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INTERVIEW - Angel Berlanga

Words: PJ Ahern

Thursday 18 November 2010

Picture: Phototek NZ

THE story of new Auckland City FC recruit, Angel Vina Berlanga brings a return to Corinthians values as an amateur footballer daring to dream and to act to find his place amongst those in the professional game.

The 23-year-old Spaniard, is a refreshing expression of the Samuel Johnston quote, which is “to use travelling to regulate the imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.”

“It was my destiny to come here,” said the Madrid native who is formerly of CF Rayo Majadahonda.

His original destination was mapped for Australia but circumstances beyond his control and a Facebook search led him to Auckland instead.

“I thought to travel to Sydney, Australia. I decided to take a break from playing football in Spain to go and travel to Australia for one year but my flight was cancelled. The next nearest stop was New Zealand and I had seen that there was a Spanish coach, Ramon Tribulietx, who was training the team in Auckland. I looked on Facebook, found his page and contacted him. I asked him if there was any team to play with or to have a trial with because football is my passion. He told me if I came here he would trial me,” Angel explained.

The midfielder/defender has been a revelation since being snapped up after an impressive trial period and he played a starring role in his debut performances, but a hamstring injury forced him to sit out the recent 3-1 loss to arch rivals Waitakere United.

He is quick to draw comparisons between the O-League and other leagues around the world.

“The style of play is very different here compared to Spain. Here is more like English football. There is a lot of long ball and hard tackling, while in Spain you have more time on the ball and to make short passes to.”

The midfielder is grateful of the opportunity provided to him by Auckland City.

“Football is my passion, I love it. It is everyone’s ambition to work at a job you love and for me, Auckland City are helping me to achieve that, ” he said.

He continued, “I like playing with Auckland City, they have a strong team spirit and they work hard. It is easy to settle in because there are so many nationalities involved. We have one from Japan, one from England, Chile, Scotland, Costa Rica as well as New Zealand internationals so it is nice.”

He harbours ambitions of progressing to the Australian A-League because “you always want to play at a higher level, to test yourself against better players. If I do well here, this season and next season, maybe I can progress to professional football.”

His focus is firmly on securing his future in New Zealand and winning the O-League with his eyes glistening by possible mouthwatering prospects.

“If all goes well and we win the Oceania Champion’s League hopefully I will be able to test myself against the best players from around the world at the FIFA Club World Club in Japan. I hope the champions of Europe will be from Spain because it would be a dream come true to play against my fellow countrymen on the world stage.”

NORTHERN LEAGUE R3

Monday 1 April 2024, Kiwitea Street, 3.00pm

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