This year, seven of us college juniors decided to escape the cold and travel all the way from Durham to San Diego for our spring break. The only unanimous decision that we made throughout the trip, without any hesitation, was to carry a soccer ball with us. On hindsight, it was probably the best decision as well. Almost as soon as we got to our Airbnb, we ran out onto Mission beach and started kicking the ball around. It had been a while since I had played on the beach and boy, did I miss it. The cool sea breeze blowing across your face and the soft, unspoiled sand between your toes makes for a perfect setting. Even though only two us really knew how to play soccer, everyone was equally excited and eager to run and kick the ball around. After a few minutes of passing and stretching out our legs we decided to scrimmage. Using our beach sandals as makeshift goal posts, we set up a small sized playing field. Very quickly, the game got intense and every now and then arguments between the teams broke out. It was fascinating how even on holiday, a beach soccer game can get competitive and still remain very enjoyable. The smaller field allowed us to showboat and make some beautiful plays. At certain points in the game I almost felt like a professional; it was something else.
After what seemed like hours of play, the heat and fatigue finally got to us and we decided to call it a day. I remember feeling a sense of pure joy for every minute that we played. Despite being exhausted, every single one of us was grinning from ear to ear and talking about specific moments of the game that were particularly notable. For at least some of those 45 minutes, everyone felt like they were Messi. It was the perfect start to our trip. This moment superbly captured why soccer is so widespread and popular: you can play almost anywhere, other than a ball you don’t need any equipment, and anybody can play.
Throughout the trip, we played everyday for a little while since the beach was a 2-minute walk from where we were staying; it would have been almost be criminal not to. However, after the first day, the other soccer related event that was particularly memorable was watching the Barcelona vs Chelsea game. It was the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. The first leg was played at Stamford Bridge and Barca managed to grab a late equalizer ending the game at 1:1. The away goal gave Barcelona the advantage entering into the second leg of the tie. Even though Barcelona are close to invincible at the Nou Camp, I was very nervous ahead of the game since Chelsea played outstanding football in the first game. Instead of relaxing on the beautiful and pristine beaches of La Jolla while enjoying the warmth of the sun, I was glued to my phone, ignoring pretty much everything around me. I had set up a live stream on my phone; there was absolutely no way I was missing this game. It was arguably Barcelona’s most important game of the season and it got off to the perfect start with a very early Messi goal. From an impossible angle, Messi fired a shot with his weaker foot through the legs of Thibaut Courtois and into the back of the net. Despite this phenomenal start, Chelsea were very persistent and had some great chances; I simply could not stay relaxed. However, Dembele managed to complete a perfect counter attack with a top left corner finish, his first goal for Barcelona. The goal was definitely against the run of play but it gave the Barcelona players and fans some breathing space and Messi sealed the game with another Courtois nutmeg in the second half. With two goals and one assist, Messi single handedly dismantled Chelsea and just like that, we were in the quarters yet again. This game perfectly highlighted a new side to this Barcelona team; we are now capable of grinding out results (against both big and small teams) without necessarily playing pretty football. We’ve sharpened our counter attacking prowess and significantly improved our defense. At this point in the season, I can safely say that Valverde has found the perfect balance between playing beautiful soccer and winning.
This soccer filled spring break has been one of my favorite holidays thus far. From playing for hours on end to watching my favorite team proceed to the quarters in the Champions league while laying on a beach, I could not have asked for a better way to have fun!
