James Watson remembers marking a skinny Italian teenager when Otago took on the might of Manchester United at the Milk Cup last year.
No-one had any idea then that Federico Macheda would enjoy such a rapid rise from promising football player to football idol.
His goal against Aston Villa while on debut for the Red Devils received global notoriety and thrust him into the international spotlight.
But before he was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, Macheda was trying to find a way around the Otago defence, which included Otago Boys High School pupil Watson.
"He wasn't a bad wee player," Watson said, understating the obvious.
"I think he scored two goals against us but we gave a pretty good account of ourselves.
"And when we got home and saw him scoring against the likes of Aston Villa, and making his mark in the Premier League, we felt a wee bit better."
Otago lost the match 4-0 but Watson (17) said it was "a great experience and good story to tell our friends".
It was also a good learning curve.
Watson, who will captain Otago at the Milk Cup this year, is one of five returning players.
The team leaves for Coleraine, Northern Ireland, today and although it faces a daunting challenge, Watson is confident the side will perform.
"You can't switch off at all.
"If you slack off a wee bit you get punished.
"Most of the players we play against, it is their job to play football, so they are pretty sharp."
The draw sees Otago pitted against the highly fancied Shamrock Rovers, from Ireland, and European high flyer Porto, from Portugal.
"We won a game last year so we'll be trying to better that."
As well as the football experience, the trip is often the first overseas experience for some of the boys.
It is also an opportunity to impress one of the many scouts who flood into Northern Ireland looking for the next Macheda.
The Otago squad is selected from seven catchments which stretch from Timaru to Invercargill and from Dunedin to Queenstown.
Four players were selected from Timaru and two from Oamaru.
Two guest players - Andrew Barton from Christchurch and Adam Smith from Nelson - were invited.
The remainder of the squad is from Dunedin
Otago Youth
Milk Cup squad
Tom Galloway, Tim McLennan (Kavanagh), Blair Struthers, Darren Robertson, Tom Hall (Timaru Boys), Billy Pullar, Michael Still, Daniel Williamson(Logan Park), Lennox Wilkins (Kings), Matt Brook, James Watson (Otago Boys), Brad Smith (Taieri), Aajay Cunningham (John McGlashan), Logan Plumlee (Waitaki Boys), Mitchell Greaney (St Kevins), Brandon Ruffell (Roncalli), Adam Smith (Nayland College), Andrew Barton (Christchurch Boys).
