Daniel was looking outside the window in his house in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, day dreaming about better days when her mom called him for lunch. “Eat so you can be fuerte y grande like your dad” his mom said. Daniel didn’t liked his mom food. It’s not that the food or the cooker were bad but he just doesn’t like it. It was summer, and the house was always full of dirt and mosquitos as any other house in Santa Cruz at that time of the year. Daniel was always thinking of only one thing, fútbol. Daniel wanted to be a goalkeeper as his dad used to be. His dad was one of the best, people usually said, but Daniel didn’t understand why his dad never talked about it. His dad was a silent, mysterious man. He was a nice and caring father but he never talked to Daniel about his past. Daniel had to ask others to know more about his dad.
Daniel’s daily life was very similar to most of the kids in his neighborhood. He would woke up at 5 am for then help her mom by picking the best mangoes from the tall trees. Her mom had a spot in the Mercado Central (market) were she use to sell a lot of groceries, like the mangoes that feel from the trees in her back yard. After helping her mom getting the mangoes ready he would walk for one hour to his school, carrying his books in his Real Madrid backpack and his soccer “ball” (at least that is what it used to be before deflating and breaking). In his school he wasn’t a great student, nor a bad student. What he most liked about school was the recreo. When the bells rang Daniel would just throw his backpack somewhere and start playing soccer in the dirty small playground. He and his friends play soccer for the entire break and Daniel was one of the best. No one could score to him. Some of his friends used to call him “La Pequeña Muralla China” that means the “Small Wall of China”. He even played with the high school guys that where like 5 or 6 years older than him. He once broke his arm playing and her family had to pay a lot of money for healing his arm. He was very popular in school for his skills in soccer. His favorite class in school was PE. Even though the field was small and full of stones and dirt, he loved playing soccer in it. He had PE classes once a week and that was the climax of his week. After school, he walked one hour back home, dribbling the ball across the potholes and puddles in the quiet streets of Santa Cruz, imagining being a soccer commentator and shouting every time he made a move with the ball,” Ahi va Daniel, nadie para a Daniel, que bueno que es Daniel!”

One morning when he was playing fútbol alone in the backyard of his house when his dad and uncle came looking for him. His father told him that one of his friends gave him some tickets to go to the game and asked Daniel if he wanted to join him and his uncle to go the stadium. Daniel had never gone to a soccer match because they were usually expensive and the stadium was very far away from his home, but now he had the chance to go. He didn’t even thought of it and just said Si! His uncle was really excited to watch the game, but his father wasn’t showing so much excitement. Daniel was crying of happiness. He was going to be able to watch professional soccer for the first time in his life. While they were in the car going to the stadium, Daniel could hear his dad and uncle talking and discussing about old soccer stars, world cups and teams that he had never hear of. This was the first time he realized how much his dad knew about soccer. Once they arrived at the stadium, Daniel was shocked. The stadium was the biggest and most magnificent building he had ever seen. People were shouting and screaming and as the fans came in, Daniel could see all the flags and hats with the different team names on that people were carrying.

The doors of the stadium were opening when he saw it, in the top of the stadium, waving towards the four winds its beauty. It was the biggest flag he have ever seen. People was shouting and the party of fútbol was about to start. Everyone was so happy and, as the anxiety was becoming greater and greater, his dad an uncle found the perfect seats right in the middle. The best spot ever. People were singing songs for their respective teams and shouting the names of the players so loudly that it sounded like speakers in Daniels ears. When the referees where in position and the players in their respective sides of the field, the game started. Daniel was so excited that he jumped of his seat, started shouting and clapping his hands in a frenetic way.

The 23 minute was running on the big scoreboard on top of the stadium. The team in white and green, Oriente Petrolero, had the ball and was a playing a possession game against the blue team, Blooming. Daniel’s uncle was giving his support and breath for Oriente Petrolero because that was the team that the uncle liked the most and anyone could realize that he was a big fan of that team because he knew all the names of the players. In Daniel case, he didn’t know much of the players, but he was supporting Blooming, because that was his dad favorite team. Player number 9 of Blooming shot the ball to the goal after receiving a pass of a midfielder from the left. All the stadium was in silence. This felt weird because of all the noise that was before but just for a split of a second everyone was on silence. Complete silence. The only thing Daniel could hear was the sound of his own breathing, accelerating as the ball approached the net. GOOOOL!!!

Daniel was jumping of joy and most of the stadium (especially the Blooming fans) were going crazy. Daniel was able to see people shouting and jumping, couples kissing, people throwing fireworks at the sky. It was amazing how one goal can change people mood in one sec. it was at this time when Daniel realize the party of soccer was starting, but everyone except one person was celebrating that amazing goal, his dad. His dad was just sitting still in the same steady position and the same look in his face. Daniel didn’t expect that his dad was going to jump and get all crazy for a goal but he expected that he at least would do something. The game keep going and Blooming fans were singing happily in a louder way than before. Daniel asked his dad what did he thought about the goal. His dad was very critical in his answer. “It was a nice goal…”

After the second half started, Daniel was feeling anxious and ready for more soccer. The game was getting even more and more exciting while the minutes were passing and the teams were going back and forward, defending and attacking. For Daniel the game was like a dance, the players the dancers trying to dance to the only round lady in the wet, green dance field. The elegance and beauty of the game amazed Daniel. He thought that playing soccer was easy until that moment. The scoreboard was marking the 86 min when suddenly….GOOOOOOOL! Oriente Petrolero’s number 10 dribbled the ball through the entire defensive line and, with the precision of an eagle, he put the ball in the left angle. Impossible to catch. The other half of the stadium was shouting and celebrating the goal, fireworks exploding in the sky with green and white colors in the hot night of summer. Daniel was shocked, with only 4 minutes in the scoreboard, his team (Blooming) had to go back and win the game. A very difficult task because at this point anyone could win. Daniel was sad and mad that the other team scored but he also thought that that was the beauty of soccer, anyone can win, and you never know what can happened. His uncle was singing and supporting his team and suddenly all the Blooming fans started signing and jumping. They really wanted to win and the fans of the other team started doing the same.


The ball is set in the middle, the referee whistle, the game starts again. Daniel’s team starts moving the ball around, passing it forward and back, side to side. Minute 87. The defensive line of Oriente is moving forward and the wings and moving more to the middle. Blooming is still playing possession, looking for the hole in the defense to pass it to the strikers up. At this moment all the Blooming players started moving the ball faster. Minute 88. Blooming’s number 17, the central midfielder passed the ball to the wing, number 7, that is a really fast players and starts running ahead towards the end line in the other side of the field. He loses the ball against the tight defense of Oriente, and its when the game turns. Now Oriente starts moving the ball up and it reaches player number 10. Minute 89. All the people in the stadium are standing up and each fan is excited for this dramatic end. Who will score? Or will they tie? Daniel so excited that he almost feel on top of the person in front of him. Even his dad his up of his seat, with the same serious look but up. For Daniel this means something, this means that his dad is feeling the party of soccer in his veins again. Oriente’s player number 10, tries a shot from half distance to the goal. Everyone on silence. The ball is getting closer to the goal. The goalie is jumping with his hand extended to the air. Is this the end? It is at this moment when Daniel realized that the ball was getting to high and it hits the crossbar. UHHHH!! The stadium shouts. Minute 90. The ball bounces and reaches midfield. A Blooming player takes it and passes it to the wing. Daniel can see the determination in his team and, like water against fire, putting out the desire of winning of the other team. The wing makes a cross to the goalies area. Blomming strikers appear and scores with a header. GOOOOOL! Daniel can’t stop shouting. GOOOOOL! The stadium explodes in one single shout. GOOOOL! Daniel’s dad is also jumping of happiness. Daniel is excited for the goal, but even more for watching his dad hugging random people and enjoying the goal. After the game Daniel thanks his dad and uncle for taking him to the game. Daniel will never forget this moment. He can see the happiness in his dad face and in most of the people going out of the stadium. They were almost reaching the place where their car was and Daniel looked up to the dark sky and said: “Gracias Dios por esto, gracias por el futbol- Thank you God for this, thanks for soccer”.