SPAIN’S Ferran Torres celebrates with the trophy after winning the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

By Raphael Alves
Special to the Tribune

I have been into football (soccer) through all the phases until signing my first professional contract at 16 years old.
I started prematurely and retired prematurely as well.

At 27 I moved to the United States with my wife. Since then, I have worked with many institutions and developed my own methodology, which is always evolving with more study and experiences in the last 12 years. Always trying to do what is best for the kids and families, making them understand how football is done worldwide. Yes, it’s done very differently everywhere else.

It was (and still is) extremely challenging. Everything I thought I knew about the game and development needed to be adapted. It felt like I was trying to teach the players and educate the parents all in my native language, Portuguese. No, don’t think the metaphor is overly exaggerated.

At that time, I didn’t feel like I was in a different country, it felt like a different planet.

My South American and European friends used to ask me: “How is football over there?”

RAPHAEL ALVES

My answer was very direct: Well … football will never exist here.

Did I change my mind after almost 12 years? Not much.

What I meant with a “different planet” was that football follows some social and cultural values everywhere. Football has its own language. This language hasn’t been developed here and I don’t know if there are enough people interested in letting it happen.

Those same South American and European friends have asked me: “How is the preparation for the World Cup? Are people excited?”

Let’s be honest, can anyone really say that there was any sort of “preparation” or “excitement” for the biggest sports event on planet Earth? Besides the new products and events being released daily by everyone in the industry, I couldn’t see anything happening organically.

If you say I am wrong, you probably have no idea what the World Cup really means for billions of people. It was, is and hopefully it will always be a life-changing experience. This is football culture and it’s difficult to explain in words.

Just to give an example, after the start of the competition, many parents told me that they were happy with their kids’ excitement around the World Cup. They told me their kids would ask them to go kick a soccer ball at the park. While being there, they could see many other youngsters doing the same.
As annoying as I am, I would just reply with another question: This is great! Now tell me, would all those kids interact with each other at any time? Like… would they try to play together?

The answer 99.9% of the time was: “Well… no. Why?”

Bingo!

This is why football is different anywhere on the planet. In Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, Morocco, France, Greece, Serbia, Senegal, Cameroon, Cape Verde… those kids wouldn’t last too long with their parents alone.

Out of nowhere, suddenly one kid starts up the interaction and it’s more contagious than any virus known.

Mr. Alves has played and coached professional soccer, including a stint with Santos FC in Brazil as well as training young players for professional careers.