Rising soccer stars head to Europe

Rising soccer stars Judah Rubenstein and Ayden Dave, who both kicked around the first ball they came across as children, have been given opportunities to play in Europe, and both aspire to become professional footballers.

In July, Rubenstein, a 13-year-old Yeshiva College student, will be heading to Portugal or Spain with his Mamelodi Sundowns Under-13 Gauteng Development League (GDL) team for the IberCup, one of the largest international youth football tournaments.

Dave, a 17-year-old King David Linksfield student, went to Portugal in March to play for a club called Estoril on a two-week programme for up-and-coming players from around the world.

“We are the only team going who won the IberCup because they had a points system and we were the top team,” Rubenstein says. “In June, we are playing the VW [Volkswagen Vaya] Cup at Camp Discovery. If we win that, at the end of the year, we might go to Saudi Arabia for a tournament to play against teams like Man City.”

Rubenstein rates his team’s chances of VW Cup glory as high. After all, his Mamelodi Sundowns side conceded only one goal, which was a penalty kick. “All the trials for these cups are taking place now. Soon I’ll be participating in the Discovery Cup for school.”

Dave was in Portugal from 15 to 30 March after his agent gave him the opportunity to take part in the programme, in which he was joined by five other South African participants, two of whom were also Jewish.

Dave says his two matches in Portugal went pretty well, saying “[At the end of the programme], the club and my agent combined their reports, which showed my strengths and what I can improve on.”

He says the programme may open up opportunities for him. He just needs to improve on some skills. “Once I do this, they will probably ask me to go back to Portugal and go on another trial or something like that.”

A number of South Africans have played professionally in Portugal, notably Bafana Bafana’s record goal scorer, Benni McCarthy, who began his professional playing career at Seven Stars in Cape Town.

Dave plays for the Sevens Academy, the top academy in Gauteng, and in the GDL, the top league for academy players. “In the two and a half years I’ve been with this team, I won a lot of team trophies and Player of the Year, an award that the coaches choose. I also received the Player’s Player Award, which my teammates choose.”

Rubenstein, meanwhile, says playing for Mamelodi Sundowns comes with “a lot of pressure in big games because if you make a mistake, it’s a goal.” He started off at the academy of the Pretoria-based club that has won the past seven top-division league titles by playing a year above his age group.

Rubenstein started his football journey as a striker “but then my coach, Nkosi, put me in goals because I was tall”, he said.

From an early age, he was surrounded by soccer because his dad, uncle, and cousins played the game. “When I saw a ball, I just started kicking it.” Similarly, Dave started kicking a ball around when he received one from his parents. “I couldn’t go anywhere without a ball, and I started playing soccer for Highlands Park at the age of about six,” he says, “so I played soccer my whole life basically.”

Dave likes the fact that soccer gives him “an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. I like the challenge of the game. My main goal is possibly to go pro. If I can’t do that, I’ll try get into a good, first-division college.”

Rubenstein also wants to go professional, win a cup with Bafana Bafana, and be invited to the Ballon d’Or. Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was invited to the awards ceremony last year.