It’s not the exactly the FIFA world cup tournament, but for eight-year-old Sasha Ryga, a rising soccer player from Cloverdale, it’ll come pretty close.
This March, he’ll be part of the Vancouver Football Club U10 team that’s heading to Barcelona, Spain, to compete against teams from 14 countries.
Barcelona just happens to be home to the world’s premier football club, the star-studded FC Barcelona,
He’ll get to tour Camp Nou, the home stadium of the club, as part of the experience – and hopefully meet a player from the Barcelona team.
Sasha is crossing his fingers that it will be Lionel Messi or Naymar.
Barcelona is known for developing home-grown players through its youth academy, something that may explain the Spanish club’s success.
Barcelona is at the centre of Sasha’s universe. He proudly wears the red and blue Barça shirt.
His passion for the sport goes back a couple of years, according to his mom, Paulina Pekova. When Sasha was six, he started playing with Surrey United Soccer Club (he’s currently playing on the U8 team, the Gunners).
About six months in, something clicked; Sasha wanted to keep playing and practicing every chance he got.
Off the field, he was drawn to the Barcelona football team. He’d be glued to YouTube, watching videos of his favourite players: Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Puyol, Ineista, Maradona, Figo, Cruyff and Ronaldinho – deconstructing their moves so he could try to incorporate them into games.
“All these players had one club in common – Barcelona,” Pekova says.
In July, Sasha successfully tried out for the FCB Escola Vancouver program, which is implemented by FC Barcelona coaches from its youth academy in Barcelona.
He received the exciting news just before Christmas that he will be part of the U10 team that will travel to Spain this spring.
It will be a dream come true for Sasha, who is happiest when there’s a soccer ball at his feet – something that’s a big part of every day, rain or shine. Keen to practice on his own, he begs his mom to take him to Cloverdale Athletic Park so he can keeping working at his skills.
“The coaches at Surrey United would often joke with Sasha that he was there more than they were,” she added.
Sasha comes from an artistic background – his father is a multiple Juno-award winning musician and his grandfather is playwright George Ryga – but is excelling in sports. He plays piano and his older brother, Pavel, plays saxophone and has earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Sasha’s only other connection to Spain – apart from his love of soccer and his idol players – is an aunt who is a semi-professional Flamenco dancer who performs in Spain every year.
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