Rob had the pleasure of being invited to Manama, Bahrain to be part of the Country’s celebrations for its 50th year of being a member of FIFA.

He had the pleasure of being around and involved with the players of Italian giants Inter Milan, who were invited to play a celebratory game against Bahrain’s National team in the Capital.

“Meeting and interacting with such great players over a period of time was an exceptional experience”.

Rob was asked to have a bit of fun with the Milan players and in particular their best freestyler. Believe it or not it wasn’t Figo, Adriano, Ibrahimavic, Reccoba or any of the fabulous household names one would imagine, but infact it was the goalkeeper, Julio Caesar.

"Julio had some great tricks so they filmed a mock challenge for ‘Inter TV’ where we had 15 seconds each to do some skills before passing the ball over to the other person”

Rob not only performed at half time for the game but over the period of time being there, he ventured into the less affluent areas of the country to work with and play football amongst some of the urban kids which was filmed as part of a soccer documentary.

He also spent time from day to day helping out at the soccer/training camps with the local youngsters along side one of the Inter coaches.

“It was an enjoyable and valuable experience and fun to be a part of.”

Rob also performed a private show for the players during a break in one of the training sessions at the stadium.

“It was very unusual and surreal having Figo, Mancini, Crespo Adriano Viera etc, standing there watching me go through various routine’s with the ball”

Rob was a little overwhelmed with the response he received from the players especially Reccoba, Adriano and Figo who took the time out to speak with him and even have him show them how to do some of the tricks. To the extent that he was made to feel part of the team as the days went by.

“I found myself just casually kicking around and sharing tips and tricks with the Milan players who were just great with me”

Rob found the kids from Bahrain and the people in general to be in love with the game as a whole.

“Football in the gulf is very fast developing with some superbly talented youngsters whom are technically exceptional coming through.”

Rob is looking forward to continuing his involvement with Bahrain’s urban soccer/freestyle program’s that are being organized and put in place for the future.