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Spurs of the Moment North London’s Tottenham Hotspur Football morning training session on Club (often called “Spurs” for short) is one of UMBC’s soccer field under the world’s great soccer teams, having recently the watchful eye of new played in the UEFA Champions League and Spurs coach Andres Villas finishing fourth in the English Boas. Spurs players then last season. Clad in iconic white and dark blue adjourned for lunch at the uniforms adorned with a cockerel, Spurs are True Grits dining hall. known for playing an attractive, free-flowing Later that day, young and attacking football. Maryland soccer players For one sweltering day in late July, however, sampled how Tottenham Spurs found a home on UMBC’s campus, coaches players in its which they used as a training facility before a own football academy July 28 friendly match at Baltimore’s M&T at an afternoon clinic led by Spurs’ head of It is the second time in four years that Stadium against Football Club football development Mark Jones. world soccer powers have used UMBC’s –another one of England’s biggest and most “We plan for everyone to get 2,000 or state-of-the-art facilities on visits to the iconic teams. so touches of the ball this afternoon,” Jones region. In 2009, English and Italian soccer Tottenham stars including , told the players and their parents before powers Chelsea and AC Milan trained at Aaron Lennon, and longtime U.S. men’s putting them through an afternoon of UMBC before a friendly match. national team goalkeeper Brad Friedel got in a coaching and drills. — Richard Byrne ’86

The Rings Thing Every four years, the Olympic Games give Despite the disappointment, Hussein athletes a chance to chase their dreams and remains one of the best swimmers in his native compete at the highest level. Egypt as well as at UMBC, and calls 2012 “the For UMBC swimmers Mohamed Hussein best year in my swimming career.” ’13 (Egypt), Patrick Husson ’14 (USA) and De Waal had to return to South Africa to Pierre De Waal ’13 (South Africa), those compete in the Olympic Trials during the dreams almost became reality. Husson and De spring semester. After a day and a half of travel Waal competed in the Olympic Trials of their from Baltimore to Durban, De Waal took respective home countries but fell short of to the pool for his best event, the 200-meter earning a trip to London. butterfly, where he fell to fellow countryman Hussein did his teammates one better – Chad le Clos, who went on to win gold in the qualifying for Egypt’s team in the 100-meter Olympics over U.S. Olympic swimming star freestyle and the 200-meter individual medley. Michael Phelps. But his trip to London was cut short by FINA, Former walk-on Patrick Husson also swam the international governing body of swimming, in the Olympic Trials in his best event, the which abruptly changed the qualifying times 200-meter breaststroke, finishing 99th out of required to make the Olympics. Hussein’s 132 competitors. times fell just short. “The three of them have all raised the level of “[In] all the past Olympic games, FINA our competition and our team,” UMBC swim allowed more than 1,200 swimmers to participate coach Chad Cradock ’97 says. in the competition,” Hussein observes. — Dan Levin ’13