Barça Residency Academy DA U-15 Starting XI 2/10

Barça Residency Academy Player Insider – Massimo Erfani

April 10, 2020


Player Insider: Massimo Erfani DA U-15

Amazing. Unforgettable. Life changing…these are the first three words that come to mind now and when I’m 50!!! I want to personally thank every coach, mentor, teammate, food and beverage care, the kit managers, RA’s, teachers, moms and dads for making this a life changing experience! Being a part of the Barça Residency Academy, I have gained experience that I shall forever be grateful and never shall forget. Teaching me life lessons that made me grow from a child to an adult.

Let me explain, from being a 4 year old soccer player, working diligently, growing to becoming  a starter, an important player on my previous team that was ranked number 1 in the nation, being ranked number 15 in the nation as a player, and having been invited to every national team regional camp to being a bench player and insignificant. This was the hardest I have ever fallen. Wow… but here is the positive lesson…THIS exact fall has shaken me to the core and making me becoming stronger day by day.

So a huge thank you for teaching me this life changing lesson. After any fall, any rejection, or any “punch”, I will get up and rise and be stronger and never give up!!! I love watching movies and reading books with my father. One of my favorite movies is Rocky Balboa. In there, Rocky says:

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”

I also love the book Count of the Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas. This quote is one of my favorites:

“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you: as Albert Mondego, the man!”

My short term goals: to become a full time starter and develop as a player so I can make my coaches and Barca Academy proud. I am constantly dedicating more time, effort, and energy into working on my abilities and game. Academically, I would like to finish the year with a 4.0 GPA.

My long term goals:  I want to be able to come back next year, with a full scholarship making the DA team. This requires me to grow and develop significantly so my coaches see the real value in me. I will accomplish this by continuing my nightly workouts, special juices, proper nutrition. I will give all I have to every training and every opportunity I have to develop as a player and as an individual. Vitor Frade says that our mind is more important than our bodies. Whatever we see, whatever we want to be, we can be if we believe it. This mental aspect is something that I want to master. I would like to graduate from high school with a 4.4 GPA, and be able to get a full scholarship from either Stanford, UCLA, Harvard or Cal Berkeley. I also want to play professionally in Europe. I have high hopes and aspirations, I know that. If Socrates, the Brazilian National Team Captain could become a professional soccer player, play in the World Cup and be a doctor, why can’t I? If it has been done before, it can be done again. If it has not been done before, then it’s my responsibility to take the road that is not traveled and turn what seems impossible to many, into reality.


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