Middle school Vol.1 | Page 6

GOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!” Every single teammate I had, even from the bench came to celebrate. After the celebration, we got back to our side of the field. We played the rest of the time, and then the ref blew the whistle. We celebrated the fact that we just won the trophy and I got the award for the best player of the tournament. After the game our team our team was leaving the stadium, but just before I got on a man approached me. He had a clipboard, was wearing a suit and tie, and was out of breath from running. He said,” Hello Carlos, my name is Xavi Gomez. I am a scout for Real Madrid Club de Futbol. I witnessed you during the match, and you have all the qualities that the club is looking for. We would like to sign you to play for the institution. As part of this we would like to offer you 2,000 dollars in American currency, which would be 1,449 in Euros, and we would have to move you and your family to Spain.”

After talking it over with my family, we decided to move to Spain so I could play professional football (soccer in the U.S, football everywhere else.) We took a couple of day to pack and say goodbye, then we were off the Madrid, Spain. We got there; unpacked in our new house, and then I started training with the youth group. I had to train every day, but then after a few years I got to make my debut with the major team.

We were playing at home vs. Real Valladolid; it was the 8th game in the league so far, and we were in 3rd place, behind Barcelona (1st) and Athletico Madrid (2nd). I sat on the bench for the first half. In the 64th minute Gonzalo Higuain came off so I could play. The game was 0-0 when I went in. I was really nervous because I was playing with big names like, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, and many others. We all thought that we were going to draw, but in the 83rd minute Ronaldo put in a center to the other teams goalie box, and I scored a diving header. I celebrated, and then the game kicked-off again. The match ended and we won 1-0. The entire team congratulated me and I won Man of the Match.

The rest of year went by great, and so did the rest of my career. We won 14 out of 20 league cups, 9 out of 20 Champions Leagues, and a few FIFA World Club Cups. I won 7 Ballon D’Oros, and many other individual awards. After 20 years of professional football (soccer), I decided to hang up my boots and retired from professional football (soccer). A couple years after my retirement, I got a call from Real Madrid’s Club president Florentino Perez. He offered me a job to be Real Madrid’s manager, and I accepted. Right then, my manager career started.