are we?" Burton says with a smile. "You look at the make-up of our team, and it's full of different nations. We've got two Germans, a Swede, a Bosnian, a Spaniard, a few English lads, and they blend in well together."

This weekend, a tournament that is gaining traction will also attract eyeballs, with both semi-finals and the final, on Easter Monday, screened live on Eurosport. But a predator is lurking. Next season, Uefa will launch a rival under-19 tournament for the 32 clubs in the Champions League. How it will play out is unclear, but it surely doesn't augur well for NextGen – no matter how much Justin Andrews, one of its founders, insists otherwise.

"Uefa coming in is flattering to us," he insists through clenched teeth. "Although theysides including Celtic, PSV, Ajax and Sporting. Hard games, hard yards. And while it is too early to say whether the next generation will be any better than the current one, they certainly have been given every chance.

Semi-finals

Chelsea v Arsenal – Friday, 2pm BST, Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como

Aston Villa v Sporting Lisbon – Friday, 7pm BST, Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como

Final – Monday, 5pm BST, Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como

All matches live on Eurosport

Five to watch

Islam Feruz (Chelsea)

Somali-born 17-year-old with electric pace and a decent goalscoring record. Became Scotland's youngest ever Under-21 international, aged 16, when he came on during a friendly against Italy last year. Scored against Barcelona and Juventus during Chelsea's run to the semi-finals. Was granted asylum in Scotland as a boy after a personal plea from the Celtic great