Diego

1. What does football mean to you?

Football is my life. All my life, this is all I’ve known. You take football away from me, I’ve got nothing. I don’t have a degree, I would suck at being a daily wage worker, I literally would be lost without football. To be more specific, I am a defender. I started playing football with my neighborhood kids, of course, it was just random games with no rules. So, one day during my teen years, I was playing in a relatively bigger playground where professionals would come for their daily routine and practice, and my now coach, who was a stranger back then, saw me play and that’s how I was discovered. 

2. How do you handle fame?

By not thinking about it. What’s important to me is I keep up with the love my fans give me when I go out on the field to represent my team. And as long as I have the strength in me to do that, I’ll continue to do my job to my best ability. I do enjoy the perks that come with it, but when I am not playing, I keep to myself and am very private. You guys must know, I literally made you wait for months for this interview… sorry about that. It’s just that unless it’s not related to Football, I avoid showbiz. 

3. Tell us one thing we don’t know about you?

My mom says I would kick a lot when I was in her belly, and she’d actually joke with her girlfriends that maybe her baby is going to be a footballer. Now I know that’s something pregnant women usually say when the baby starts kicking, but to me, it feels like everything was pre-planned in a way that it was meant to be.

4. What brings you joy or makes you happy?

That question has a very straightforward answer when it comes to a footballer. The thing that makes me the happiest is hitting a winning goal. It’s simple! It’s not about the crowd cheering, it’s not the affirmation that I’ll stay on the team for a long time, it’s just the sight of the ball hitting the goal and getting my team the win. I’d feel the same if I was still playing in my childhood neighborhood, but I’d probably have a day job if that was the case, haha.

5. What do you do in your free time?

That’s a hard one, because I honestly don’t have a lot of free time. Well, you can say I spend time with my girlfriend and take her on dates, movies and vacations when I have some time on my hand. I’m very lucky to have an amazing partner who’s more into me hitting the winning goal than I am, so my busy schedule never gets in the way.