He sits down on the cool, well-maintained turf, sporting his bright yellow Ecuadorian national team jersey to enjoy a cool drink of water before getting back on the field and filling his position as a defender. He recognizes only two other faces on the pitch.
The young boy, a freshman in high school, spends his Saturday night with two friends at Flagler Grove Park doing one of the things he loves most: playing soccer.
A game that can be considered a magnetic force in itself, soccer has a natural ability to bring people together. It is considered a symbol of globalization, truly seen as today’s ‘world game;’ there is no other sport that is as widely viewed around the globe.
Take the 2022 FIFA World Cup, for example; by the end of the tournament, the total viewership came in at over five billion people worldwide. The final alone reached 1.5 billion viewers, making it the most-viewed sporting event on the planet.
To Alyd Dazza, being unfamiliar with the faces he shares the ball with on the pitch does not affect him. Not speaking the same native language makes no difference, passing the ball is all the communication he needs.
“I’m happy because I got the opportunity to be here in the park with other kids that speak Spanish too, so I’m proud about it,” Dazza said.
Having moved to the U.S. from Ecuador in 2019, the physical settings where he plays may have changed, but his feelings toward the “beautiful game” remain.
“Since I played soccer when I was in Ecuador and that was my childhood, [soccer is] my passion, and now that I’m here I got friends that play soccer so I just play it on my school team,” Dazza said. “[When I’m playing] I just think that I’m back in Ecuador, we didn’t use to play on fields like this we would play just in a park or in the street.”
Dazza whistles for his friend and right-winger in this particular pick-up match to walk over, then returns to the field.
Francesco Sergio’s love for soccer has remained strong ever since receiving a soccer ball as a gift in Venezuela before moving to the U.S. in 2018.
“It was a birthday gift, the ball, in Venezuela, and then I just started playing,” Sergio said.
With a similar story to Dazza, Sergio’s move to the U.S. in 2018 provided him with newfound opportunities to play soccer at a higher level, currently playing with the Miami Breakers Football Club.
“I didn’t get to play that much soccer in Venezuela, I came to play soccer at competitive here three or four years ago,” Sergio said. “[Playing] feels great because I can just play on the open field and do whatever.”
As a testament to its versatility, kids like Dazza and Sergio are two of millions around the world who participate in a sport that requires not much more than a ball and an open area. The two of them, playing in a sporadic pick-up match with other kids they had never met before, emulate the spirit of soccer as a unifier — bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy kicking a ball around.
The opposing team on this particular night was made up of a group of seven younger boys. One of them, eighth grader and right-back Julian Jaramillo, expresses his love for the sport and its impact on his life.
“[Soccer] means a lot to me because I hopefully want to go pro one day and being here with my friends that help me train makes me feel really whole,” Jaramillo said. “I started playing it because it was the first sport I watched on TV — Manchester City versus Liverpool.”
Beyond the scene of these two groups of kids playing pick-up soccer on a Saturday evening, the concept of these simultaneous matches is one that all soccer players hold in common. They each share an interest in having an opportunity to show up at a park and bring the spirit of soccer to the field.
