This year, while many spring breakers traveled to Puerto Rico, Miami, and the Dominican Republic, the Harvard men’s soccer team took a 10-day trans-Atlantic excursion to Italy and Germany. The trip took place from March 14 to 23 and included stops at Milan, Como, Düsseldorf, and Dortmund, as well as three matches against Italian and German youth teams.
“I was super excited to find out about the trip because we were going to my home country,” said Tim Langenbahn ’28, a defender on the team from Germany. For center-back Juan Pablo Fregoso ’28, the trip was an entirely new experience: it was his first time traveling to Europe.
The trip started in Milan, where the team watched football club AC Milan take on Como in the San Siro stadium. At a reception, they had the opportunity to connect with Harvard alumni.
“It was very impressive for me to see the Harvard soccer family worldwide, especially in such obscure places like Milan and Dortmund,” said defender Alex Castel ’28. “It’s also great to see how Harvard alums have reached successful levels in their careers that they can help fund a trip like this for us and help us have great experiences like touring the AC Milan facilities and getting VIP access on game day.”
For sightseeing, the team took a boat tour of Lake Como, which ended up being one of the highlights for many of the players. “It was super pretty,” defender Nayan Das ’28 recalls. “And then we saw the city of Como, it was a lot of fun.” Another memorable experience for the team was visiting the Duomo di Milan. “The sites we got to see were for sure going to be some highlights of my college experience, even though it’s barely my first year in college,” Fregoso said.
On the field, Harvard played against AC Milan’s U18 team and Como’s U19 team.
“It was really interesting playing these youth academies, because playing in the United States your entire life, you get accustomed to a certain level. Playing against these teams, we were shown a new style of playing and a different level,” forward Xavier Tanyi ’28 said. “The competition was so much higher than what we’re used to playing. Playing high competition, your weaknesses become more apparent, and you realize the things you need to work on and realize how better of a team that you possibly can be.”
Wrapping up their time in Italy, the team went to see the UEFA Nations League quarter-final between Italy and Germany at the San Siro stadium. “It was super electric,” Langenbahn said. “The German fans were amazing. The atmosphere in the stadium was unmatched.”
The second leg of the trip took place in Germany, where the team played against Dortmund’s youth team. Moreover, the team got the opportunity to train with a Footbonaut, a technology used by Dortmund’s youth academy to train the player’s reaction time. “This taught us how quick football is and how technical you have to be to perform on such a high level,” Langenbahn said.
On their final day in Düsseldorf, the team had a day of exploration, strolling through the streets, window shopping, and trying a variety of local food and drinks.
“One of my own personal takeaways I got from the trip was based off playing these three games, and it helped me realize that I need to improve my technical ability on the ball. Seeing these younger guys and seeing these Academy guys play made me realize that there’s still so much of the basics that I need to master before I can really become a better soccer player,” Tanyi said.
More than just being beneficial to their gameplay, according to Langbahn and Das, the trip brought the team much closer together. Although the first-years had already bonded with the rest of the team, their time spent in Europe especially helped them strengthen their relationships with upperclassmen. “Each and every player was lifting the other up, and even though being physically tired, we all pushed each other to give it our all,” Fregoso said.
“I just wanted to thank all the people who helped make this happen, including the staff, the alums, our tour guide that has been a special part of our experience, and obviously the boys as well for making it an amazing trip,” Das said.
After a trip full of unique experiences and strengthened connections, the team is well-prepared for their three final games of this season against Bentley, UMass, and Boston College.
Alexandra Otto ’28 (alexandraotto@college.harvard.edu) is comping the Harvard Independent.