Winter Soccer Training in Brazil!

Major League Soccer Player Dasan Robinson - Chicago Fire

Checkout this Blog of Dasan Robinson of the Chicago Fire (Click here for Bio).

He is headed to Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil for Winter Training and Cultural Exchange.

Thank you Partners of the Americas Chapter (Indiana, Rio Grande do Sul, and Sao Paulo) for creating this Experience!

Enjoy!

What’s up everyone,

This is my first post of the trip, sorry for the delay but a lot of things have happened since I took off from Chicago Wednesday afternoon. Where do I begin, WELL….my flight from Miami, Florida to Rio was delayed an hour. This is the reason I was told, someone had some orange juice in the cabin where you put your carry on luggage, it exploded somehow and ruined the cabin and the seats under it. I guess they had to replace the seats and/or cabin which delayed us an hour. Due to this delay I missed my flight from Rio to Porto Alegre. I probably wouldn’t have made it anyway, because the customs line was something like I had never seen before. I spoke to another American who was already through customs and he said it took him 2 hrs to get through, unbelievable. Once I attained my luggage I had to go and see if I could get another flight that day to Porto Alegre, the next flight wasn’t leaving until 6 which gave me a nice 6-hour wait in the Rio airport. Well to say the least I made it through, with a little internet purchase and some Bob’s Burger.

Finally its time for my flight to Porto Alegre, I caught the flight but its delayed a half and hour, seems to be a theme here. At this point I’m thinking I’m home free but little did I know I was in for a surprise. When we landed I figured I was at my destination, Porto Alegre, but when I didn’t see my bag I knew something was wrong. I found out I was in Florianapolis, not Porto Alegre. Nobody told me there was a stop in between. At first they told me I would have to stay over night because there weren’t anymore flights leaving tonight on the airline I was on. Thankfully they talked to a neighboring airline and they allowed me to hop on a flight that was leaving at 11:30pm. But guess what that flight was delayed as well. Nevertheless I finally made it to Porto Alegre about 1 am. A day and a half of traveling that I’ll never forget but it will all be worth it, talk to you all later, can’t wait for the trip to get started.

Abraco and more to come…..

Oi from Porto Alegre,

Wow what a first couple days its been here in Brazil. Its the middle of the summer here and it is HOT. I’m not complaining though since I just came from 14 degrees and snow in Chicago. This trip has been nothing but amazing so far, my hosts Daniel and Mario Brauner are very very helpful and I am very grateful to know them.

Galera De Atitude - Television in Brasil

My 1st real day here began with a bit of a surprise, I was told I was going to be on a program called Galera De Atitude which is a show about cultural exchanges between brazil and other countries around the world. It was definitely fun but I became a bit nervous when the host started asking me questions, lol. I thought I was prepared, especially since she was speaking english but the bright lights and everyone looking at me kind of got to me but I think I made the best of it.

After the mall I took a small tour of the city and saw some nice areas but also saw some areas where it really opened my eyes. Some of these neighborhoods people are living in houses made of wood and of sheets of metal.

Some children have no socks or shoes to wear. Some of these places the kids don’t go to school or drop out because they feel its not beneficial to them. Education is not stressed at home and that sometimes allows children to get away with not going to school. If there’s anything I can do while i’m down here to help out in any way, shape or form i’m going to do it.

After we took a bit of a rest at Daniel’s house we were off to see a sort of dress rehearsal for Carnaval done by 2 Samba Schools downtown.

We then briefly stopped at Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense or just Gremio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C3%AAmio It was an amazing campus. Thay have a stadium, practice field, social club, and even a Gremio Church, yes a Church. You can go here before and after games to pray for your team.

Estadio Olympico - Home of Gremio Porto Alegre

I heard the plan was to come back later in the trip and stay a bit longer at the campus so we’ll see.

Samba Schools -Carnaval Almost Here!

I had no idea what to expect but what I witnessed was some incredible dancing shouting, and overall fun. The costumes, the dances, and music had everybody dancing and jumping around including myself. This is definitely and experience I will never forget. After the Carnaval rehearsal I enjoyed a nice beef and egg sandwich topped with tomato, lettuce and cheese at one of the local “burger” joints downtown. Nevertheless it went down fairly well and I was full in the end. Today was great day and I look forward to many more. Got to go, got training in the morining at Club Porto Alegre.

Abraco…..more to come

Bom dia from Club Porto Alegre,

Dasan During Training with U20's Porto Alegre FC

Discussion with Players on Life Plans After Professional Sports

If there’s 1 thing that I think I want to share with them is that they must have a back  up plan, a Plan B, just in case. They aren’t in school right now and from what i’ve been told rarely have intentions of going. Unfortunately not all of these kids will make it statistics show, just like in America. I never want to tell anyone not to dream big but I also want them to know education is just as important as trying to make it professionally as a football player.

During one of my breaks,

U15 Championship - Villa bom Jesus

I went with Ana Isabelle Krziminski and Daniel Brauner to a neighborhood that Daniel’s school in Villa Bom Jesus (School 470). This is an underprivileged area where many people struggle even daily to find food to eat. This is a place where you can only get to some homes through alleys and dirt paths as opposed to streets. We were attending the U-15 school/neighborhood championship. These kids were great and very excited that I had to come to watch their game.

U15 Players with Dasan Robinson & Daniel Brauner

I was very surprised at the reception I got but it definitely made my day. They played their hearts out. Some kids played with shoes with holes in them or even shoes that the bottoms had completely come apart from the shoe and they either taped it up or wrapped their strings around them to keep them together. I was able to speak to the kids, along with a little help from Daniel, about the importance of education, hard work, and Love. Yes I said it Love. I believe that is one very aspect of life. I believe if you Love yourself and others you can accomplish a lot.  This is something I chose to share with them and Daniel agreed that the things I shared with them are very important to their development.

People to People - Dasan connects with U15 player

I also shared with them that they should never listen to anyone who tells them they can’t accomplish their dreams. If they’ve never heard that before I hope that I brought some sort of inspiration to their lives.  After visiting the children we went back to Daniel’s house to enjoy a very important game, Gremio vs. Pelotas. Gremio is Daniel’s favorite team and Pelotas is Mario’s (Daniel’s Father) favorite team. A long day but nonetheless a great one.

Talk to you all soon.

Abraco…..more to come

Olá a todos vocês,

Southern Zone - Porto Alegre - Rio Grande do Sul

1. The complex is in the middle of the country so while i’m training I can see cows, horses, dogs, and even chickens and roosters crowing. 2. because we are in the countryside there are many insects and unfortunately they felt as if I was their meal. I got bitten more times than I can count but I made it through the night.  My eating schedule is breakfast 8-8:30, lunch 12-12:30, dinner 7-7:30 and snack 9-9:30 so i’m usually full all day, lol. Felipe, my trainer, is working me pretty hard each session. I have been doing 2 sessions a day. 1 session is usually all ball work and the second session is a mix of ball work and strengthening for my body. Along with my on the field learning.  I continue to learn a little bit more about what it means to be a professional soccer player off the field as well. Talking with some of the players here not only allows me to be thankful for some of the things I have as a player in the states but also allows me to see the passion and love for the game that these men have down here, simply breathtaking. Unfortunately I witnessed one of the hardest things in sports and that is a player being let go. One of the U-20s was sent home after only being there a week. Sometimes that’s the way things are but I hope that he will continue to pursue his dreams. After a quick nap we then took in the Inter vs. Ypiranga match. 

Brazilian Classic - Churrascaria Gaucho Style

Performance - Gaucho and Prenda Show

The choreography was brilliant and hypnotizing. The food was just as good as the show and overall it was a great outing.

After lunch we went to the local neighborhood market which they have every weekend and local vendors and stores set up many shops.

At Brique (Street Market in Porto Alegre) Relaxation and Hyrdration!

It was a beautiful day but for some reason I couldn’t stop sweating, lol, so I had to take a seat in the shade for a bit. After my break we did some more walking.

Bocha - Fun Stuff to do in City Park!

I came across a game called bocha.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/eloisa/312243989/ Its very simple a looked a lot of fun. Unfortunately I didn’t get to play but maybe some other time. 

Internacionale in Gaucho State Competition - Colorado Wins!

After a quick nap we then took in the Inter vs. Ypiranga match. It was a good game, at least for inter. They won 5-1 but it was great to see the enthusiasm of the fans and players. I can’t wait for the the other matches i’m scheduled to see.

Eu vou falar com você mais tarde,

Dasan

OLA Everyone,

 
Sorry for the delayed post, my time down here has been extremely busy yet exhilarating these last few days. I’ve been going to some great places and doing some great things. Daniel and Luciana accompanied me to an awesome establishment, The Ronaldinho Institute.

Ronaldinho Institute – Social Program Porto Alegre – Brazil

It was opened in 2006 and WOW, is this a great place. It was created for unprivileged kids to have and outlet before and after to school to keep them out of trouble and off the streets and to have a place to work on their studies. They have roughly 700 kids total per day come to the institute, 350 in the morning and 350 in the afternoon.  The institute which covers nearly 120,000 square meters,

Instituto Ronaldinho Gaucho – Touching Lives Through Sport

employs 100 staff including doctors, dentists and teachers. When I went to go see the children it seemed as if they were very excited to see me. I was glad to see them too. I was able to speak  to some of the kids, through Daniel and Luciana thankfully, and tried share with them that they can do, be, and achieve anything they put they’re mind too. I really and truly believe this and that is why I wanted to share that with them. While visiting the kids I was able to be

Interviews in the Land of Futebol – Porto Alegre

 interviewed by one of the local sports tv stations
(RBS sporte, you’ll have to ask Daniel what the channel/program was) That was fun as well, they asked me question about my time here in Brazil, what I thought about the city and country, what my thoughts were about the Institute, and the difference between the futebol here in Brazil and back in the States. I believe I articulated my responses to the best of my ability. After the institute headed back to Club Porto Alegre for a training session with the U-20. Odd to be 18, 19, and 20 again. These young players are once again gifted. We did a few drills I had never seen nor done before and I was glad I able to participate in them. The coaches and players have showed me a lot about the game down here. I stayed at the club again and ate dinner. It is very consistant, pasta, salad, a mix of veggies, meat and some desert. All the meals have been excellent.

I never go hungry plus I like to eat, lol.

Under 20 Players Clube Porto Alegre - Greetings!

After dinner I hung out with some of the U-20s.  Shout out to google translator, is been a saviour here, lol. We watched TV and I found out Big Brother Brasil is a very very big deal down here, who knew? The next morning I did a strength, balance and core circuit with the Head athletic trainer here at Club Porto Alegre. I’ve discovered a lot of things I need to work on and I believe coming here has help me out a tremendous amount. After saying my goodbyes and see you laters to the players, coaches, and administrators I went to rest at Daniel’s house before the big match at night, Gremio is playing!  The Stade Olimpico Monumental is a spectacular place. What’s more impressive are the fans themselves. I found out Gremio hasn’t lost a match in a year and a half. They say a lot of it is due to the fans and I can surely believe it. They stand up sang just about the whole time. When the other team scores they scream louder.

Gremistas in Action – Watch Out for Avalanche!

Daniel, Mario, and I sat in the section where they do the avalanche when Gremio scores. If you don’t know what that is check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_y4Z7SRk4g I am so glad I can say I was in that and thankfully I made it out safely. The game ended with Gremio winning and that’s always good. Looking forward to enjoying my last couple days here, ttyl.

Dasan

Dasan and Daniel - People to People Hanging Out Downtown

As you can see my Portuguese is great now, just kidding but I must admit it is getting a lot better. You can ask Daniel and Luciana, honestly, lol. As I continue to learn Portuguese on my trip I also continue to learn more about Porto Alegre and Brazil itself. Daniel and Luciana took me on a Double Decker city tour bus. I was a bit tired from the night before staying up with the guys at Club Porto Alegre and training that morning but the tour woke me up. It was so invigorating and informative. It was also helpful that they had an automated voice telling us about the sites in portuguese and in english.

History and Culture in Porto Alegre

We saw a lot of the government buildings as well as historical buildings and even some that are being restored.  And yes friends we even saw a McDonalds on the tour, lol.   After one of the biggest naps ever, 3hrs, Daniel, Felipe and I attended the Porto Alegre match vs. Inter. A very even match for most of the game, unfortunately Porto Alegre lost 1-0 but hopefully they will bounce back from this one.  

Connections to World Football, Roberto De Assis Moreira

During the game I got a chance to meet one of Porto Alegre’s own, Roberto De Assis Moreira. If you don’t know he is the brother, manager, agent and adviser of Brazilian legend Ronaldinho. He is also the owner and director of Clube Futebol Port Alegre.
He is a great guy and I’m glad I was able to meet him. I’ll talk to you all soon.

Boa Noite

June 9th 2009

9:43 am

We had a very good flight to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.  Food on flight was good and I would recommend to anyone flying take overnight trip.  Just like a long Bus ride overnight, except at 30,000 feet.  Over 4,000 miles logged one way.

Soccer Shop in Airport - Futebol Crazy!

Great people, very friendly and kind.  It is amazing how the community people are beyond a melting pot of race and seem to work together under a relaxed atmosphere.  However their seems to be a hierarchy in order of leadership roles.  Many young people in airport working in shops and service.