The World Cup Through Two Sunbirds’ Eyes

“I'm pretty much glued to the TV,” says Yash, a veteran of the Sunbird men’s soccer team. “It only comes around every four years, so I want to watch every minute of it, and with roughly four games a day there's always something on.”

“What I love most is getting to watch players I've never seen before, discovering new talent from countries all over the world. It's the one tournament where the whole world is watching.”

Bernardo, who transferred to campus in January, is similarly devoted to the sport and the World Cup’s nearly six weeks of play.  As competition kicked off this month, Bernardo watched 26 of the first 27 contests, only missing one due to playing a match.

Better yet, thanks to a friend with an extra ticket, Bernardo saw one match in person (New Zealand vs. Iran, a 2-2 final played in Los Angeles). “Soccer is my life,” Bernardo says with understatement. “I live soccer every day.”

Naturally, Bernardo is rooting for his home country Brazil while Yash leans toward England—with an asterisk.

“A part of me would love nothing more than to see what the streets of London would look like if we lifted the trophy,” Yash says. “But I also have a soft spot for Portugal because of (Cristiano) Ronaldo, who for me is the greatest player of all time. Knowing this is his last World Cup, I really want to see him go out on top.”

These two international students came to the United States to live out their soccer and educational dreams. Both say pursuing soccer and academics can be difficult in their home countries, and that some youngsters may abandon their studies to focus on the sport.

Bernardo was around soccer as a boy growing up in Rio de Janeiro, where he attended matches with his dad and began playing around age 6. He even took in a World Cup match in 2014 when the competition was played in Brazil.

Bernardo was 15 when he, with his parents’ blessing, decided to come to the U.S. “Here, it’s one of the countries that give opportunity for me to play and study at the same time,” he says. “In Brazil, a lot of people play soccer and they give up their whole life for soccer…and then sometimes it doesn't go as good as we want.”

Bernardo attended Faith Christian Academy in Coalinga, a private high school with a soccer program and international flair. Bernardo, a native Portuguese speaker, knew only a few words of English—essentially just “hi” and “how are you”—when he arrived.

He bunked mainly with fellow Brazilians and a few other international students, learned English and played tons of soccer. Bernardo then spent two seasons at Fresno City College, where he was spotted and recruited by Fresno Pacific soccer coach Cameron Shahrokhi.

“I had a couple offers, but FPU was the one that had seen me more because I was already in Fresno,” he says. “I knew Cam, so I liked the coach and I liked working with him too. I feel this was the one that fit me more.”

In another part of the world, Yash lived a similar experience. “Soccer was around me before I could even walk,” he says. “My dad was a player himself, so the game was just part of our household from day one.”

Yash was about 7 when he began playing. Growing up in London, it was a family tradition to attend soccer matches. As he matured, the next step was across the pond.

“Like a lot of international players, I spent ages emailing coaches and sending footage to anyone who would watch it,” Yash says. “I wanted to come to the U.S. specifically because, as a lot of Europeans will tell you, it's really difficult back home to play sport at a high level and keep up with your studies at the same time. The U.S. offered me a way to do both.”

Yash was ready to take a solid offer in Florida until legendary former Fresno Pacific soccer coach Jaime Ramirez reached out.

“I knew nothing about Fresno at the time, not even that it was in California,” he says. “The very first thing I did was open the weather app, because being from London, if I was going to move halfway across the world, it had to come with better weather than what I was leaving behind!”

It has been an adjustment to move to another country, but both Bernardo and Yash have acclimated.

Both enjoy Fresno Pacific and the opportunity to meet international and American students. Bernardo especially loves the Green, the grassy expanse on campus where students play volleyball, Frisbee and other games. “It brings us together,” he says.

At first, Yash says, it was difficult to be an international student. But he quickly connected with other students and now raves about the friendly, kind vibe on campus.

He’s collected so many memories that it’s impossible to name a favorite from his time as a Sunbird. People are the common factor in each one.

“I've met teammates from all over the world here, and I honestly consider them brothers for life,” Yash says. “We spend so much time together, in practice, in the weight room and just around campus, that the bonds you build run really deep.”

“That's the part I'll carry with me long after the games are forgotten.”