Duo bring Alder Hey joy
Two of Liverpool's most promising youngsters made a brilliant impression on local children as they paid a special visit to Alder Hey hospital on Friday.
Spanish ace Nacho and Portugal youth international Joao Carlos Teixeira took a tour of the hospital's neurosurgical and cardiac wards as part of an ongoing initiative which sees the Academy make a monthly visit to Alder Hey.
They met with the youngsters, gave them signed photographs and talked with parents about their career at the Academy so far.
One young Kopite, Freddie, gave them a rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' and impressed the duo by knowing all of the words.
Explaining the importance of the visits, Academy education and welfare officer Clive Cook, said: "It's vital for the players to understand they are in a privileged position in society.
"They can make a difference in helping these young children. At Alder Hey, a lot of the kids are desperately poorly but they are still happy and they are smiling. The visit from the Academy boys is the highlight of their day."
Christine Done, head of fundraising at Alder Hey, said: "The lads from the Academy are really coming on in leaps and bounds. They have really taken to this and it's great to have such fantastic support from Liverpool FC.
"It is part of a monthly visit and because it's a small group they really get involved with the patients and the family and interact with them which is great.
"The kids love it. They might not know all of the names of the Academy footballers but they get very excited when they see them come in with the red tracksuits and having their pictures taken with them.
"Don't forget last year we had the likes of Andre Wisdom, Raheem Sterling and Suso coming here from the Academy and now they are part of the first-team squad."
Spanish forward Nacho said: "This is my first visit to Alder Hey and it was fantastic to see the children, and giving them a signed picture is the least we can do for them.
"It is always important to give them our support as when you have a bad moment it is always important to help each other.
"It was nice to talk to the children. Some of them supported different teams but it doesn't matter who they support - we want to brighten up their day."
Teixeira, who netted his first goal for the club during the recent U21s 5-1 win over Wolves added: "We want to support them and bring them happiness.
"It's really nice for the club to be able to do something like that and it's really important to do it, both for us and the club."