By: Mariana Donado 10B
The title of this article is what the Colombian soccer player, Yerry Fernando Mina González, said a few months ago, in June, when he signed his contract to play for the FC Barcelona football team in Spain, becoming the first Colombian player to do so.
He started his football career when he was 18 years old, and he has played in numerous teams around Colombia and South America since. He is 1.95 meters tall and plays as a central defender. As many other soccer players, he has always had the dream of playing for the Spanish club since it’s considered the most competitive soccer team of the world in which many of the best players from different countries, who Yerry admires, play.
Yerry was born on September 23, 1994 in Guachene, Cauca, a small and poor town near Cali, Colombia. At the age of five, he was playing as a goalkeeper when he got 5 goals scored, which made his uncle change his position into a field player. Ten years later, he saw an opportunity in professional soccer because of his great potential, and he began the search for teams that could have some interest in him. The following two years, he played for Deportivo Pasto and was integrated to the 20U team. In 2013, he was hired by the Independiente Santa Fe team in Bogota, one of the most important teams in the country. He played for five seasons of which he was champion twice. Three years later, he was hired by Palmeiras in Brazil.
“Best Young Player” and “Best Central Defender” are some of the awards he won during his career which show the excellent player he is. He was also part of the ideal team, a team conformed by the best players of each position in a championship.
Mina is considered a very thoughtful person who does not forget the neighbors and friends that helped him become the player he is nowadays. Remembering the small, poor town he grew in, in 2016, he founded “Fundación Yerry Mina”, with the purpose of helping families to overcome their economic difficulties. Yerry and his family are working on it since they know Guachene is a poor town that has many complications and they have always been concerned about that.
As soon as Yerry arrived at Camp Nou, the FC Barcelona stadium, he took off his shoes and socks to feel the grass. When people asked him about that, he answered that there is a phrase on the bible that goes, “with the sole of your feet you will touch the ground you want to conquer.” This not just shows Yerry’s spirituality and respect, but also that goals can be reached with discipline, dedication, and hard work.
This should be a lesson for all of those who have big goals that look too far to reach. Yerry is teaching us to dream big, pursue our passions, and to leave our country’s name high. Now we cannot only say that Yerry fulfilled his dreams, but also that he has fulfilled a country’s dream.
