The city of Valladoid, less than two hours drive from Madrid, is known for its class and sophistication. It was a meeting point for ancient explorers; Miguel de Cervantes stayed here and it was the city where Christopher Columbus died. Valladoid is also, like most of Spain, football crazy.
Rafael Fernandez Martin who is in charge of the Arsenal Soccer School in the city played for the under-18 side of Real Valladoid before taking up coaching when his playing days were far from over.
Most Spanish children learn to play football as soon as they can walk. Martin was taken by his mother to Rondilla, a neighbourhood club, when he was just four years old.
“Kicking a football seems to come naturally for a Spanish kid. If a child thinks of playing any game other than football, he is considered unnatural. That’s how I was enrolled at Rondilla where I played till I was twelve,” says Martin who is now a UEFA A-license coach.
Rondilla played in one of the lower divisions and there were plenty of opportunities for Martin, a left back, to showcase his talent. And the promising players from this division were snapped up by the major clubs at an early age.
“I was picked up by Real Valladoid for its junior team. This club has a rich history, a very good side, superb training programmes and a good record in the second division league. I think I was doing well and hoping to get promoted but that never seemed to happen. At that age, when you dream for the sky and you are dumped then anyone is bound to be disappointed. I was terribly shaken and quit football. For more than a year I stopped playing and even watching the game.”
So for Martin it was one moment of glory in the club jersey and the next a huge void. It was resentment and bitterness of a young man when the football career he had hoped for came crashing down.
“That’s when some of my friends asked me to do a rethink of my life. They knew my passion for football and suggested I try my hand at coaching. I did that by coaching the six-year-olds at Rondilla and felt I enjoyed it.”
Martin soon picked up the pieces and restarted a life with football. It is almost 12 years now and he is enjoying every bit of it. For a year he worked as an assistant coach to one of his Spanish friends in London.
“This was a sort of orientation for me, to learn English, to know the world outside of my city and, of course, learning the art of coaching. I returned to Spain, to coaching and got married to Rebecca.”
Joining Boca Juniors Youth Academy in Madrid, Martin travelled to India for the first time.
“Boca Juniors organised summer camps in a few cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai and Indore. Football in India, I feel, always played second fiddle to cricket though I find a lot of interest in European football. But this coaching stint in Kochi has been an eye-opener.”
After Delhi, which has six Arsenal soccer schools, and Mumbai, Kochi is the third city in the country and the only one in the State for this venture. Functioning out of Choice School, Tripunithura, this facility has been brought to the city by Sportico Ventures, a city-based football development start-up and India On Track (IOT), the official partners of the Arsenal FC in the country.
“This is a long-term programme where we train children between five and 15 years all through the year. The aim is to build a new generation of players who will develop in the European mode of football. Though it is very early to make predictions, I’m amazed at the talent we have here. There are boys like Mohammed Siyad who travels more than 200 kilometres everyday by train, reaches the city in the wee hours, sleeps at the railway station and attends the summer camp now on Sacred Heart College ground, Thevara. This attitude has certainly rubbed on the rest of the trainees. I have not seen this approach anywhere else.”
The summer camp has attracted over 170 children where Martin and his assistant Ravindran go about their work diligently. The Arsenal Soccer School now offers a three-month and a 12-month plan.
“The other regions that I believe can match Kerala’s football talent are the North East and Goa. I have not been to these places. Arsenal plans to open a school sometime in September at Guwahati.”
Martin understands that there is much more to do after the camp.
“Some of the children are extremely talented and they need to be nurtured. We have scholarships that will help them continue with their training. There is need for neighbourhood tournaments, or something of that sort, to keep the passion alive. And I firmly believe that there’s a lot of talent out there on the streets. These talents need to be spotted and brought into the fold.”
Martin has come to love Kochi, the food and the people around him. Put up in an apartment complex in Tripunithura, he and Rebecca love cooking. They love the local food but are put off by the traffic snarls. But he confesses he ‘would love to work here on an extended contract.’
