As any footballer playing in a foreign country would attest, the acquisition of new documentation in the new country is the first step to the start of “the new life”. See, shortly after Jogo’s arrival in Spain in the early part of 2022, there was an utmost need to acquire all sorts of new forms of identifications (work permit, padrón, NIE, etc.). Similarly and although not required, the need to get from point A to point B quickly became a pressing issue.
Relying on transportation from others the first few months was a suggested strategy by the club to meet new teammates, staff, etc. and it worked. However, the time quickly came to exercise his Texan driving skills in a new country. It was then that the acquisition of a a Spanish driver’s license became a must have. As surprising as this may sound, this is not a process that the player agent (and to a lesser extent the club) will assist with. Thus, Jogo embarked on this “optional” process alone.
The legal driving age in Spain is 18 years of age so at least that never represented a problem for Jogo as he arrived in Spain a few months after his 18th birthday. In the US, he had been driving for at least 3 years. It’s worth noting that anyone over 18 years of age with a valid driver’s license from their country can legally drive in Spain for up to six months (a year with an International Driving Permit -translation of the US license). I wrote about the IDP I used in France and how I got it recently. However, after that before that grace period (6 months to 12 months) expires, the player must start the process of acquiring a Spanish driver’s license.
Duration
As one can imagine, there are several factors that directly impact the process duration. For a Spanish speaker, expect anywhere between three to six months window for a player to have the physical driver’s license. This period can easily double for a non-Spanish speaker as explained below. Other non-trivial factors potentially prolonguing the process duration include city of residence (larger cities tend to fewer available appointment dates to take tests), number of times a particular test (theoretical/practical) is retaken, holidays, learning aptitude, autoescuela chosen, desire to pass, etc. . Worst case if everything goes south the period can be between 1 – 2 years.
Process
Just like in the United States, a theoretical/written exam has to be passed before proceeding with a practical/driving one. There are several requirements to take the practical one (ex. vehicle, insurance, etc.). There are two ways to embark on the process: 1. Por libre (on your own) or 2. Sign up for a driving school (aka “autoescuela”). Most Spaniards sign up for a driving school as they can help the applicant navigate the built-in bureaucracy and allow you to focus on studying and passing the exams.
Select a driving school / “autoescuela”
If you go this route, do your research. The selection of an autoescuela is extremely important as it can easily add/reduce months to the process if the correct choices (language, type of cars, etc.) are selected at the beginning of the process. The autoescuela takes care of managing your case before the DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico) and registering the applicant for the pertinent exams and tests.
Language
If you are not a fluent reader and speaker of the Spanish language, it’s imperative that you find an autoescuela that offers instruction in English; it can make all the difference. Jogo is fluent in “Mexican” Spanish so he used a Spanish autoescuela which is also less expensive but wasn’t a walk in the park either.
Automatic / Manual transmission
If you are not comfortable with a manual transmission, find an autoescuela that has cars with automatic transmission. Otherwise, each practice run will be more about learning to drive a manual transmission and less about learning how to drive in Spain. The cost for an autoescuela that has automatic transmission cars is more expensive.
Note: If you take (and pass) the exam with an automatic transmission vehicle, legally, you can only drive an automatic car in Spain
Theoretical/Written Exam
The written exam is a 30 question test. Each exam (the theoretical or the practical) can only be taken twice for the same price. If either exam test can only be failed once without an additional fee. If a test if failed more than once, the same fee has to be paid again.
Declaration stating that there are no suspensions or legal cases preventing the applicant from driving
Declaration stating that applicant does not alreay hold a similar license
Practical/Driving Exam
The test is probably harder for experienced drivers because you are used to driving in a certain way. “Teaching an old dog new tricks”. For Jogo, it was easy. He passed the first time.
Examiners will be looking for how transmission gears are shifted, how many times the mirrors were checked, whether one hesitates in a particular situation, or if unnecessary risks were assumed.
Cost
Acquiring a driver’s license in Spain can be steep Here is a high view breakdown. Prices depend on location with larger cities being normally more expensive but offering more choices. Keep in mind that it’s an estimate but it should provide a fair idea of overall costs.
Autoescuela registration – €30 – €200
Physical/Mental exam – €50 (sometimes covered in the registration if the high end of the spectrum is paid)
Theory/Written Test – €92 (times however many times you need to re-take it)
Autoescuela classes – €20 – €30 each or a bundle of 20 for about €500
Practice/Driving test – €125 (times however many times you need to re-take it)
The process is lengthy and can be overwhelming especially for a footballer whose training/games schedules limit their ability to conclude certain activities. Our suggestion is to treat each step as a small process. Celebrate the smallest victories which will eventually lead you to the successful conclusion of the entire process. Recognize that there are a lot of factors that can potentially impact the duration and prepare accordingly. In the end, if the acquisition is a true necessity, the footballer will overcome each obstacle and ultimately obtain the driver’s license. Depending on urgency to get it, one can take as long as possible. Some folks never get one and rely on public transportation instead. This seems to work better if living in bigger cities where car ownership (gas, parking, insurance) cost is also high.
If you have any other topics you’d like to hear about, please write at info@thegomezway.com. Until next time #theGomezway
We are very fortunate that football often takes us to new places around the globe. However, traveling to each location presents its own challenges (ex. cultural, geographic, political, financial, etc.) and pre-departure research is a must to make the trip a success. No complains, each trip leave us with lessons learned and anecdotes to share and a higher sense of appreciation for our home.
A few days ago, I returned home from visiting Johan with the US Olympic team in Marseille, France. We learned a few things that we hope you find useful for your next trip abroad (France and Spain specifically)
In the past, we had rented a car in Spain and Germany exclusively using our US driver’s license; however, we had never rented a car in France nor had the need to drive across to a different country (Spain) which called for additional requirements.
I rented a 2024 FIAT for the second time this year. This one was automatic transmission.
Some websites list an International Driving Permit (IDP) -which is a translation of your US driver’s license- as a requirement to rent and drive a car in Spain yet we never needed one but we have heard some stories… Based on our research, we found that we needed the IDP in France. The IDP (pictured below) can be obtained in the United States at selected AARP locations (and online) and best of all, it can be issued the same day. It costs about $20 (plus cost of 2 passport pictures that can be purchased at Walgreens/CVS).
While in France, I needed to drive up north to Donostia, Spain to visit Jogo. Thus, if one plans to travel outside of France, additional insurance coverage is needed. It is probably best to pay for this insurance upon physically acquiring the car at the counter. For Hertz, I was able to secure international insurance for an additional $20 for my entire trip (about 10 days) for the car above.
As it turned out, when I reached the counter at the Hertz office in Marseille, they informed me that the IDP was “nice to have” but not really a requirement. Therefore, if you plan to rent a car in France, do what you deem necessary. In this case, we ended up erring on the side of caution. Either way, check the rules/guidelines before your trip abroad.
Once I rented the car, it’s worth noting the number of toll roads across France. It’s convenient to carry cash to pay these tolls (about 100 euros from Marseille to Donostia). In any case, the trip was a succes in France and Spain and we’ll be returning soon.
I hope this information helps somebody. Until next time #theGomezway
2022 left us quickly but not before we added a new member to our family. Now, 2023 is only a couple days away from becoming history; inexorably, we are “silently” leaping (2024 is a leap year) our way to the quarter of a century mark.
As we bid adieu to 2023, let’s recap some personal highlights for the Gómez family, remember some other events of national and global impact. As usual, we try to conclude this post on a positive note with our hopes and expectations for 2024. Enjoy…
January
Personal
USMNT
The year started really well ‘footballwise’ for what would eventually become the best year for the family in terms of national team presence for the boys. Jogo was called to his first US Men’s National Team (USMNT) January camp (and the first one post the Qatar 2022 World Cup). In one of the friendly games played as part of the camp, he managed to play the full 90 minutes against Serbia at ~80% health after having sustained an injury the week prior to camp with his club. We were fortunate that Real Sociedad (RS) released him for camp. This second experience with the USMNT was longer than the first one and we got to see him play once again in beautiful Los Angeles. More on that experience here.
High School “Soccer”/Club Football
Joana made her High School (HS) varsity soccer squad as a freshman and played every single minute of the HS season. That was not a feat in itself but at the end of the season, she received numerous accolades which summarized her successful season.
With club, her team started the year off by traveling to Las Vegas where it captured first place in the top division. The trip, in addition to the football, was very memorable for the family.
National
On January 3rd, then USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter posted the following tweet which quickly snowballed into a series of polarizing events between coach and players. In the months to follow, two interim coaches were utilized as USMNT coaches as Gregg’s future on the field was being evaluated to determine renewal of his contract as USSF coach.
The above tweet would eventually evolve into a series of revelations by Gio Reyna’s parents and Gregg himself. The days following statements by each party were some of the more controversial ones for the USSF which was caught in the middle of it all; however, a few months later, among even more controversy, the USSF reinstated/renewed Gregg as the new (and current) USMNT coach.
Global
On January 2nd, during the traditional Monday Night Football (MNF) game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, safety player Damar Hamlin collapsed from cardiac arrest after immediately tackling an opponent. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) were quickly administered before taking him to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Nine days after the incident, he was discharged to rehabilitate from home and plans to return to football.
February
Personal
In February (late January really), Johan helped Nico Carrera finalize a move to his then Bundesliga.3 club: FSV Zwickau. During pre-season in August of 2022, Nico had been on trial at FSV Zwickau; unfortunately, a much needed loan from Holstein II did not materialize for Nico then. However, in an early January 2023 league game, a sudden and unfortunate season-ending injury to a starter FSV Zwickau Center Back (CB) resurrected the possibility of the loan. With Johan’s great relationship with American Coach Joe Enochs, the loan transaction with Holstein Kiel was finally pushed over the line. At last, “the compadres” were sharing the pitch again just like the FC Dallas days. Unfortunately, Nico’s debut coincided with the sacking of Joe Enochs as the team was in a fierce relegation battle.
On February 7th, Lebron James, at 38, broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA’ long standing scoring record of: 38,387 points. In a night when the Lakers were playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Lebron became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 10.9 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter. The game stopped for over 10 minutes to recognize and celebrate such achievement. Given the popularity of basketball around the world, this event could be classified as global; however, the Super Bowl, normally in that category, and global mother nature events, will always supersede sports.
Global
Earthquake
On February 6th, one of the most devastating earthquakes of a 7.8 magnitude shook up the border between Turkey and Syria. This resulted in more than 35 thousand casualties, leaving millions without a home. Events like these put into perspective the miniscule importance of sports…perspective.
Super Bowl
On February 13th, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the 1.5 point favorites Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 38-35 in Super bowl LVII (57th). Texas native Patrick Mahomes was the MVP of the game. The game was the most-watched program in American history with an average of 115.1 million viewers. The halftime show, featuring Rihanna, reached a high of 118.7 million viewers. As usual, the commercials stole “the show”.
March
Personal
US U20 MNT
Coach Mikey Varas had one last chance to evaluate the available talent pool for the upcoming U20 MNT WC while the team played against the likes of France, England, and Serbia. Selfishly, I not only had a chance to travel to beautiful Marbella, Spain but in the process, I also visited Morocco and France. It was a very fulfilling trip where lots of memories were captured in pictures and videos. Most importantly, I spent some quality time with Jogo and watched some amazing football.
FSV Zwickau
Johan had a productive month of March scoring in consecutive matches. Here is one of the goals he scored in March against Verl.
National
On March 24th, a tornado outbreak broke out south of the Mississippi Valley resulting in widespread heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms, and significant tornadoes over a four-day period. The total number of tornadoes added up to 33 with 23 fatalities and damages in excess of $1.9 billion. Five states including Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas were impacted by a series of tornadoes. Fortunately, our home did not sustain any damage.
Global
Three small to mid-size US banks suddenly became insolvent negatively impacting global bank stock prices. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate, and Signature bank failed for different reasons.
Over a period of just two days, the bank went from solvent to broke as depositors rushed to SVB to withdraw their funds, resulting in federal regulators closing the bank for good on March 10, 2023. SVB’s collapse marked the second largest bank failure in U.S. history after Washington Mutual’s in 2008.
April
Personal
Mom visited Jogo in San Sebastian and Mallorca for the first time this year. Jogo traveled with the first team several times but could not debut in La Liga. As mom returned home to Texas, Jogo made his way out to Argentina with the US team for the U20 WC where he would have a meaningful tournament.
National
March Madness
On April 3rd, the 2023 NCAA March Madness tournament came to an end. UConn defeated San Diego State by a score of 76 to 59 to claim the 2023 NCAA national title. This was the 5th championship for the Huskies men’s basketball program. As a side note, my running horns made it to the Elite Eight before collapsing against the University of Miami Hurricanes.
Global
On April 20, 2023, Elon Musk’s SpaceX performed the first flight of its Starship rocket from Boca Chica Texas (a few miles away from our hometown in Brownsville). The prototype vehicle became the most powerful rocket ever flown. On November 18, 2023, the second test flight was conducted successfully. We were in town for this one. It’s important to keep in mind that these test flights’ goal is to learn as much as possible from each one.
May
This month saw a roller coaster of events for the family. Jogo’s participation in the Argentina U20 WC was a bit offset by FSV Zwickau’s relegation from 3.Bundesliga and the end of Johan’s contract with the club.
Jogo played in every game of the WC given his versatility (and willingness) to play on both sides of the field. Despite the fact that he didn’t start every game, he contributed with a goal and two fouls which directly led to US goals. He scored this beauty of a screamer in Argentina’s U20 WC first game while I was in the stadium. Great feeling.
Johan bid farewell to the wonderful Zwickau fans with this beauty of a goal in his last home game. It was bittersweet and we have nothing but gratitude towards the strong fanbase of the East Germany club. We know we’ll be back in the future. “Einmal ein Schwan, immer ein Schwan“
ECNL
Joana’s team finished the 2022 – 2023 in first place. She grew a lot this past season. Her minutes and contributions were solid. We are very proud of the footballer she’s become.
National
On May 6th, almost a year after the school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, another mass shooting occurred at the premium outlets in Allen, Texas (a suburb north of Dallas). Nine people, including the perpetrator, were killed during the shooting while seven others were injured. The graphic video below is shared to commend the actions of the officer who not for one second hesitated to go above and beyond his “duties”.
Global
On May 20, Manchester City won their third straight premier league title when Arsenal lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest. They received the trophy the next day and with it, they started a quest for their first treble: Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League. As luck would have it, they would win up to five trophies in 2023.
June
The month that marked a jam-packed first half of year and the best was yet to come for the family.
Personal
On June 4th, the U20 WC reached its conclusion for Jogo and the USMNT U20 team. There’s a small chip on Jogo’s shoulder that will be there until the next opportunity with the national team as he didn’t get to play much of the last game against eventual U20 WC Champions: Uruguay. When he finally came into the game, the team had a 2 goal deficit which ended up being the final score (0-2). It was a great experience nonetheless with memories that we will all cherish forever.
National
On June 12th, in the fifth game of the NBA finals, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat. The Western Conference Champions won their first ever NBA championship. As most would expect, Serbian center Nikola Jokic was named MVP of the finals.
Global
Football
On June 10th, Manchester City won its first Champions League final by defeating Inter Milan by a score of 1-0 with a second half goal by Rodri. With this victory in Istanbul, Turkey, the club started a dominant 2023 performance by amassing five trophies in 2023 (Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup). See December section for further details.
Tennis
On June 11th, the Serbian tennis legend, Novak Djokovik, in a closely contested match, won an all-time record 23rd Grand Slam single’s title by defeating Norway’s Casper Ruud in straight sets (7-6, 6-3, 7-5). Casper had reached the French Open final for the second consecutive year unfortunately losing both.
July
Personal
Jogo was invited to take part in the La Liga summer tour in México and the United States with Real Sociedad’s first team to play two friendlies against La Liga clubs. In August 2nd, Real Sociedad faced Atletico de Madrid at BVBA stadium where Jogo got to see his aunt and uncle who relentlessly show him their unwavering support. Three days days later, the second friendly was played against Real Betis in San Francisco.
Fun Fact: A few weeks earlier, Johan had faced Real Betis in Braunschweig, Germany in a friendly and would score against them the goal below. Football has a way to make “things happen”. Johan had a chance to meet Andrés Guardado just like Jogo did a few years earlier.
National
Gold Cup
On July 6th, México and Panama faced off in this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final in SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California. In a highly competitive match, México prevailed 1-0 with an 88th minute goal by Santiago Giménez. At last, México retook the throne from the United States who were the winners of the previous Gold Cup in 2021.
Global
Football
After months of speculation about his next career move. On July 16th, Lionel Messi’s announcement to join MLS Inter Miami’s was made official. The hype of this move was of unprecedented proportions globally even before the announcement was made official. I wrote a piece about his effect on MLS two months after his arrival here.
Tennis
On July 16th, 2003 Spanish born Carlitos Alcaraz defeated the four-time defending champion Serbian Novak Djokovic in a closely contested final, 1–6, 7–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 to win the gentlemen’s singles tennis title. It was the Spaniard’s first Wimbledon title and second major singles title overall denying the champion from winning a 24th grand slam title for now…
August
Personal
On August 10th, Jogo received the excellent news that his request for a loan had been approved to 2nd division CD Mirandés. Four days later, he made his debut in a victory over Alcorcón 4-0. Just like in the U20 WC, he showed his versatility by playing his first game as a right winger.
National
On August 19th, the newly created Leagues Cup including all MLS and Liga MX clubs reached its championship game between two MLS teams. In a tightly contested game, Messi’s Inter Miami CF would prevail in penalty kicks (PKs) by a score of 10-9 over Nashville SC. The regulation score ended up 1-1 which forced PKs. It became the first trophy for Messi’s Inter Miami CF for what many expect to be many more to come. Lionel Messi was awarded the top scorer and the MVP of the tournament.
Global
On August 21st, the FIFA women’s world reached its climax. In a very competitive match dominated by England in the first half and Spain in the second half, the Spaniards saw their visually appealing footballing be crowned once again. Their tiki-taka, prevailed over a very physical English team by a score of 1-0. With this title, the Spaniards are the current U-17, U20, and Senior WC champions. Quite a feat that will be difficult to emulate.
Unfortunately, most of the attention would be drawn to this Spanish team during their post-match controversial celebration and all the events that gradually led to the resignation of the president of the Spanish Football Federation.
September
Personal
Mom went to visit Jogo to Miranda de Ebro. He needed some assistance moving and was adjusting quite well to the new club but the field opportunities had not been abundant due to his lack of pre-season work. Expert twitter fans back home were writing off his entire career but he soon proved us all wrong. He continues to work hard after an almost perfect month of October.
National
On September 10th, American youngster Coco Gauff was crowned queen of the US Open winning her first single’s major by defeating Aryna Sabalenka after having lost the first set 2-6. In the process, she earned $3 million.
The next day, Novak Djokovic won his record breaking 24th gentleman’s grand slam title in straight sets (6-3, 7-5, and 6-3) over Russian Daniil Medvedev.
Global
On September 24, Tigst Assefa won the 49th edition of the BMW Berlin women’s marathon and in the process, established a new world record at: 2:11:53. She beat the previous world record by over 2 minutes and 14 seconds.
On the male side, Eliud Kipchoge won the male open division for the fifth time. The video below was taken when Eliu won the 2018 marathon for the first time on September 16, 2018.
October
October was an excellent month for the family. Jogo had an almost perfect month playing full 90 minute games with CD Mirandés and contributing with some assists/hockey assists. On Johan’s side, he once again received the honor of representing the United States with the U23 USMNT pre-Olympic team.
Personal
Johan is called up to his first US U23 camp in Phoenix Arizona. He played against México and Japan scoring this goal but more importantly, he was able to see old (Chumchat) co-hosts and guests. It was a very memorable trip. We caught up with him there as well.
National
On October 1st, the Texas Rangers managed to lose to the Seattle Mariners in the last game of the regular season, relinquishing first place in the west division (and a playoff bye) to state archrivals: the Houston Astros. As faith would have it, the Astros had won a battle but not the war.
In what some would consider an anomaly among anomalies, the next four weeks would see the Texas Rangers win every single road game of the playoffs. In the process, they not only eliminated the Houston Astros in the American League (AL) Championship Series but on November 1st, defeated the the Diamond Backs winning their first MLB World Series (4-1). After reaching and losing the World Series in consecutive years ( 2010 and 2011), the Texas Rangers at last, won their first ever World Series in Arizona.
Global
On October 28th, the world received the terrible and unexpected news that Matthew Perry, who was best know for playing Chandler Bing on the smash hit comedy “Friends” had died at the age of 54 years.
November
November was a good football month for Johan…despite the fact that he had a very dangerous head injury during a late November football match that required several stitches…
Personal
On November 11th, Johan scored his first official goal in Bundesliga 2. With it, his team won an important game in their relegation battle. We hope Johan and club keep up the good form in 2024.
National
During the November FIFA window, Johan attended his second U23 camp in Spain in preparation for the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024. As a family, we had hoped that the boys could play together with the national team but CD Mirandés denied Jogo’s release.
On Sunday, November 19th, Johan and teammates managed to go see Jogo play against CD Eldense in a stadium near where U23 USMNT camp was being held. It was a very dramatic game that ended up in a tie (2-2) but the most important part of that evening was that the boys got to see each other.
We are hoping that Jogo continues in an upward trajectory in La Liga 2. That way, the U23 USMNT invitations will continue to be earned and hopefully extended. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that CD Mirandés release Jogo next time and who knows? Maybe, the boys will play together at some point.
Global
On November 28th, Henry Kissinger a German-born American diplomat who shaped U.S. foreign policy in the second half of the 20th century and won a Nobel Prize for brokering an end to the Vietnam War died at age 100. He served as the US secretary of state and national security advisor in the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford between 1969 and 1977.
December
Personal
Johan scored his second official goal in Bundesliga 2. With it, his Eintracht Braunschweig club finished the first half of the season with two important consecutive victories and continued in a fierce relegation battle. The break should help them recover some injured/suspended players, regroup, and return to action in January hungrier than before.
In an extra long MLS season that started back in February (due to the month- long Leagues Cup tournament), on December 9th, the Columbus Crew defeated LAFC at home by a score of 2-1.
Global
On Friday, December 22nd, Manchester City, won the 2023 FIFA Club world Cup defeating Marcelo’s Brazilian Fluminese squad by a score of 4-0. In its last version showcasing seven clubs (winner of each confederation plus the winner of the host country local league), a UEFA club was crowned for the 16th time out of 20 editions so far. The remaining 4 wins of this tournament have been earned by Brazilian clubs.
Personally, the most impressive feat of this event was that Argentinean National Team Member, Julián Álvarez, at a tender age of 23 years, has won every possible important trophy there’s to be won. This includes the FIFA Men’s World Cup won in December 2022.
Next year, we will expand our blog coverage to include more content about Joana. She’s beginning to take the sport to a different level. In fact, in a couple of weeks, she will participate in her first showcase tournament of the year. She is coming off a semi-severe injury that sidelined her for two months but is now fully recovered. We have been working diligently in preparation for the continuation of her seasons.
As for the boys, they will continue to learn about European football professionalism. They have a great foundation and continue to earn valuable minutes. However, just like Joana, their preventive care habits should be maintained to help them be more resilient to the demands of their respective leagues. We hope they continue to not only accumulate impactful minutes and perform well in order to partake in the camps leading up to summer Olympics.
Otherwise, they will be welcomed back home where they will inevitably continue to play the beautiful game but in a different capacity. See, this year, they started the “Jogos and friends pickup games” anytime they are in town where they not only get to play the beautiful game with professional/college footballers in a friendly manner but also reminisce about childhood memories or catch up with football friends. They have had three great instances.
On a more personal note, next year I will prioritize family time and own health. Unlike 2023, traveling will take a secondary role. As time allows, officiating football matches at a higher level and participating in longer distance running competitions will also be part of my goals. At this point, our only hope is that 2024 can keep up with our plans…thanks for making it this far and hope you have enjoyed it. Until next time. Happy New Year!!! #theGomezway
BTW, if you wish to keep up with the latest blog posts, be sure to subscribe for notifications on the left hand pane of the main blog page. You’ll probably get a couple of email notifications per month about new posts. You won’t regret it.
Yesterday marked three weeks since Jogo played his second USMNT game and his first 90. We are grateful for the opportunity; it was truly a blessing and an honor. That moment will occupy a very special place in our hearts as a family (and definitely for young Jogo). Documenting moments like these often helps relive them in the future when details become blurry..it also could be informational and motivational for others.
Last April, when Jogo made his debut with the Mexican Senior National Team, we wrote about his travel journey (in Spanish) from San Sebastián to Orlando, Florida. This publication has less detail about the family and more about Jogo. In it, we try to feature the continental commute to and from the USMNT camp headquarters out in California.
Note: In the following paragraphs, we hope to provide some behind the scenes transparency (mostly the arrival and departure journey for Jogo) without revealing potential sensitive information about the federation, their protocols or other players. On the other hand, it’s inevitable to neglect sharing details about the short amount of time that most players have together before they are expected to perform at a high level. Maybe it will set expectations for fans, friends and family members, and future USMNT players. None of that should be secret anyway. Here is a summary of how things transpired for Jogo…
League game prior to trip
While most January USMNT players had arrived to camp on Friday January 20th, Real Sociedad (RS) requested Jogo to stay in Spain for a Sunday, January 22nd, noon game despite the fact that he was not partaking in the game. Why you may ask? Two main reasons. The first is that he had sustained an injury/knock during the previous week’s derby against Amorabieta and he needed to rest in preparation for camp. The RS doctors wanted to monitor his progress for as long as possible while in Spain. The Amorabieta game, where he sustained the injury, was a rollercoaster of emotions.
Check out the highlights below; Jogo scored a goal and almost had two assists. However, shortly after his goal got called back, he sustained a non-contact re-injury due to the field conditions forcing him to sub out at halftime.
Amorabieta vs Sanse Highlights. Jogo’s goal and near assist
Despite the fact that Jogo would not play against Intercity on Sunday, the club informed the US federation that he would arrive Monday, January 23rd, morning (Match Day – 2 days) to camp in LA. The second reason for needing his presence for the Sunday league game was to fulfill one critical task the club delegated to Jogo. See, up to that point, he had accumulated four yellow cards in the season and a fifth yellow card would make him miss the next game. His mission, -which he was “strongly advised to accept“- was to earn a fifth yellow card from the bench in order to miss the next game that he was going to miss anyway due to USMNT camp.
Therefore, Jogo dressed up that game against InterCity with the sole purpose of earning a fifth yellow card to miss the next game against Rafa Márquez’s (and now Julian Araujo’s) Barcelona B. At halftime, Jogo figured out a clever way to earn a yellow card and voilá, he had accumulated his fifth yellow card of the season and now, he would serve his suspension game during USMNT camp.
San Sebastián to Los Angeles trip
At the conclusion of the Intercity game (around 2 PM San Sebastián’s time) where he *proudly* earned his fifth yellow card, Jogo showered -sweated his rear off earning that yellow- and within minutes he was transported along with his luggage from the RS’s facilities to Bilbao’s airport.
San Sebastián to Bilbao
The drive from San Sebastián to Bilbao is about an hour and on a late Sunday afternoon, there was hardly any traffic. Jogo reached the airport around 4 PM (One hour total trip time so far, Six hours since he left home).
Bilbao to Amsterdam
He showed his passport without any complications (more on this later), checked in his luggage, and off he went for his three leg, 27 hour journey to USMNT camp in Los Angeles. He was boarding a small plane around 4:30 PM for a 5:20 PM flight that would take him to Amsterdam. He then arrived in Amsterdam around 7:35 PM (Four and a half hours total trip time so far).
Amsterdam to Mexico City
In Amsterdam, he had a two hour layover. Around 9:44 PM, he was onboard the plane that would take him to Mexico City.
He arrived to Mexico City at 4 AM CT (11 AM San Sebastián’s time) on Monday morning. There, he met mom and his uncle to receive some important documentation. (20 hours total trip time, 25 hours total trip time since he left home).
Mexico City to Los Angeles
After the necessary family pictures, Jogo had a three hour layover before he embarked on the last leg of his trip to LA. Prior to that, he had a very nice Mexican meal at the airport accompanied by mom. After a 5 hour flight, he finally arrived to LA at 10 AM PST. (28 hours total trip time)
First training session (MD#1 -2: Monday)
Jogo was picked up at 10:30 AM PST and transported to the training facility. He arrived, dressed up, performed activation with the group for 30 minutes and then had a light 45 minute session separate from the team. His integration with team members took place after training. Kellyn, as usual, welcomed him with open arms. Similarly, Zendejas, talked to him about the previous time they trained together (Mexican National Team camp). The convo turned very funny and the DTID connection prevailed with them as well as Jesus and Paul.
Second training session (MD#1 -1: Tuesday)
The second training session was a short one too by design since it was “Match Day -1”. Jogo was extremely jet-lagged but integrated well and was very happy to meet up with his U20 teammates again.
Games
He learned that he would be playing (and starting) against Serbia on match day. We could tell it was unexpected and he was anxious. Honestly, what exacerbated the situation is that we all thought he wouldn’t play Wednesday and as a result his family wasn’t going to be around for the game. See, I assumed he wouldn’t be seeing any minutes against Serbia due to his recent arrival but that was not the case. I believe that part of the reason for playing the Serbia roster is because some of those players were in-season and Serbia, in theory, was a lower ranked opponent so it made sense.
US vs Serbia (Wednesday)
We would like to assume that most readers of this post watched the game so there’s not much to add. The game had its moments but at least initially, it was obvious that most players had not played together ever (or for a long time) and the lack of chemistry showed at times. Jogo himself grew into the game and went the full 90. Honestly, at one point, it seemed like Serbia would end up losing by a few goals but that’s why the game is played.
US vs Colombia (Saturday)
We learned that RS suggested USMNT staff to have Jogo sit this one out which was an easy decision due to rotations. RS was not expecting to see Jogo play in the first game and much less go the distance against Serbia. Easy decision, everybody’s happy.
Family
We had booked tickets already for Saturday’s game so we took this opportunity to go watch a game full of passionate Colombian fans knowing that Jogo wouldn’t be participating. At the game, we met up a lot of people whom we had not seen in a long time. It was also good to return to the same stadium where Jogo had made his USMNT debut against Bosnia-Herzegovina 13 months earlier. The game itself was very winnable with both sides having opportunities with US probably having more and clearer chances. In the end, the draw was probably a fair outcome and the atmosphere was very good. At the end of the match, we were able to snap some pictures with Jogo and some of his teammates.
Trip back to Spain
Jogo left the hotel on Sunday along with Paxten and the FC Dallas players (Jesus, Paxton, and Paul). They all ended up traveling together to Europe (Frankfurt) and then to Spain (minus Paxten). FC Dallas was doing pre-season in beautiful Marbella, Spain.
Jogo and Paxten Aaronson sat together on their trip to Frankfurt
The return trip was a bit shorter due to the two leg trip (and of course the rotation of the earth). Jogo and the crew departed LA on Sunday at around 3:30 PM PST, arrived to Frankfurt around 10:30 AM Monday morning (12 hours approx.) local time. Ultimately he reached RS’s training grounds (to pick up his car) at 7:30 PM (21 hours total). He was home by 8 PM with enough time to get ready for an early training session on Tuesday.
Health
At the writing of this publication, his knock has improved slightly. He still has inflammation but is able to play consistently on it. Doctors say that inflammation will eventually go away. At this point, I think he’s about 85% – 90% back. We’ll keep sending him good vibes for a full recovery. Thanks to those who have reached out to check up on him. Below is a clip of a highlight from last week’s game (after he returned from camp). You can find these videos in our YouTube platform or Instagram.
Next
What is next for Jogo is his club obligations. We are hoping he stays healthy and continues playing consistent good minutes in order to be considered for future National Team activities. For now, onto the next practice. #theGomezway
#TheGomezway 