United States. They were not particularly interested in winning tournaments or trophies; they just wanted to find the quickest path to being a professional, preferably in Europe. As a result, they had no real loyalty to Santo André; it was just the team they were currently playing for. Next week, it could be somebody else. Indeed, it seemed as if every week there was a new player moving into one of the rooms, while another would disappear.
Chester Higgins Jr. / The New York Times / Redux
As I became more comfortable with the language, I found that the best way to bond with people was to try to fill in their gaps about American culture. I talked with our trainer, Jon, about our mutual love for the Boston Celtics, and how K.G., Kevin Garnett, was making a big impact on the franchise in his first year. At night, I had dance battles with one of our midfielders. I talked about hiphop music with our assistant coach, Neir, who turned me on to Brazilian rap. In the end, I played in five games for the Santo André reserve team, but never scored. Still, I was surprised by how comfortable I felt on the field. It helped, too, that our coach knew explaining the tactics of our defense to me in any detail was probably a lost cause. As a result, I was free to go out and just do my best. More than anything, I was seduced by the Brazilian mentality, which somehow allows players to take their soccer seriously while at the same time not taking it seriously at all. Win or lose, it was inevitable that halfway through the bus ride home somebody would turn his water bottles into drums and there would be singing all the way back to the stadium.
“As I became more comfortable with the language, I found that the best way to bond with people was to try to fill in their gaps about American culture.”
Adrian Melville ’02
To me, the Brazilians approached the game with both curiosity and confidence. When I flew home in the summer of 2008, I felt I had graduated from a crash course. It led to a tryout with Major League Soccer, a stint with the reserve team of the San Jose Earthquakes, and then a chance to play in Trinidad until a hamstring injury intervened. My professional soccer career was pretty much over. But my appreciation of Brazilian soccer is intact. Its compelling style was on display when Brazil’s men’s team played the United States and then Argentina in exhibition games. It was in the spotlight this summer, too, when Brazil competed in both men’s and women’s soccer in the London Olympics. Some of you likely caught it on television or in person. I am thankful I got to see it up close. Adrian Melville ’02 Printed in the New York Times on May 17, 2012.
Fall 2012 27