THERE is genius everywhere you look in Barcelona. It's in every brick and cobblestone, every street corner, every blade of grass. From the unique architecture of Gaudi and Montaner to the modern glory of the waterfront - via the timeless maestros of the pitch at Camp Nou - the city breathes inspiration. It inhales talent and exhales heroes.

And one week in August, a truckload of talent arrived. One hundred hopefuls, all wanting to be heroes, had a once in a lifetime opportunity to add their name to Barcelona's pantheon of fame and glory. Nike's The Chance hit town.

Over the past 12 months, the sportswear giant had sent scouts around the world to track down the very best young, unsigned talent they could find. From an initial list of 100,000, their scouts put the wannabes through their paces. The process was merciless. For every one who actually made it through to the global finals, 999 were sent home.

Those who did make it were Nike's international elite, the very best young undiscovered footballers in the world. Their reward was a spot in Nike's The Chance camp in Barcelona, a taste of life at the very highest level of the game, a possible place on Nike's world tour - and most importantly, exposure to the biggest names in the sport...and The Chance of a pro contract.

For a kid with big dreams and talent to match, there is simply no other opportunity like it.

Enter Aussies Devante Clut, Matthew Bilic and Kiwi Stephen Carmichael - kids with, conveniently enough, big dreams and talent to match...

Their journey began online, in true 21st century fashion, in response to a post on Facebook, looking for youngsters to trial for The Chance. They made it through the local heats and onto the Pacific final before Melbourne Heart coach John Aloisi and former Perth Glory manager Ron Smith hand-picked them from the masses one bitterly cold winter morning in Canberra to go on to the global finals.

Fast forward six weeks and it's a European heatwave, a blistering 41C, as the boys hit Barcelona. Eighteen months ago, Nike ran the first Chance global finals in London in the middle of a freezing snowbound British winter. The contrast with this second version could not be sharper.

This time, it's epic. The scale is monumental. Countless hundreds descend on the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos, the five star hotel servicing Barcelona FC's Camp Nou stadium. The 100 Chance kids - aged from 16 to 24 - are joined by scores of media flown in by Nike from all around the world. A legion of Nike PRs and brand managers liaise between the press, logistics experts and the company executives. Nike's coaching staff mingle with the players' chaperones - charged with looking after the youngsters, keeping them out of harm and in the right place - sharing information and finalising plans. And weaving through all of this is the massive multimedia phalanx of go anywhere filmmakers, photographers, creative directors and new media gurus Nike have hired to maximise the exposure. It's an event. It's happening, and on an immense scale.

The hotel foyer is a buzz of accents, ambition, equipment, focus and confusion. Did we mention the scale is monumental? The scale is monumental. Even for seasoned hacks, it's impressive, exciting and not a little intimidating. For a teenager overseas for the first time away from his family at home, it's equal parts terrifying and terrific.

And from this multilingual, modern day Babel is expected to come brilliance...

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ON THE outskirts of Barcelona, there are allotments, tiny coveted patches of soil where the urbanistas of the Catalan capital can grow fruit and veg. In a city where most people live in units and few have gardens, these nurseries are a vital connection with the land. A chance to plant seeds and see them grow. Home-grown is important in Barcelona.

The allotments line the freeway to Barcelona FC's famed training academy, ten minutes away from their stadium and the hotel. Its existence is almost mythological. The original La Masia is a modest 18th century sandstone home literally in the shadow of Camp Nou. It was the dormitory for players like Messi and Iniesta as they came through Barcelona's youth system. Like monks in a monastery, 20 of them at a time would live there as they became indoctrinated in the Barca way.

In 2011, the last youth player finally moved out of there and moved into the new La Masia, a gleaming glass and steel block in the middle of the training grounds. Now 83 players can be accommodated at any one time - but they still literally live, breathe and sleep under the giant slogan adorning the outside wall, Barca's mantra and call to prayer: Mes Que Un Club - More than a club. It's like a religion, only more important.

The training grounds are, as you'd expect, the finest you've ever seen. The full-size pitches stretch out one after another, separated by giant hedgerows to keep out prying eyes. In the vicious Spanish heat, most of them are artificial, blades of plastic grass with rubber marble soil which feels fantastic to play on - right up until the heat starts to melt your boots before the sprinklers are turned on to cool things down again.

The first day of the Nike trials is also the hottest. With the mercury hitting 40+C, the youngsters from as far afield as New Zealand and Scandinavia via the Middle East must try to impress, and with noticeably minimal drinks breaks. This is the big time and there are no favours being given - and that includes not being told what to do in your native tongue. If you don't speak the same language as the multinational coaches, you'll be relying on the international language of football to get by...

It's a tough day for our local lads. Early nerves take their toll on Devante Clut, a midfielder with Messi-like ambitions. He's just 16, but like his Argentinean hero, he wants to be playing first team football before he's even old enough to drink in bars. The West Sydney boy is not backward in coming forward on or off the field - but on the opening day of The Chance, he has a nervy start but insists he's happy with his performance. "It's very intense out there - on another level," he says. "But the way I performed and the way I handled all the other players, I'm proud of what I've done. You can't speak the same language as them, but when you have the ball, it's as if our bodies have another language of their own. Everyone can equally speak football."

Eighteen year old Kiwi striker Stephen Carmichael prides himself on his calm composure as being one of his best attributes, but on the first day, he's just too calm and composed and doesn't make a significant impression, but he's undaunted: "Everyone here is going to be good. The standard is high, but I believe in myself and I have the ability. I just need to do the simple things right."

Fullback Matthew Bilic , 18, is also from Sydney's Western Suburbs and also has a day to forget. There's a German player in his group - the 100 have been split into four groups of two teams - who looks remarkably similar to him and has been stealing his limelight on the first day. "It was hot out there as well so it was hard," he says. "But I think everyone struggled with the weather. "

Any frustrations are completely forgotten when Andres Iniesta walks onto the training ground. Yeah, that Iniesta. He joins our lads for a chat and a knockaround as they struggle to catch their breath. The look of joy and disbelief on their faces says it all... "I saw Iniesta and I was in awe," admits Clut. "I didn't know what to do. One of my role models - to be on the same field as him, meet him, let alone kick the ball with him is just amazing." Later they pose for pics with him and other Barca players like Javier Mascherano and Pedro. The magic of what they're doing and where they are kicks in. Afterwards we're whisked off to a beachside party and the day's tribulations are drowned out by dubstep and balearic beats. Tomorrow is another day...

Sadly, day two is no better. In fact, it's worse. Devante fades in and out of the trials, going for stretches when he's anonymous then rushing back into the game and trying too hard. It's merciless out on the field too - only your compatriots help you out...everyone else is simply looking after number one, even if they're on your team - and Devante has been split up from Stephen and Matthew. It's a hasty, painful lesson in trials politics. Meanwhile in the drills, Matthew is frankly having a shocker. As a defender in piggy in the middle, he's missing interceptions. As a fullback, his passes are letting him down. It's painful to watch. The boys are better than this. Stephen fares fairly well but even his touch eludes him at times in the shooting drills.

When the second day's trial ends, Devante is almost inconsolable. "I was very disappointed in the way I played," he says. "After today's session I started crying in the changing rooms. After all the experiences I've had already here, it's something I never want to lose. It's something I want more in my life than anything else."

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OVERLOOKING Barcelona, visible from almost anywhere in the city, is what appears to be a Disney-esque fairytale castle on top of a mountain. It's actually a church, the Sacrat Cor, but that won't get in the way of this contrived journalistic segue device. At its feet lie Barcelona's richest residential suburbs - as far away from the sea and the beach as it's possible to get. It would be easier to have the church among the houses. It would make more sense to have the richest homes on the seafront. But that's not what Barcelona's about. Don't take the easy option. Work hard for your rewards. And never lose sight of your dreams.

For the boys on day three, they got to see their ultimate dream in close-up. On a day off from the training ground, they were given a guided tour around the 100,000-seater Camp Nou, the biggest stadium in Europe, wearing their own personalised Barcelona shirt. None of them had ever been closer to their goal than this. As they emerged from the stadium, tourists took their pictures thinking they were actual Barcelona players. The Barca vibe was buzzing, working its magic, getting into their pores...

Day four saw them back on the field and this time, it clicked for them. Matthew shone. He was undoubtedly the star of the day, every touch was perfect, every tackle spot on. Devante bobbed and weaved, shrugged off studs-up challenges, chipped the ball into space, created chances and drove play forward. Stephen finished for fun. The local boys finally found their groove and bossed it on the training field. They'd lost a lot of ground in the previous two days, but recovered so much in this final session - especially Matthew - confidence was high they'd now progress.

This was their last chance to impress - coaches would make their first cut from 100 down to 52 that night. Those 52 would play two semi final games on day five and they would then be cut down to 26 to fight out the final on day six. From that final, the top 16 would be picked. They will go on tour with Nike's elite academy in January to play the youth and reserves of Manchester United and Juventus, and the US national youth team. The ultimate winner would then be picked from that squad to join Nike's elite youth academy permanently...and all would be in the perfect shop window to get noticed for a pro contract.

The process unearthed Aussie wonderkid Tom Rogic last time - who only missed out on a Premier League contract with Reading because of work visa issues - and has since gone on to represent his country and light up the A-League with Central Coast Mariners. Other Nike Chance finalists ended up at clubs as diverse as Shamrock Rovers in Ireland and Östersunds in Sweden. But would our boys have done enough to get them over the line into the final 52?

Chelsea star David Luiz is invited onstage at a massive dinner event to announce the successful ones who have made the first cut. Each name called out brings the youngster onstage to shake hands with Luiz and Nike's head coach Jimmy Gilligan. But every name read out is dagger through the heart of our local boys. The agony is torture. The whole process takes some 40 minutes. Every so often a number will be read out close enough to theirs to raise their hopes, only toimmediately dash them when the realisation sets in that it's someone else. With just three spaces left, it's clear not all of the local lads will get through. When it's down to two, the anguish is replaced by resignation to their fate. And as the last name is read out, it's heartbreaking to watch, worse to experience.

Australia and New Zealand were the only area not to have a single player progress to the next stage. From the playing group of 24 they were with, just four made it through. (However three of those four - two South Africans and a 24-year old Marco Materazzi-type Italian defender - would go on to make the final 16). To say it's a shock is an understatement. The boys walk off dazed, unable to speak to anyone. "I've never known anything like that," admits Mattthew. "I was just feeling sick."

Minutes later, we're walking into the Camp Nou to see the Supercopa El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona. It doesn't take away the pain the boys have just suffered - but it certainly distracts them for two hours. "We put on our Barcelona tops," reveals Devante. "If we don't smile, we'll waste a good experience. There's nothing else we can really do - just learn and soak in all of this because it's never going to happen again." Stephen adds: "You get knocked down, you just get back up again." They join the 91,000 disciples lining the man-made cliffs overlooking the pitch as Barca sweep to a 3-2 win with a Messi penalty sealing the victory. The tears are replaced by cheers.

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GAUDI'S masterpiece in the centre of Barcelona is the Sagrada Familia. It's a church on a scale like nothing else, a vision Gaudi never saw realised. It's a work in constant progress, funded by public donation - and epic in its conception. If finished, it will have 18 intricately designed unique spires and a giant cross, beaming out light in 3D. It's 130 years since construction work began - and only reached the halfway stage in 2010. The creation of true genius takes time. No matter how impossible the dream might seem, the work goes on.

The rest of the week passes by in a blink of an eye. The semi finals, the final in Camp Nou's Mini Estadi - a 15,000 seater boutique stadium next to its big brother that would slot perfectly into the A-League - where Matthew was easily better than the entire backline of one team, competition in midfield was fierce but Devante could have held his own, and Stephen was far superior to the Argentinean #3 in attack, then the selection of the final 16 and finally the unforgettable pool party to bring things to a close. For the boys it was fun, but that wasn't what they crossed half the world for.

This stage of the boys' journey is now over, but their careers have barely begun. The Aussie boys have already played for (Nike-sponsored) Western Sydney Wanderers in a pre-season trial match and there are high hopes something more formal might spring up with the Wanderers youth team. If that comes off, despite crashing out of The Chance at the first hurdle, they could yet still match the success of Tom Rogic. But regardless, their journey has just started. Clut says: "I hope to see myself at an A-League team. And if that doesn't happen, I'll just keep training and see if another opportunity comes along."

The Sagrada Familia began with the first spire. The Aussie and Kiwi boys, immersed in the genius of Barca, can now build on the towering achievement of reaching the final 100. Like the Sagrada Familia, the work goes on...