Five minutes after his return, a forward gesture. Control oriented and hit the squad. For Juancho Fernández García-Barrero, 23, the adaptation did not cost much for an obvious reason: it was just about continuing to do what he likes the most, scoring goals. Whether in the glitter that surrounds any competition in the United States or in the mud of the struggling Second Regional, the lowest echelon of regional football. Juancho, who has just been chosen within the ideal eleven of the university season in the United States after a campaign to frame with the University of Tampa, rolls up his sleeves on his Christmas holidays to play three games with La Fresneda and help his team get the game back on track. long-awaited promotion. “It was the idea of my cousin, Pelayo Botas, who is the coach. He told me that if I advanced the trip I could play at least three games, “he says. And he didn’t think about it. Had to change a ticket and relocate a couple of exams. The process was worth it. “La Fresneda is where I started playing when I was 3 years old. The regional is trained by my cousin and my brother plays. And then there are my friends. For me it is a pleasure ”, indicates.
Juancho, who was trained in Oviedo (from children to youth) after standing out in La Fresneda, He takes advantage of the Christmas break with his family in La Fresneda after having lived his most successful experience in college football in recent months, after his departure in 2017 with a scholarship to harmonize football and studies. And its takeoff has come at a special moment. “I missed the 2019 season because I broke my knee and the 2020 season because of the covid. I really wanted this one ”, declares the footballer from Oviedo.
Juancho wears the 9 on his back, although he plays as a “ten” for the University of Tampa, the “Spartans” (Spartans). He is the captain and has been the team’s top scorer, 9 goals. He is the star of a team that this year has achieved its best results in a long time.
The “Spartans” militate in the “Division 2” of the complex American university structure. The competition system in soccer consists of four phases. First, the League in each state, in which Tampa was Florida champion. It had been 12 years since he did it. That gave him the pass to the state tournament, among the top six, and Juancho’s men finished second. They won, incidentally, the ticket for the championship of the southern region (the United States is divided into four parts and in each one the classifieds compete). Tampa fell in the quarterfinals, ending his dream of reaching the final in four, but Juancho had already caught everyone’s attention: hence he was named in the ideal eleven of the entire competition. “I freaked out when they told me. I was not expecting it ”, he sums up.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies and South Georgia Storm FC, from the second and third American professional categories respectively, invited him to their training sessions.
His impact on the game of La Fresneda has already been noticed. In his debut, almost when he got off the plane, a goal in the 5 minutes that put the victory on track at the stadium’s home (which was leading tied with La Fresneda) by 1-3. In his second appointment, victory against Oviedo City 3-0: Juancho made the first and gave the assistance of the third. He has one last game left, already in January, before returning to Tampa to face the next season. “As I lost a couple of years between injury and covid and the scholarship was for four seasons, I was able to extend it for another year,” he says. After finishing International Economics and Business Administration, the man from Oviedo will now study an MBA at the University.
And then? “I have no idea,” he answers spontaneously. Between work and prolonging the football experience a little more, he still does not have it clear. What has reached him is the first offers. The Tampa Bay Rowdies and South Georgia Storm FC, from the second and third American professional categories respectively, invited him to their training sessions. An appointment that has been missed for his holidays in Asturias. And for throwing a cable to La Fresneda, of course. Even if I have to go down to the mud.
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