–By You never know when your opportunity will come. As a soccer player, you play with passion, commitment and joy for the sport that you love.
The hours of time spent on the ball when no one is watching are put to the test every time you step on the field.
Then comes the day which every player dreams of, when your efforts are recognized and you are given the invite with a professional club.
It was during an August overseas tour – where the St. Anthony Futuro 2004-2005 group went unbeaten and took down a number of legendary British football clubs’ academy teams – where Nathaniel Mulualem earned that big opportunity.
Nathaniel led Futuro to a 6-3 victory over Fulham FC while putting on a dazzling display on the field where he mesmerized defenders with his footwork.
Immediately following the game, Fulham head coach Arthur Brammer took the time to come over and talk to the team to praise the high level of ability each player displayed on the ball and our willingness to express ourselves in difficult sessions.
He shared Fulham’s player development philosophy and referenced Futuro players as the way they would like to see their players playing. This was followed by the ultimate praise, when he invited Nathaniel to stay behind to train and play with their 2004 boys.
Nathaniel was given the opportunity to play a trial match with Fulham against Leyton Orient, where he performed well and took part in the equalizing goal to tie up the match at 2-2.
Nathaniel’s performance in the match warranted him the chance to continue showcasing himself as he trained with the team over the next 10 days before the official league schedule kicked off.
Ultimately, Nathaniel made his breakthrough – he was advised during his final session that he would have been given a spot on the team to play in the official league games if he was a local player.
This feedback not only encourages Nathaniel to keep working towards his dream of playing professional soccer but also opens the door for Ottawa players to realize that they are capable of competing and outperforming the best players in the world.
St. Anthony/Futuro partnership grows stronger yet
St Anthony Italian Soccer Club is thrilled with our progress as a club over the past year and are supportive of getting our players opportunities around the world through our vast network of contacts.
We have rebranded our club programs, with Futuro as our tier one teams and Azzurri as our tier 2.
Our partnership with Futuro Soccer Academy over the past year has flourished and enabled us to put both programs together to become one under the club banner.
We are pleased to have a solid infrastructure in place, which has been developed over the past year, from an introductory development program at 4 years of age up to our storied adult premier teams.