Dani "will join the Bordeaux squad this summer" after the "positive feedback from the coaches." Nenad Vilotijevic, who is also President of Girondins USA also shared his ambitions for this partnership, which is young but full of promise: "The partnership is working really well. We started by putting together a strong program to help our players develop, and we've received some great support from the Girondins. Our objective is to take things to the next level, to keep growing and to create even more teams. This summer we'll be bringing a team to Le Haillan for a summer training camp, working with the French coaches. We'll also be running a training camp in the USA with 2 or 3 coaches coming over to work with our younger players." Nenand also set out his long-term vision for the project: "We want to boost the Bordeaux brand in the US. This is a long-term project for us, helping French players to come and study in the USA and play soccer, but also helping young players like Dani to come and study in France and to play at professional level. » "We're planning on launching a boys' team this summer. We want to focus on the youngest age groups, to watch them develop in our system and see how far they can go. In the future, our goal is to have both boys' and girls' teams, and ultimately to have American players coming over here and playing professionally in France." Dani and Nenad would like to thank the Girondins and everybody at the club for the warm welcome they received during their stay.