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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