by Dylan Kelemen
I play for a great soccer team called Católica and they offered me the chance to participate in a huge soccer tournament in San Jerónimo, Argentina. We left at 8:30 in the morning on Tuesday in a very fancy bus with over 40 comfortable seats and a bathroom. The bus also had televisions that flipped down from the ceiling so we could watch movies throughout the ride.
The trip had started, and as we left the city, the landscape changed a lot. Fewer and fewer buildings were on the horizon and the Andes mountains were looming in the distance, casting a dark shadow overhead. At about midday, we reached the Pase Libertadores and crossed the border into Argentina. Luckily, I had no trouble with my passport or other legal documents. Then, we drove for another two hours and stopped for lunch in the outskirts of Mendoza at a buffet place with the option of either chicken or pork. Next, we drove for a solid 16 hours with only one stop for dinner, where we watch the Chile v Uruguay game, which Chile lost badly 0-3.
The next day, we finally got to San Jerónimo and organized our room. We stayed all 37 of us in one huge room with cots, bathrooms and a kitchen. The bugs came in huge swarms. For every bug I see in Santiago, there were at least 50 in San Jerónimo. In the end, they were tolerable as long as you kept bug spray on. That evening, we went out to a field to get some practice and to let out all the nervousness we had been building up inside as the tournament got closer and closer. In my opinion, the worst part about the place was the heat. It was so much hotter than Santiago and we weren’t prepared one bit.
The next day — Match Day #1 of the tournament — the older age group played first, so we sat in the stands cheering and singing our hearts out while taking in the wonderful soccer atmosphere. There were 14 full-sized fields, most with great grass but others with mediocre grass. There were two baby fields for the Under-8 players. In the first game of the tournament we found out that we were unable to score goals. We tied that game 1-1 with our opponents scoring on their only shot in the whole game. It was a disappointment for us as a team, but we got past it and got ready for the second game, which we also tied (this time 0-0). The next day, we played two games, thankfully winning both of them 1-0 and advancing to the next round. The third day, we played two games in the burning heat, the first one which we won 4-1 in penalties after an intense 0-0 draw with both teams hitting the post and missing opportunities. But in the second game of the day, we weren’t so lucky. We played against a team that has a very interesting strategy of wasting time throughout the whole game and doing very well in the penalties. In that game, we ended up playing eight of the designated 30 minutes (due to the time-wasting of the other team), lost 4-3 in penalties, and were eliminated in the quarterfinals. But after two hours, after the last player finished being sad, we went out for a good dinner, packed up, and were on our way back to Santiago.
In the end, the trip was a great experience and a valuable lesson and learning opportunity for everyone. I had a blast, making new friends and bonding even more with my teammates and coaches.