BillHoudini
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Chapter one: The Awakening
I've been around football all my life. Started watching seriously ten years ago, when Liverpool had that crazy Champions League run. When I saw Steven Gerrard playing I told my dad "I wanna play football like him!!". My father crashed my dream by saying "If you were that good we would have noticed by now. Don't push your luck because one day a kid more passionate than you, will crash your leg like it's nothing".
My father was a good, caring man, he said those things because he loved me and he always wanted me to follow his footsteps as a man of letters. His job was writing articles about literature, writing books, critics and translating from Russian to Greek or English. In order to play football, he demanded almost perfect grades, but I never gave up. In 2009 a scout from Peramaikos saw me playing in 5 a side match and contacted my parents. My mum supported me all the way because she knew how much I wanted that chance. Fortunately, she convinced my father to give this a try and I signed with them a junior deal, I was 14 back then.
My first season was perfect. I was playing as a Central Midfielder and I was doing wonders. I was always tall and a bit skinny for my height, but I had my tricks up my sleeve. I played in 17 out of 20 matches and scored 13 goals. Then, the parents of my teammates started calling me Houdini, because of my flair and vision.
During my second season injuries begun to overshadow my performances. I played 10 ten times and found the net 6 times. It was a decent year but I had serious back problems that kept me on the sideline the second half of the season.
In my third year things got worse. I only played 5 times and scored two goals, both of them against our rivals, Perama FC. It was a flare in a season full of pain and disappointment. Not only my back was breaking me down, but my ability had also been affected. I couldn’t even touch the mediocre players in my league. Houdini seemed to be out of tricks.
The summer before the fourth season in football I got an e-mail from the manager, he wanted to see me. **** it…
Manager: Hello Bill, have a sit.
Me: Good evening sir. What can I do for you?
Manager: Son, I called you here to talk about your injuries. I really like your playing, you’re a nice lad, but I can’t keep you on the team if this keeps on happening. Your father has been pushing me since your shin splints in January…
Me: I understand coach, don’t worry about it.
Manager: I believe in you, so I decided to give you a last chance this year. If your body breaks down again I will have to loan you to Perama FC, they may be our rivals but they want you like crazy. I really hope you can come through this challenge and play for us.
Me: I appreciate it coach, I will try my best.
Then, the season started and everything went to ****. My back was breaking me down and I couldn’t even sprint because of my shin problem. I only managed to play in 2 games, doing absolutely nothing, I looked like a 50 year old out there. Through the summer I signed my loan to Perama FC. It was the right time to take a break and figure out what to do. Fortunately, Steven Gerrard arranged a camp in Liverpool and I convinced my parents to send me there. Stevie was a phenomenal lad. He was training us in the morning and then he was having dinner with us in our dining room. One day I found the courage to go and talk to him about my situation. His words changed my life:
“Listen lad. Mi whole career I had problems with mi hamstrings. The pain was crazy and I missed many games, which was worse than any pain. It went away when I decided to hit the gym regularly and strengthen mi muscles. Do this and one day you will be playing in the Champions League. You have the heart, the football I.Q and the technique to get there, but your body must also follow.”
That was it. I trained with him in the camp every day and then I was at the gym for hours. I spent 3 months in Liverpool, without my family, without my friends, without vacations. And it paid off. The next season I played 14(!) games with Perama FC and scored 6 goals, including one against my club, Peramaikos. The return to my club was finally there and I was feeling great again. Peramaikos was playing in the fourth league in Greece, it was an amateur club, but they believed in me. I hope I can produce for them and play in a higher division.
To be continued…
*This is a B.a.P story, with some real facts here and there. I hope you find it interesting, it’s the way I decided to introduce myself to this amazing forum. My name is Bill, 20 years old and I live in Greece. Please, excuse me for some mistakes in grammar, English is not my native language.
I've been around football all my life. Started watching seriously ten years ago, when Liverpool had that crazy Champions League run. When I saw Steven Gerrard playing I told my dad "I wanna play football like him!!". My father crashed my dream by saying "If you were that good we would have noticed by now. Don't push your luck because one day a kid more passionate than you, will crash your leg like it's nothing".
My father was a good, caring man, he said those things because he loved me and he always wanted me to follow his footsteps as a man of letters. His job was writing articles about literature, writing books, critics and translating from Russian to Greek or English. In order to play football, he demanded almost perfect grades, but I never gave up. In 2009 a scout from Peramaikos saw me playing in 5 a side match and contacted my parents. My mum supported me all the way because she knew how much I wanted that chance. Fortunately, she convinced my father to give this a try and I signed with them a junior deal, I was 14 back then.
My first season was perfect. I was playing as a Central Midfielder and I was doing wonders. I was always tall and a bit skinny for my height, but I had my tricks up my sleeve. I played in 17 out of 20 matches and scored 13 goals. Then, the parents of my teammates started calling me Houdini, because of my flair and vision.
During my second season injuries begun to overshadow my performances. I played 10 ten times and found the net 6 times. It was a decent year but I had serious back problems that kept me on the sideline the second half of the season.
In my third year things got worse. I only played 5 times and scored two goals, both of them against our rivals, Perama FC. It was a flare in a season full of pain and disappointment. Not only my back was breaking me down, but my ability had also been affected. I couldn’t even touch the mediocre players in my league. Houdini seemed to be out of tricks.
The summer before the fourth season in football I got an e-mail from the manager, he wanted to see me. **** it…
Manager: Hello Bill, have a sit.
Me: Good evening sir. What can I do for you?
Manager: Son, I called you here to talk about your injuries. I really like your playing, you’re a nice lad, but I can’t keep you on the team if this keeps on happening. Your father has been pushing me since your shin splints in January…
Me: I understand coach, don’t worry about it.
Manager: I believe in you, so I decided to give you a last chance this year. If your body breaks down again I will have to loan you to Perama FC, they may be our rivals but they want you like crazy. I really hope you can come through this challenge and play for us.
Me: I appreciate it coach, I will try my best.
Then, the season started and everything went to ****. My back was breaking me down and I couldn’t even sprint because of my shin problem. I only managed to play in 2 games, doing absolutely nothing, I looked like a 50 year old out there. Through the summer I signed my loan to Perama FC. It was the right time to take a break and figure out what to do. Fortunately, Steven Gerrard arranged a camp in Liverpool and I convinced my parents to send me there. Stevie was a phenomenal lad. He was training us in the morning and then he was having dinner with us in our dining room. One day I found the courage to go and talk to him about my situation. His words changed my life:
“Listen lad. Mi whole career I had problems with mi hamstrings. The pain was crazy and I missed many games, which was worse than any pain. It went away when I decided to hit the gym regularly and strengthen mi muscles. Do this and one day you will be playing in the Champions League. You have the heart, the football I.Q and the technique to get there, but your body must also follow.”
That was it. I trained with him in the camp every day and then I was at the gym for hours. I spent 3 months in Liverpool, without my family, without my friends, without vacations. And it paid off. The next season I played 14(!) games with Perama FC and scored 6 goals, including one against my club, Peramaikos. The return to my club was finally there and I was feeling great again. Peramaikos was playing in the fourth league in Greece, it was an amateur club, but they believed in me. I hope I can produce for them and play in a higher division.
To be continued…
*This is a B.a.P story, with some real facts here and there. I hope you find it interesting, it’s the way I decided to introduce myself to this amazing forum. My name is Bill, 20 years old and I live in Greece. Please, excuse me for some mistakes in grammar, English is not my native language.
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