His mother watched his record-breaking top flight debut with apprehension, but the world’s youngest professional soccer player, Bolivian schoolboy Mauricio Baldivieso, says he can take the heat.
“There’s no age for football. I am determined to make it, 200 percent,” Baldivieso said, as he prepared to celebrate his 13th birthday on Wednesday, three days after making his debut for top flight side FC Aurora.
“He’s very mature and a down to earth lad. He’s definitely ready,” said his father, Aurora coach and former Bolivia international Julio Cesar, who sent him on for the final eight minutes of a 1-0 loss to FC La Paz.
PHOTO: AFP
Mauricio, who joked that “playing on Sunday was my perfect birthday present,” has been deluged by local media since donning the sky blue of Aurora, based in the central city of Cochabamba, for the first time.
Now he has set his sights high.
“My father is my hero. But one day I want to play in Spain or England — for Real Madrid or Manchester United,” Mauricio said.
“I’m really dreaming about that,” he said, adding Inter and Argentina’s Boca Juniors are his other favorite teams.
Against La Paz, he showed several silky touches — until he was clattered by opponent Henry Alaca.
“I tackled him as I would any other player — I didn’t know he was 12,” Alaca said.
Julio Cesar rejects any idea he is blooding Mauricio too early.
“My lad has talent. Psychologically, he is very strong despite his tender years,” insisted the 37-year-old who made his own club debut at 15 for city rivals Wilstermann.
“I put him on as he was ready, it’s as simple as that. It was historic,” added Julio Cesar, who had a two-year spell in Japan’s J-League in the late 1990s with Yokohama Marinos.
“His mother was very nervous. A bit afraid,” admitted Julio Cesar, nicknamed “The Emperor.”
Playing a pre-teen — even for just a few minutes — has caused controversy, however.
“It is irresponsible to field a boy who isn’t mentally and physically prepared,” one coach said, requesting anonymity, while newspaper La Razon asked if it wasn’t “risky” to play someone so young.
Julio Cesar blasted the doubters after Mauricio eclipsed the record of Fernando Garcia, who played for Peruvian first division side Juan Aurich aged 13 and 11 months in 2001.
“There have been some bad comments. There’s a lot of envy out there. But we can deal with it,” Julio Cesar said.
“Of course it’s impossible for him to play 90 minutes as yet. We shall prepare him gradually,” said Baldivieso senior, a full international at 19.
Mauricio insists he is ready.
“I was so excited to get on,” he said in a telephone interview in fluent English. “I was a little nervous but my confidence flooded back once I got onto the pitch.”
A Bolivian Football Federation spokesman said Mauricio was free to play.
“The Bolivian league does not have a minimum — or a maximum — age in its regulations so if he is fit to play then there is no obstacle,” he said.
Meanwhile, FIFA noted its “regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players do not contain specific provisions with regard to the age a player needs to have in order to compete in a national competition,” referring the issue back to the national federation.
Meanwhile, Mauricio is now a celebrity at school.
“My classmates were really emotional — they’re really happy and proud of me,” he said.
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
France head coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday lauded his team’s attacking performance after their dazzling 36-14 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations opener. A brace of tries from Louis Bielley-Biarrey and one from mercurial flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert helped France storm into a 29-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas and allowing Ireland back into the match, before winger Theo Attissogbe put some gloss on the victory late on. “In an attacking sense, with the ball, the team played with great accuracy,” Galthie said. “It was one of the most accurate attacking performances in a long time, despite the weather
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
Italy are finally heading to the World Cup — just not in the sport most people might expect. Amid dark times for the country’s storied, but ailing soccer team, some salvation comes in the form of the Azzurri’s unheralded cricketers after their first-ever qualification for a global tournament. Add Italy to cricketing superpowers like India, Australia, England and South Africa competing at the T20 World Cup starting tomorrow. “Just to be there and playing is the end of 45 years of hard work,” Italian Cricket Federation CEO Luca Bruno Malaspina said. That is a reference to the formation of the sport’s national federation in
RSS