Led by Head of Academy Football, Zurab Amirian, a mix of professional and Boys’ Academy players spent two days training as part of Standard Liege Under-18s’ side at the club’s training centre in Belgium.
The exchange followed a successful trip to the RB Leipzig academy in November, where the group were able to utilise the vast resources and facilities of a Champions League club.
Indeed, the quintet of players lived and breathed like Standard Liege academy players for three days, immersing themselves in a footballing environment removed from their everyday Rangers experience.
The players were given a tour of the training centre, where they had the chance to meet first-team players and staff, before group training in the morning and individual video analysis and an IPT session in the afternoon.
The boys were also treated to a tour of the Stade Maurice Dufrasne on the second full day, exposing themselves to a different culture and language as they took part in Under-18s training once again alongside a HPPP session in the morning.
In addition, there was the opportunity for a coaching knowledge exchange where Zurab Amirian delivered on coach development with a small workshop on setting traps.
Of the training exchange, Amirian commented: “We were delighted to take part in our second training exchange.
“At all times we want to challenge our players, push them, and make them slightly uncomfortable to future-proof their development.
“At Standard Liege we experienced a different language, culture and playing style. Our vision is clear: we want to create a really exciting learning environment, and we firmly believe our training exchange programmes play a massive role in achieving this.”
2008-born Aiden McCallion, who was among the group of travelling players, said of the experience: “I enjoyed the different type of training, such as warming up with three technical drills in small groups.
“The biggest learning point was moving the ball quickly and the communication with the other boys, which was difficult to talk to them.”
Midfielder Alexander Smith, who has been a regular fixture for the Under-16s this term, commented: “The aspect that I enjoyed most was playing with players who spoke a different language.
“I found it easier than I thought it would be as I’ve noticed you don’t need to speak the same language to play good football.”