Sat. July 19, 2025
Preseason Friendly
Derry City (Ireland) vs. Dover
The Brandywell, Londonderry, Ireland
This isn’t a large club but they are a long-time participant in the Irish Premier League and actually took part in three Champions League qualifying stages, losing in the second round of qualifying each time, most recently in 2024.
We should win in a walk today but I’m still looking for a few players to gain match fitness. Getting a start today is 18 year old striker Fernando Estrada and U18 defender Luis Miguel Garcia. Sergio De la Vega is in at right midfield and Rodolfo Lopez is in at right fullback. Philippe Jung is in goal.
Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - P. Jung
D - Rafinha, L. Garcia, S. Nasri, R. Lopez
M - A. Bamba, E. Harvey, P. Secchi, S. De la Vega
S - A. Broomes, F. Estrada
Derry City 1 - 4 Dover
Goals - Andy Broomes 2 (8.9), Zoltan Bardi (7.9), Jonathan Langlet (7.4)
Assists - Arsene Bamba (7.5), Fernando Estrada (6.9), Zoltan Bardi
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Rodolfo Lopez (7.2), Luis Miguel Garcia (5.9)
Attendance - 5,293
This game wasn’t as comfortable as the scoreline would indicate, as we scored two goals in the last five minutes. We only had 50% of possession and I’m a bit disappointed in our overconfidence this training camp. Broomes was very impressive and Bardi was very influential upon entering the game in the second half.
Future Transfer IN
-- We get a work permit for 17 year old Mexican defender
Francisco Lopez, completing a £70,000 transfer deal with Club Deportivo Atlas. The deal will go through in early August when he turns 18. He’s a 1.0/3.0 talent so he could eventually turn into something useful.
Loan OUT
-- We loan out talented striker
Alberto Velazquez to Werder Bremen on a season-long loan, getting about £250,000 as an upfront fee. I worry about his playing time with the German club but no teams could guarantee me a starting slot. At the very least, he’s on a decent team and should learn a lot.
Transfer IN
-- We continue to add to our prospect haul, paying £6,000,000 for 18 year old Spanish midfielder
Juan Jose Culebras!
We pry this very impressive youngster from Villarreal and impressively, he played 24 games in the top Spanish league as a 17 year old last year on loan with Malaga. The 1.5/3.5 prospect will spend this year with the U18s and will be a potential key player in the future. Another exciting prospect!
Next Up
-- We host powerhouse Borussia Dortmund in a preseason friendly at Crabble.