Tag Archives: TheGomezway

coronavirus, Family, FSV Zwickau, traveling

First family trip to Germany

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After an almost 18 month hiatus from European trips, we managed to celebrate Johan’s 20th birthday in Germany -a tradition we broke last year due to COVID. From the moment he joined FSV Zwickau for pre-season, the club has showed him plenty of love and we were there to witness it all. Caveat: this post contains many pictures for us “visual learners“.

The experience was superb. The 5260 mile trip (just to Frankfurt) from the Dallas Fort Worth airport was all worth it. It was a 9.25 hour flight plus a 4 hour drive from Frankfurt to Zwickau but anytime you go see your son, distance is never a factor. Upon our arrival, Johan had just returned from practice and welcomed us with open arms (and a spanking spotless clean apartment). Mom was proud.

Johan welcoming Joana upon arrival, Zwickau, Germany (07.23.21)

Frankfurt Airport

Renting a car was extremely easy from Enterprise; it’s normally very expensive but we found an excellent rate. We made a reservation for an automatic transmission and were given a VW Passat stick shift (which I loved). Driving in Germany is very fun other than getting used to driving in the autobahns. One needs to stay super alert especially while occupying the fast lane as there’s many no speed limit zones and there’s always a car going faster than you. That’s right, I was able to accelerate to 225 km/hr (150 miles/hour) effortless. Also, there’s no passing on the right lane. Absolutely none.

220 km/hr in the autobahn traveling to Berlin 07.26.21

Station wagons are extremely popular in Germany and that’s what we rented. We first rented a 2021 Volkswagen Passat until it gave up on us. After that, we got a 2021 Škoda Octavia which we loved because it had a lot of bells and whistles that you don’t typically find in American sold cars. Both did a great job taking us all over Germany and the Czech Republic.

Aldis

One of the first family activities we did was grocery shopping. Johan’s apartment is very close to an Aldi. We didn’t know that Aldi was a German company so these grocery stores are everywhere. Aldis got us out of trouble in a bind as their setup is very similar to what we have back home. Thus, even if you don’t speak German, it’s easier to locate items and navigate the store without needing to be fluent in German.

Having learned Portuguese the past couple of years has helped us learn other languages. Currently, we are learning some German but not at the same rate as Johan. He’s fully immersed in it day in and day out. Our first impression is that it’s not as difficult as people make it sound. Juan Carrera gave us some pretty good advice prior to our trip: the younger generation speaks English fluently due to their frequent social media interactions; however, the older generation doesn’t. It sets expectations when we were out and about. Some phrases that came in very handy:

  • Sprichst du English – Do you speak English?
  • Ich spreche kern Englisch – I don’t speak English
  • Nimmst du Euro – Do you take Euros?
  • Ich bin Amerikaner – I’m American
  • Wo kann ich ein nei taxi nehmen – Where can I take a taxi (they don’t have Uber service in a lot of cities in Germany)

Downtown Zwickau

Zwickau is the fourth largest city in the state of Saxony. Located in the mid-Southeast part of the country, it is surrounded by a lot of wind farms. Summers are beautiful, and the 60-70 degree Fahrenheit summer days are ideal for strolling through downtown which we often did.

Downtown Zwickau is beautiful

Zwickau is one of the centers of the German automotive industry. While there, we were able to visit the renowned August Horch Museum.

August Horch Museum

The automobile museum covers the history of automobile making in the town of Zwickau. It takes us back in time when the company Audi was founded by August Horch. Note: The first part of the museum is described mostly in the German language while the more modern sections are in both German and English languages. There may be English speaking museum tours available but there weren’t any when we went. Allocate at least two hours to see it all.

The museum is a must see for automobile lovers (especially German automobiles). There are cars that date back to both World Wars just as seen in the movies. The museum is housed within the old factory where Engineer August Horch established Audi Automobilwerke GmbH in 1910. Audi was founded in 1909. The four rings of the Audi (now subsidiary of Volkswagen) logo each represent one of four car companies that banded together to create Audi’s predecessor company, Auto Union.

Stadium Pictures

Fortunately, we were there to accompany Johan for the obligatory club welcoming pictures. See Instagram post below. Good quality, wonder who took most of them.

Start of the season

First game

The first game was at home (GGZ Arena) against recently promoted Borussia Dortummund II. From the moment we entered the stadium, that experience requires its own post so we’ll leave it at that for now.

We are glad we got to see your pre-match European ritual and at the stadium were treated as VIPs. Thank you Johan.

Unfortunately, the outcome of the game was a 1-2 defeat but it was a great game to watch (Zwickau should have won it). It was his first official game as a professional in Germany in his new position, with the first team. Johan had a very solid game. Below are a couple of actions where he almost impacted the game directly.

Second game

For the second game, we drove to Köln. It was a five hour (481 Km) drive from Zwickau on a Saturday morning but the fan support was never lacking and the game against Viktoria Köln did not disappoint. It was Johan’s first game as a starter and the final result was a 1-1. We took the obligatory pictures at the end of the match and coach allowed him to drive back with us. We made some memories on the way back and even got lost…

Berlin

Mondays are normally off days for Johan and we always wanted to sight-see Berlin. The cosmopolitan city is not only Germany’s capital; it’s a must-see city with so much history. We decided to embark in the 300 kilometer trek in a one-day trip rolling down autobahn 4 from Zwickau. There’s so much to do and see, we’ll have to visit it again in the future.

Berlin Wall Memorial

We visited the Berlin Wall Memorial. It’s an incredible feeling when one is actually at the place where so much history took place. Quick trip but educational and meaningful for the “kids”. At a personal level, the Berlin Wall brings back so many -not so-pleasant memories.

Berlin Television Tower (aka Fernsehturm Berlin)

Erected at 368 meters in the midst of the East Germany superiority, the television tower is the main visible landmark in Berlin and the tallest in Europe. We now have visited towers throughout the world. Dallas, Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Seattle, etc. They all offer a unique perspective and view of their respective city. Unfortunately, an due to COVID protocols, we were unable to have lunch at the top of the tower.

Prague

Prague is beautiful. One must reserve several days to see it and truly enjoy it. Driving into it from the north, makes it seem like the old communist Czech Republic with its old coal power plans. However, once one reaches Prague, one finds a very cosmopolitan city with a contrasting of old European architecture everywhere. As any big European city, there are designer stores everywhere. We had an opportunity to visit Saint Charles Bridge, Town Square, etc. It was too short but we know we’ll be back to see Johan very soon.

Return to Germany

If the delta variant continues to spread in the US at the current rapid rate, it’s possible entry to Germany may be limited to non-citizens (us). There were changes made yesterday already (they are revised every two weeks).

Thus, we will return to visit Johan before October to ensure we regain entry into the country and stay with him an adequate amount of time to provide him family support. For now, we left him with his super equipped apartment (nice view), his car setup and more importantly, in great hands with Coach Joe and staff. Enjoy the time in Germany son. #theGomezway

Family at Johan’s apartment

Chumchat

Give Chumchat’s new episode a listen. Johan talks about his move to Germany from Portugal and how that is going. For those of you thinking about playing in Portugal, he compares the Portuguese playing style to the German playing style and sets some expectations based on his experience. Playing for the first team now is a different responsibility (player experience-wise); one that still carries the weight of a promotion/relegation eco-system but one that he has welcomed with open arms. Go show Johan and the Chums some love.

Family, International Competition, Learning, Louisville City FC, U16-BNT, U18-MNT

Mexican national team call ups

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Español

Representing one’s country in any walk of life should be at the top of anyone’s list of honors. In football specifically, the player’s family, friends, teammates, coaches, technical staff, fans, etc. should all be joyous of such player accomplishment and if possible, the distinction should be celebrated publicly. After all, it’s a collective achievement. Why then would anybody want to impair such accolade?

A player under contract “belongs” to the football club; the club can and should reserve the right to release a youth player for a national team call up if the club circumstances are not favorable at that moment. Non-US call ups typically occur during FIFA international windows (which ironically, are not always convenient for MLS clubs) when players should be released by their respective clubs. Contractually though, players (amateur or professional) are bound by the club’s current competition/medical needs/concerns/restrictions and should adhere to them at all times.

In the case of a release denial (capricious or not) by the club, we advocate informing the player regarding the national team call up. If not an obligation, sharing the info should be a courtesy towards the player/family. The player’s confidence can easily be magnified just from knowing that the right people “are watching” and that perhaps the timing of this call up didn’t work out now but maybe the next one will. Transparent communication is key. The message to the player verbal or not would be: “Keep grinding as there would be other future call ups“.

When we started a relationship with Louisville City FC, we did so without hesitation knowing what to expect from a professionally ran club. See, despite a current abundance of injuries on the team, the staff not only immediately informed Jogo about the Mexican senior national team call up but allowed him to attend. Furthermore, it was celebrated publicly. Words can’t suffice: thank you. They clearly understand the emotional impact on a player and the potential future effects on the field.

In general, there’s absolutely no reason a call up (amateur especially) from any world football federation (even a rival one) should ever be kept secret from the player (or the family) by the club. After all, in the fast-traveling news and transparent communication world we live in, it’s almost impossible to keep a national team call up undisclosed. The result of such Machiavellian miscommunication from certain folks in a club can introduce fragmentation between a family and the club…

Having the opportunity to represent multiple countries is a blessing but one that carries a lot of responsibility for everyone involved. In general, genuine fans are very supportive for the boys having choices; unfortunately, few -maybe understandably- take the player’s choice personal. Truth be told, we prefer dealing with disappointed nationalist fans than not ever knowing about the national team call up.

This is a great opportunity for Jogo and as much as we wish we could influence how other people feel about it, we can’t. The life of a footballer is short and opportunities are often scarce. Jogo has earned it and we are so glad that in this case, the club has allowed him to participate in this training stint. Not only will he return a more mature player but one with life-enriching experiences that will also help Loucity in the short term. Jogo and our family will forever be grateful with the club. Thank you LouCity. #theGomezway

Jogo faced a variety of players in camp but Lainez was definitely one that he praised. Watch out for this guy. 06.01.21

coronavirus, Family, FC Porto, Learning

Letter to my teenage footballer

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Many years ago, during those “in-depth” conversations with my dad, he told me this: “have a child and you will never sleep soundly again”. At the time, I thought of it as a joke because my baby sister had just been born, but then he explained it to me. As a parent, it doesn’t matter how old your kids are, you worry when they live at home and even more so when they move away. Later, you worry about their families and it’s a never-ending cycle. Now, I fully understand exactly what he meant.

Spending time with family May 2020. Three generations

I last saw you seven months ago, for some, it may not be a long time, but for me it is, especially when we were planning to see you for the holidays. As soon as we found out you were not going to be able to come home due to the team’s schedule, we started planning our visit. We made our checklist, packed our bags with your winter clothes and other special items to remind you of home. We gathered all necessary documentation having learned from our experience back in July trying to get you out of the US into Portugal, but things have changed, and your bags are still packed in your room.  As the pandemic has extended, travel restrictions have become stricter and more countries are on lockdown hoping to finally drive COVID cases down while spreading the vaccine world-wide.

Our original plan was to visit you the first week of December, we spent a few hours over several weeks researching routes and each country’s COVID requirements. The plan was to avoid Christmas travel and minimize layovers, but as the travel restrictions continued, our date kept moving back. Here we are at the end of February and still not able to travel abroad. And not a lot of hope that we’ll be able to go anytime soon as the lockdown has been extended through early April.

Enjoying homemade tacos for dinner at Porto, Feb. 2020

What has made this even more difficult to “swallow” is that we just brought Jonathan to Louisville, helped him get set up in his apartment, made sure he has what he needs and it just made me realize we never had the chance to do that with you.  Yes, you are a bit older, but you still had to go through this experience last year. You went on your own to see apartments, had to decide on cost, utilities paid, furniture, location, transportation to and from practice. Not only did you never complain about having to do it alone, but you made us a part of this process as much as you could. Our contribution was watching videos of the apartments and listing advantages and disadvantages, looking at maps for metro routes and easy access to grocery stores and pharmacies. I understand this is a process that everyone goes through in life, buy your first house, rent your first apartment, you just had to do it at a younger age, in a different country and with zero support from English-speaking folks and I am glad.  Even though it may have been a bit painful, it’s just helping you grow and mature as a person.

You can tell it has been a couple of emotional weeks and to top it all off….I keep hearing your voice! In summary, I am losing my mind 😊. The first time it happened, I had just woken up and could clearly hear you calling for me “mom”; it was all I heard. I called Jonathan asking if he needed anything but he was still asleep. Then it happened again 2 days later. It is a bit of an agonizing feeling because you wonder if something is wrong.  Came to find out you were having a rough week, getting over a cold and not feeling great. The weather in Porto has been cold and rainy and your apartment does not have heating so had to learn to adapt and get an electric heater going. You didn’t want us to worry so you never brought it up, but I have news for you….we are your parents and it is our job to worry even when there doesn’t seem to be an obvious reason. And even when you think we don’t know what is going on, your voice gives it away. If anything, we have learned that we are stronger together and even from a distance we will try to find a way to help you….ALWAYS. Family comes first.

Enjoying the sunset at Rio Douro

As I have spent the last couple of weeks with Jonathan, I have learned to appreciate even more any time I get to spend with family, especially my children. Working out, preparing meals and having those long conversations with Jonathan before going to bed are priceless memories I will treasure forever. It has been a year since I went to see you in Porto, but I know our time together again will come soon. Meanwhile, stay strong and continue as focused and organized as you have been, all the pieces will fall into place. Through this post I send you a “bear hug” one of those that when you close your eyes and enjoy the embrace makes you smile because you know you are loved and everything will be okay.

As for my family and friends, one takeaway from these last few months…..take any opportunity you have to spend with your loved ones, you never know what tomorrow will bring or how far away from home they may be. #theGomezway

Together again thanks to COVID , Mother’s Day 2020

Family

Happy birthday Jogo

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Seventeen years ago you were born right on Labor Day, you were thoughtful even then. I was working as a kindergarten teacher and was nervous of going into labor in the middle of the school day. My due date was Sept. 16th, but luckily you came early, when your dad and I were home. This gave us time to calmly go to the hospital, for what we thought was a precautionary visit. Three hours later, you were born and our lives were forever changed, especially your brother’s who wanted to put a toy car in your hand right away to play.

As a middle child you have always been the peacemaker. You and your brother have always been close and had each others back which was great. However, you at times felt “bad” that your sister did not have a sister to share that same bond, so you played with her and did whatever you could to make her happy. I have to admit she at times took advantage of that, especially when we traveled and you offered to pack up her bag. I am sure she would take you up on that offer even today….. You have a BIG and kind heart, there is no doubt about that.

These past three years have changed the course of your life as a soccer player, but most importantly, I have seen you grow and mature into a wonderful young man. My grandmother used to say that our children are only “borrowed” for 18 years and then they leave home to build their own lives. In my case, you left home much earlier, at the short age of 13. That makes me appreciate even more all those hours we spent in the car driving to practices, games and out of town tournaments, talking to you and enjoying the simple things.

Having a September birthday meant you were always home because school had already started. This year that is not the case. This is the first year you spend your birthday away from home, the first of many…that is how life goes sometimes. As I reflect on this, I realize I am not sad because I know you are surrounded by people who truly care about you. So far, you have had a home cooked family meal and a chocolate cake baked just to celebrate you. Who knows, you may not miss home after all, which is great, because feeling happy, surrounded by a strong supporting network helps you focus on your goals. Regardless of where this football journey takes you, there is no doubt the experiences you are living and the characters you are meeting along the way will be in your heart forever. Enjoy the ride son. Feliz cumple mi niño lindo.

Family, FC Dallas, Learning, North Texas SC

FCD (North Texas SC) vs Sevilla…a year later

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Celebrate the little victories…it’s of utmost importance. More so for young athletes who may need constant validation from their family, friends, and peers. In some cases, it’s what keeps them going. The mental aspect needs to be carefully nurtured.

Jogo getting ready to play Sevilla 07.17.19 (Frisco, TX)

This post is exactly about that AND will be very short and sweet. It was about a year ago that both FCD and NTSC played against Spanish giants Sevilla. It was NTSC first ever international exhibition game and Jogo had the pleasure of starting in it. Congratulations Jogo. You shared the field with the likes of Joan Jordan, Eber Banega, Luuk de Jong, Aleix Vidal, among many others…”ballers” of a club that many of us can only dream of watching live. We will be forever grateful to FC Dallas and NTSC for those opportunities.

Sevilla is relevant today mostly because they are the only Spanish club still contending for any meaningful trophies in European competitions. As we know, Europa League finals are their cup of tea and them being part of it is a tradition. What is unusual however, is that there are normally more Spanish clubs fighting for important trophies in the semis and finals.

Last 6 Europa League finals (Spanish and English dominance)

This past Monday, some of those players referenced above played against a strong Manchester United (Europa league winner of the 2017 edition) team in the UEFA semifinal game and miraculously survived and moved on to the championship game once again. Tomorrow, Sevilla will play Inter Milan in the final. Sevilla is by far the underdog but historically, they know how to play those types of games (won 3 out of the last 6 editions). We will be rooting for the Spanish as we feel we have closer ties to them than we do with the Italians.

Jogo going down the flank against Aleix Vidal

As for you Jogo, all we can say is “what an honor it must have been to have shared the same field and have played against some of those ballers”. You have earned that right: stay humble. Keep grinding and learning and never stop dreaming like when you were 4 years old.

https://twitter.com/watke_/status/1296301635787018240
LouCity (4) vs SKC2 (1) 08.19.20 (Louisville, KY)

In other related family news, here is the latest episode of Chumchat. A day in the life of a D1 “soccer” player. Enjoy it.

ChumChat – (Season 2, Vol. 3) – Day in the Life of a D1 Soccer Player (English vs. American)
coronavirus, Family, Louisville City FC, traveling

Farewell Loucity and Jogo. We’ll be back soon.

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Flying would have been easier (even cheaper actually) but riskier for his and our health. Driving limited our exposure and it proved to be the best decision. We traveled 885 miles to be with Jogo and we would do it again in a heartbeat.

We took every precaution necessary so that we wouldn’t compromise Jogo’s health before, during, and even after our arrival. Driving also allowed us to bring Kammie and Chuy along. We planned it well and the end result was the best evidence. This is how it went down:

Trip to Louisville:

The trip was divided in two parts. Keller to Memphis, TN (about 8 hours) and Memphis to Louisville (about 6 hours). We left Thursday around 4 PM and made it to Louisville Friday around 5 PM. Upon arrival, and as we were unloading our stuff at the hotel, Jogo surprised us silly (Life360 is nice). Coincidentally, the Sporting KC II players were staying at the same hotel.

We found a different city than the one we left back in March. But to be honest, what city is the same now? There are many reasons (social, political, health, etc.) for the change. Every aspect of the town has been impacted especially the downtown area which is where we were staying.

That evening, after a thorough restaurant search and stumbling upon a couple of protests with many restaurants closed (either due to the protests or Coronavirus), we finally found Vincenzo’s. It’s an Italian pearl downtown. The atmosphere was okay -maybe gloomy- but you could tell business was not as usual for a Friday evening. It was important for us to support local Kentuckian businesses and we did just that. Thanks to Jack Harlow (Johan) for the recommendation.

First dinner in town (Vincenzo’s):

We all had different dishes; I ended up having the famous “Ravioli con pollo, spinaci funghetti mascarpone”. Immaculate, savoring dish. Best pasta I have ever had by far. We had some time for pictures afterwards. It was a first good evening in town but we were tired…

Kammie and Jogo at Vincenzo’s 07.24.20

First game:

Saturday morning went by quick…we were jaded from driving and decided to sleep in a little. The time for you to be at the stadium arrived quick; you rode with Napo. It was so encouraging to see close to 5000 fans supporting the team in these uncertain times..a good diversion. The game was what we expected; the first 20 minutes were all LouCity’s, then conceded the next 25. The second half started with LouCity possessing the ball and the goal. You came in around the 70th minute once SKCII had the possession again and LouCity was playing counterattack. LouCity should have had a few more goals. It was so fun seeing you after the game and the fans were incredibly supportive. “Normality” had been restored at Lynn Family stadium that night.

Jogo after the first SKCII game, Lynn Family Stadium (07.25.20)

Sunday morning:

The day started late again with a stroll down the Ohio River to take Chuy for a walk. Meanwhile, the rest of you enjoyed the “Lime” scooters. It was around noon and you had insisted on going for brunch to the “Con Huevos” restaurant off of Frankfort. For a Mexican family used to cooking and eating traditional Mexican dishes. The place did not disappoint; it was better than most Tex-Mex places we have experienced. I had their Chilaquiles. Solid breakfast for the family and good LouCity atmosphere…one of the many club sponsors.

Mini-chilaquiles at Con Huevos 07.26.20

Midweek:

Monday and Tuesday went by in an uneventful manner since we made our hotel room our office for the week. The morning Starbuck’s breakfasts were priceless. It was great to be able to work remotely without a single glitch but the highlight of our day was always being able to see you every day after practice.

Ready for the work week 07.27.20

There were no plans. Lunches, dinners, and evening activities were all improvised. Our menu consisted mostly of past recommendations from LouCity staff. It didn’t matter; the most important thing was being with you.

Joana and Jogo trying to beat their PR, Humana Park (07.29.20)

Second game:

For the second game, we decided to drop you off. Well, you actually drove us all to the stadium. It was good to experience arrival to the stadium from your point of view.

It was great seeing you start this game in front of these amazing fans. Unfortunately, the game didn’t start they way we all wanted. The team played well, sometimes the ball just doesn’t want to go in. In the end, SKCII executed a counterattack and ended up winning the game. It happens. It’d be worrisome if the team didn’t generate scoring opportunities but those are present. As usual, the team statistically outplayed SKCII but it’s important to finish those chances. That will come. We have no doubts.

Mom and Joana after the 2nd game against SKCII 07.29.20
https://twitter.com/watke_/status/1289045889802276864
All touches clip courtesy of @watke (we owe this guy big) (07.30.20)

Farewell:

You are surrounded by your new “away-from-home” family. In our minds, there is no doubt you are in great hands. On the football side of things, you are also at the best possible place for your emotional, technical, tactical, and physical development Jogo. We have said this before but would like to reiterate it: “You are in awesome hands, make the best out of it”. The family (including fans) at LouCity are kind but passionate. You will gradually earn their respect. We were speechless how some approached you at the end of the game. #Weareinittogether

Jogo’s full family away from home, Royals Hot Chicken (07.31.20)

Return trip:

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to say hello to everyone but we’ll be back in the future. For now, here we go, we embark on 885 miles of a journey back to Texas with one less passenger but with our emotional tank full again…thank you Louisville: our second home. #theGomezway

Español, Family, FC Dallas

Debut de Jogo con el primer equipo del FCD

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English

Escribimos esta publicación con algunos sentimientos encontrados. Por un lado, algunos de los jugadores del FCD y miembros del cuerpo técnico, están viviendo una situación muy complicada (tanto mental como física) en sus carreras. Sepan que los tenemos en nuestras oraciones (especialmente a los ex-compañeros de Jogo -amigos-, profes, etc.) esperando su pronta y total recuperación. Dios es bueno y los verá salir de esta.

No podemos ocultar nuestra tristeza al saber que no veremos juegos del FCD pronto; sin embargo, nos alegra saber que tanto jugadores como cuerpo técnico ya han empezado a enfocar energias en materia extra-cancha. Solidarizandonos con ellos, creemos que nostotros también le daremos un giro positivo a nuestra perspectiva y hablar de otras cosas. Nota: Esta nota la tradujimos ya empezado el torneo y la verdad de las cosas es que los partidos son una lagrima; el torneo es una verdadera burla y bueno, creemos que el FCD no se esta perdiendo de mucho mas que de la actividad.

El año pasado, el mismo equipo de FCD que ahora se encuentra en su octavo día de cuarentena, fue el mismo que le otorgó la oportunidad de debutar a Jogo. Siempre estaremos agradecidos con la organización del FCD, cuerpo técnico (Mikey Varas específicamente) y los jugadores que apoyaron su debut (Thomas Roberts y Bryan Reynolds). Sepan que estamos orando por su completa y pronta recuperación. Así es como todo sucedio…

Mientras la temporada productiva de U17s (2018-2019) de DA de Jogo llegaba a su final a manos de sus archi-rivales y eventuales campeones nacionales: Solar, el equipo filial de North Texas SC (NTSC) le presentaba algunas oportunidades. El aprovecharlas gradualmente llevó a Jogo al juego en contra de Lansing donde tuvo dos asistencias (ver abajo). Al término de ese partido, su futuro futbolero empezó a cambiar…

https://twitter.com/FutureUsmnt/status/1145367864695762954

Primeramente, Jogo fue nombrado al XI ideal semanal por primera vez y más beneficios se derivarían después de esa actuación.

XI ideal semanal después del partido de Lansing donde Jogo tuvo dos asistencias and completó 90% de sus pases

De igual forma, las prácticas con NTSC continuaron más frecuentemente. La confianza de Jogo se fué por las nubes. De hecho, tal vez erroneamente, asumió que al siguiente juego (depues del partido con sus dos asistencias) en contra de Greenville, iría de titular. Sin embargo, el Jueves de esa semana, el profe Eric, en la cascarita preparatoria, dió el cuadro titular contra los substitutos y Jogo iba con la banca. Sin decir algo, Jogo jugó con los substitutos y se puso a jugar.

Seguimos en el proceso de traducción de la nota….paciencia, paciencia…por ahora practiquen su Inglés y leanse esa 🙂

Y ahora, te encuentras más feliz que nunca

áóíéñ

coronavirus, Learning

Johan’s home, now what?

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First of all, we would like to acknowledge and thank the outpouring of love and support we have received the past couple of days from folks all over. It’s been pleasantly overwhelming and much appreciated and it’s in moments like these that our bonds become stronger. We can’t thank you enough. If we haven’t gotten back to you personally, we will very soon. It’s been a physically, and emotionally draining week.

BTW, some of you have inquired about Jogo. Yes, he is away from us but doing really well (emotionally, mentally, and physically). He’s been busy wrapping up his online high school classes. LouCity has taken excellent care of him; we are in constant communication with their staff and they have been nothing short of amazing. Sure, we are not worry-free by any means but he is well-taken care of and “within” a driving distance should he need us. The time to see him again will come soon but that will have to wait…especially now. Anyway, here is where the Gómez’s are now on this Palm Sunday…

Late last night, Johan safely arrived to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) international airport after multiple stops in Europe and the US. He left Porto on Friday and made it home on Sunday (looong trip). As excited as we were to welcome him, we needed to take extreme safety measures to ensure his well-being and of those around him. Kudos to my sister-in-law who is a nurse by profession and led the way in the protocol to follow upon his arrival at the airport. The key to a successful “welcome” at the airport was preparation.

The preparation

We were always very optimistic that the flight would turn out a success. However, that was only part of the trip. There were a lot of unknowns as soon as he landed in DFW and we needed to be ready for the worst-case scenarios. We had to be certain that once he made it out to the terminal and/or home, his (and ours too) safety would be paramount.

  1. Attire: We prepared a new set of clothing (including different shoes) for Johan so that he’d change into that right away at the airport. Short of taking a shower at the airport, the point of doing that was to isolate and seal all his personal belongings ASAP (including his carry-on bag). This included providing a brand new set of gloves and mask. Johan’s only request was “just don’t make me look like a clown with your selection of clothing”. I’m not sure we achieved that but at least he was safe.
  2. Cars: We also prepared two cars to take to the airport, one car would be used by him to drive himself back from the airport and use for the next 14 days while the other would transport the rest of us safely back home.
  3. Medical attention: We found a medical facility that would see him upon his arrival to DFW. Given his flight arrival hours and his uncertain symptoms, we arranged a virtual visit for him in addition to any medical attention he would receive at the airport.
  4. His bedroom: We permanently moved Joana downstairs. Johan would remain in his room upstairs at least for 14 days regardless of his symptoms (or any state mandates). If need be, he would have access to the entire second floor gradually. Needless to say, Joana was ecstatic to move rooms closer to us.
  5. Supplies: We stocked up his room with supplies that we thought he’d need for the next 14 days including some food/water, medical and personal hygiene. That also included disposable silverware to avoid the possibility of infection. BTW, Johan and his pet turtle “Buddy” will have a lot of good conversations in the coming days. Chumchat with Buddy next?
  6. New home rules: It’s hard to tell Joana that she won’t be able to be close to Johan for the next 14 days so we basically told her that we are all in separate quarantines. Johan stays upstairs and we stay downstairs. New house rules effective immediately. Only one person delivers food to Johan: Mom.
  7. Family: We had “surprise” plans to go visit family next weekend. Those plans will now take second priority.

With all the precautions above, the time came for him to land in DFW and we made our trek out to the airport.

The arrival:

Johan was exhausted from a flight that literally lasted 36 hours. The initial welcome was somewhat strange. In fact, what I’m about to describe is very unorthodox and in some ways comical. Pick up the bits and pieces that are useful especially if you need to travel soon.

Johan right after his 36 hour trek with quarantine paperwork he was handed at the airport

First of all, even though all of us made the trip to the airport, I was the only one who got off the car(s) to “welcome” him at the terminal. Yes, as soon as I saw him, I wanted to hug him but that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, the welcome consisted of a set of delineated instructions for him to follow before going home. Apparently, he had been given a similar set of instructions (6 pages) after landing by DFW airport personnel. See below:

State of Texas Mandatory Terms of Self-quarantine (page 1/6)

I took three 13 gallon trash bags with me to the terminal. Since we asked him to change clothing at the airport, the first empty bag was to put his current garment. The second empty bag was to put his carry-on bag. The third bag had a slew of clean/new things. Clean clothes, shoes, new mask, gloves, car keys, money, etc. (a la Chapo Guzman).

Johan after changing clothes at the DFW airport 040420

Transportation:

Johan had some initial concerns about driving back home because he was so tired, jet-lagged, it was late at night, cold, dark; and let’s be honest, he doesn’t really drive in Porto. However, it was imperative that he drove home by himself. We led the way home at a speed of 50 mph and since it’s a ghost town out there, 25 minutes after we took off from terminal E’s garage, we were home. As soon as he arrived home, he put away the trash bags in the garage and everything was ready for his medical consultation.

Adhering to social distancing in a cold, empty parking garage

Medical consultation and feast back home

He proceeded to his room and his medical consultation lasted about 30 minutes. He was only asked a few questions regarding his trip. In Atlanta, he was medically screened meticulously because of his trip origination (and layovers); he was asked about his whereabouts for the last 2 weeks. However, since he was experiencing no symptoms, they said there was no need to test him at this point. They emphasized that we need to monitor him closely for the next 5 days.

As soon as that finished, he took a prolonged, relaxing (accompanied by Drake’s music) bath. After that, we then had “food” (dinner/breakfast) ready. He had requested a home-cooked meal so Claudia went all out and made him Mexican street tacos. He devoured 10 delicious ones. As he wrapped up the food up in his room, we finished watching Season 4 of “Money Heist/La Casa de Papel” and went to sleep right after that. We were all very exhausted but happy, really happy.

Condiments not pictured here

This morning we all woke up very late to face day #1 of our quarantine. So far, we are all symptom-free but it’s only been a few hours post exposure. We had a healthy and delicious omelette each.

First breakfast: Omelette

As we are getting ready for our “Palm Sunday” virtual service, I remembered that my sister (avid church goer), who has always shown an unconditional support for the boys, had interviewed Johan just the day before he left Porto. At the time, she didn’t really know that Johan would be traveling back home. We sometimes limit that type of information to try to shield family members from stressing out about our uncertain football related adventures (Jogo also found out last minute…thank you Mike). J/K

The pre-flight interview:

Below, you will find an interview that my sister Blanca, journalist by profession, did with Johan. Kudos to her, who worries sick about our boys, when honestly she has bigger fish to fry. Credit where where credit is due; she is the master-mind of this website. We love you sis. BTW, happy birthday tomorrow. You are a special kiddo. I don’t tell you that enough. As for the short interview below, beware, the interview is in Spanish.

Johan’s interview prior to his trek across the pond

The promise

In our culture, it’s very customary to make promises (mandas); they a type of religious offerings. When making a manda, an individual calls on a saint to bring his or her case to God so that he can intervene and solve a problem. Mine was a bit different but I did make a promise to myself that if Johan made it home safely, I would shave my head, so that’s coming up later today…..thanks again for all the love an support; we hope you continue to find value in reading us. Until next time #theGomezway

Learning

3000 views on our site

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We want to take some time to acknowledge the frequent positive feedback we receive on the content of our site; in a very short period of time, we have registered over 3000 (why is the number 3000 so significant?) views. Thank you all and please keep interacting with us to make the content more targeted, informative and useful to all of us. In the end, it’s not about the numbers but rather about the impact (quality vs quantity) our content has on football families. Our goal will always be to contribute to the betterment of the sport in this country by sharing our coaching, refereeing, playing, but most important of all, parenting football experiences. We are grateful we have this digital space to do so. BTW, the next post will be a continuation of the Agent vs Scout post from last week. For now, cheers and thank you once again.

Also, if you have a few minutes to spare, go give these chums a listen. This week’s episode did not have a guest but we hear Chris Richards is their next guest. Good job Johan et al.

FC Dallas

MAST Super Group Champions

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The tournament did not start well for the team. However, anybody who knows a thing or two about out of town soccer tournaments knows that playing the host team for the first game is always challenging. You end up playing against their crowd, their fields, their weather, their rules, etc. You then factor in the long flight 24 hours earlier, returning from the holiday break, a fragile roster with depth issues and all bets are off. I must say, the scoreline (1-3) for the first game was deceiving. For those of us who watched the game, it had its moments of decent FCD soccer with SIMA gold elite (SIMA from here on) playing very direct and using their speed to create the more dangerous chances overall. It is important to note that going down 0-1 in the first five minutes of the match (on top of my pretexts given above) against a top quality opponent is like ice-skating uphill trying to come back. At the end of the match, the boys and the coaching staff quickly shifted their focus to the second game…

The quality of soccer improved in the second game against Valencia and the coaching staff finally learned their rules (ex. unlimited substitutions and reentries permitted). Furthermore, FCD did not fall victim of overconfidence and there were no early forced substitutions due to injuries (incredible player management by the club on the eve of a U20 MNT camp). Also, Valencia plays a different brand of soccer so it was easier to stick to a ball possession plan. Overall, Valencia was supposed to be the opponent to beat but my guess is that this was not their “A” team. I find it interesting that a Spanish team would fly 11 hours to come play a “meh” tournament in the middle of their season (according to their schedule, they are supposed to play a regular season game in a few hours). Anyway, the final score was a tie with us conceding a soft goal in the winding minutes of the match for the second consecutive game. We really could have used those two points to secure a smoother pathway to the championship game but hey, live and learn…

Given SIMA’s dominance in their first two matches, it was a “do or die” situation for FCD’s third game against Esporte Clube Jacuipense . On paper, the Brazilians appeared to be the least known and most flexible opposition and that was indeed the case. FCD had the majority of the opportunities with our GK and defense having very little to do throughout the game. FCD went up on the score in the first half with a PK and closed the deal in the second half off of another set piece. 2-0 was the final score and that in conjunction with the continued dominance of SIMA (undefeated in the first three matches) setup a must see rematch for the “championship” game between SIMA and FCD.

Keeping the score tied at zero in the first 20 minutes of the championship game was of utmost importance in order to start playing our game (possession and mental); however, that was almost achieved until a soft PK call was given to the host team around the 10th minute. After going down 0-1, our team realized that PK calls were going to be soft and we ended up benefiting from two in our favor; one of our players is a master of that art. The game quickly turned more intense and aggressive with players on each team earning a red card and some yellows earned in the process as well. This was a battle not just against SIMA, the crowd, the fields, but their long winning tradition. SIMA had never lost this tournament in the 9 years they had organized it. Good job players and staff for the collective and individual hardware…it was a “good ride”. Thank you.