Footballers and Life

Good morning. Vivis emailed me an “I love you Papa” with a picture… I’m so fortunate.

They have the fame, the money, the extra benefits and many more things but World Cup players are humans and like the rest of us, they’re dealing with everyday life. They enjoy special moments like th

eir National anthem before the game in the same manner I enjoy ours every afternoon at 4:30 when it is played at the school next

to our office… I miss it.

Here are a few interesting facts, “411,” about WC players. Our own

Jonathan Bornstein comes to mind as I’m watching Honduras struggling against Chile. He scored a goal in the last seconds against Costa Rica in the last qualifying game, allowing Honduras to qualify directly to the World Cup. Honduras’ president invited Jonathan to visit their country as he is considered a national hero and thousands of fans wear a Honduras national shirt with Bornstein’s name on it. Bornstein finds this a special and difficult to understand way of

recognition but smiles and enjoys the adulation.

In a more critical way, Islamic players have to deal with decisions which sometimes

compromise their strong religious beliefs. It is very common for pro clubs to recruit sponsors, including alcohol and gambling related businesses, who provide significant amounts of money which pay for club operations such as player salaries. Part of the deal is to wear the sponsor’s name on the players’ shirts and this creates a challenge for Islamic players. Association with alcohol and gambling is strongly forbidden and at the same time, players have to be team members and wear the shirt. One way that players deal with this issue is by donating money earned by playing to good religious and social causes.

Lionel Messi from Argentina, who started playing when he was 5, was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at the age of 11 when he was playing youth soccer for Rosario’s Newell’s Old Boys. River Plate was interested in Messi but could not pay for the medical treatment, $900 per month, so his father Jorge moved his family to Europe where Barcelona offered the treatment. Messi and his family will forever be grateful to Barcelona and he tries to show it by the way he plays for them every day. So you see, World Cup players deal with life just like we do. If only my friends and I could play just like they do… well in our minds we do.