{"id":5639,"date":"2023-01-08T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/sioux-city-coach-talks-about-his-childhood-match-with-football-great-lionel-messi\/"},"modified":"2023-01-08T10:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-08T10:30:00","slug":"sioux-city-coach-talks-about-his-childhood-match-with-football-great-lionel-messi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/sioux-city-coach-talks-about-his-childhood-match-with-football-great-lionel-messi\/","title":{"rendered":"Sioux City coach talks about his childhood match with football great Lionel Messi"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sioux City — One day Carlos Saenz will be able to tell his grandchildren that he played football with arguably the best player in the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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“I played Messi in his home country of Peru in 1997,” explained Saenz, a physiotherapist at Mercy One and an assistant football coach at Morningside University. , I was 9. Even then, he was phenomenal and had my team hooked.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Saenz, of course, was talking about Lionel Messi, who dominated the 2022 FIFA World Cup and gave Argentina its third victory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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At 35, Messi is already considered football’s greatest athlete of all time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Carlos Saenz, assistant soccer coach at Morningside University, says future Argentine World Cup champion Lionel Messi is already a genius at his age…<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n
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But Saenz remembered that he was just a boy who was always juggling soccer balls with his feet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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“When other kids were socializing, Messi was into football,” he said. “You need that level of commitment to excel.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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People are also reading…<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Saenz knows something about his commitment to sports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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From the ages of 7 to 16, he attended a football academy in Lima, Peru, and played semi-professional football in his teens. This experience allowed him to travel to tournaments in Spain, Chile and Mexico before moving to the United States at the age of 17. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after defeating Croatia 3-0 in the World Cup semi-finals at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, in December. Ah\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n
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Saenz has since completed a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Mount Marty College in Yankton, SD and a Master of Health Care Administration from Briar Cliff College in Sioux City.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Yet football remains his passion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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That’s exactly what Saenz did when he coached the Siouxland Diablos, a team of teenage soccer players from Sioux City and South Sioux City.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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“The Diablos had talent, but they were a team that needed explosive confidence,” he explained. Then they got that confidence.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Morningside College assistant soccer coach Carlos Saenz spent most of his childhood at the soccer academy in his native Lima, Peru. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n
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Morningside University assistant soccer coach Carlos Saenz has an article in a Peruvian newspaper that includes a photo of himself and Algiers\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n
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Remembering how traveling the world has improved his football playing, Saenz wanted Diablos to have the same experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cTraveling to another country allows you to step out of your comfort zone and be exposed to a new level of sportsmanship. increase.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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When the Diablos returned from their European adventures, they began beating the local teams for the greater community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cOmaha football clubs were less intimidating after playing against top teams in international tournaments,\u201d Saenz said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Carlos Saenz, Assistant Soccer Coach at Morningside College, says traveling the world as a semi-professional soccer player has given her confidence.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n
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Carlos Saenz, assistant soccer coach at Morningside University, says athletes like Argentina’s Lionel Messi have made the sport a global admirer.<\/p>\n
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The Jesse Brothers, Sioux City Journal \n <\/span> \n <\/span><\/p>\n
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The Diablos have also tasted the madness of soccer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIn America, athletes can play all kinds of sports,\u201d explained Saenz. \u201cBut in other parts of the world, football is by far the dominant sport to play and watch.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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This has never been more true than during the World Cup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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“It was like the whole world was watching football,” Saenz said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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And they marveled at the talent of an athlete like Messi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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“Messi did not come from a privileged background, but he had a passion for football. It was a passion he had as a child and now he is most famous in the sport.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Incredibly, Saenz has a photo of him and Messi from over 25 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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More importantly, Saenz’s former coach gifted him five DVDs with photos and videotapes from his nine years at the Peruvian football academy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Saenz said he plans to share the footage with soccer students he coaches at Morningside and young athletes training at URU High Performance. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cAt URU, we combine conditioning and technical skills to hone our players’ individual skills,\u201d he explained. “This is high intensity training.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Flags depicting Lionel Messi (left) and the late football great Maradona are hung among Argentine soccer fans after watching the team’s World Cup…<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n
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Argentina’s Lionel Messi holds up the trophy after winning Sunday’s World Cup final against France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n
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Hopefully, a commitment to track and field will lead to confidence and a good work ethic that can be applied to any profession.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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However, soccer is a sport that can be played at both amateur and professional levels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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So does Saenz want to coach the next Lionel Messi?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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“That’s nice, but you never know,” he replied with a laugh.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Saenz is happy to be on the same football field as the future World Cup prodigy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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“Messi is a superstar,” Saenz said. “He has inspired many people to play football.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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