Sebastian Soccer Player

[Emerenciana Mcgreal]

SebastianVelasquez placed the ball on the white circle of painted Bermuda grass that had carefully been measured 12 yards from goal. Like a combatant preparing for a duel, he took his paces, briskly stepping back six times and slightly off to the right of the ball.

ESPN broadcaster Taylor Twellman set the stage. All the 21-year-old Velasquez, who was in his second season in Major League Soccer, had to do was score in order to etch his name in history as the player who clinched the 2013 MLS Cup for Real Salt Lake.

"Everybody who has played soccer has missed a penalty," former RSL assistant coach Miles Joseph said years later. "We all miss them. Even (Lionel) Messi has missed them. No one in their right mind will ever blame Sebastian for that loss."

But Velasquez blamed himself. After the game, he retreated home to Medellin Colombia and did his best to erase it from his memory. He drank for 20 days and 20 nights. Crown Royal and Coke. Crown on the rocks. Beer. Aguardiente.

Sebastian Velasquez was born in 1991 in Colombia, and emigrated to the United States with his mother when he was 3 years old. They came to the U.S. looking for Sebastian's father Francisco, who had left the family when Vilma was three months pregnant. They caught up to him in Greenville, S.C.

Life wasn't easy in Greenville. Vilma and Sebastian didn't have a lot of money and didn't speak English. Vilma and her sister-in-law, who was also in town, sewed mattresses during the week, and on weekends, they worked at Stax's Original, a local restaurant.

"He's the most gifted player I've worked with," said owner Anthony "Speedy" Solomon, who grew up in Trinidad & Tobago and has been around soccer for 30 years as a player or coach. "He's different. He has something special."

Solomon convinced Velasquez to attend a tryout of 30 players at nearby University of South Carolina Upstate. It was the first time Velasquez trusted anyone offering him something. At the tryout, Velasquez met Steve Archibald, a former Tottenham Hotspur and FC Barcelona forward. Archibald wanted to bring him to Spain for a tryout with Barcelona's youth academy.

"He did everything that was asked of him and more," Archibald said. "It might not have been the right guy looking at him at the right time. There's a bit of luck involved. As far as I'm concerned, it did work out."

Velasquez began his relationship with alcohol on his 15th birthday as a curious teenager. He still owns a photo of himself passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of Jose Cuervo that serves as a memento of the celebrations and what would be the start of a volatile relationship.

Velasquez stopped drinking and began feverishly training again. Except it wasn't the same. He wasn't as fast. He wasn't as fit. He almost threw up during a drill he had done with no problems ahead of the tryout with Barcelona. Archibald questioned Velasquez about his drinking.

Velasquez picked up his mother, brought her into the bathtub and ran cold water on her. After a few minutes, Vilma regained consciousness and began throwing up the medication. Vilma told her son she was lonely and sad because he was always out, either playing soccer or with his friends (she was unaware of his drinking habits). He suggested she return to Colombia to be closer to family. She agreed.

Because he had tried out overseas and had an agent, per NCAA guidelines, Velasquez forfeited his amateur status. He cried in the SMC athletic offices when he found out he would be unable to continue his collegiate career.

Noonan reached out to Miles Joseph, a Clemson soccer alum who was an assistant at Real Salt Lake. Joseph watched film on Velasquez and spoke to him on the phone before inviting him to a combine in Arizona he ran to scout college players and free agents.

Having already intended to return to Colombia following the letdown of not being able to play at the Division I level, Velasquez followed the 2012 MLS SuperDraft on a computer because it was not televised outside the U.S. The picks updated whenever he hit "refresh" on his browser. Velasquez's name appeared at No. 36.

Typically a forward, Velasquez was moved to midfield at RSL. Admittedly, he wasn't happy with the switch. Not only was he a goal scorer, Velasquez was used to playing an integral role on a team, but he had to bide his time with his new club. He played five minutes here, 15 minutes there.

"Mentally he was not at the same level as his skills were," Fernandez, 23, said. "He would work hard every day, do everything the coaches would ask him to do, but his eating habits weren't good and he would drink a lot. I started to notice it was a problem for him."

Fernandez confronted Velasquez about his drinking habits, but Velasquez didn't heed his roommate's advice. Eventually, frustrated, and unable to get his roommate to stop drinking, Fernandez moved out of their apartment.

Velasquez played a greater role the next year despite the drinking, making 24 appearances (11 starts). He scored his first professional goal in a win against the Los Angeles Galaxy in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinal. But his personal improvement was overshadowed by the disappointment of the 2013 MLS Cup.

Velasquez finally ventured out the night of May 18, 2014. He was arrested in the early hours of May 19 on suspicion of driving under the influence after he was stopped for speeding. The officer detected an odor of alcohol and Velasquez failed field sobriety tests, according to the police report. Velasquez was charged with class B misdemeanor DUI and class C misdemeanor speeding 84 mph in a 65 mph zone.

Velasquez had to complete 24 hours of community service in lieu of jail time. He was sentenced to 12 months of probation. Velasquez had to pay a $1,420 fine, install an ignition interlock on his car, attend a Mothers Against Drunk Drivers Impact Panel and refrain from consuming alcohol or drugs unless medically prescribed.

In 2015, Velasquez moved to NYCFC. He played in six of the team's first eight games, but couldn't maintain a spot in the starting lineup. It was a frustrating season, but also came a time when Velasquez was finally ready to face the issues that underlined his drinking.

"It was an emotional conversation when he told us," said Joseph, who was an assistant at NYCFC. "You wish you would have known since day one so you could have helped him so he didn't get to the point he got to."

Rehab was more productive the second time because Velasquez was more accepting of it. He was willing to learn breathing techniques, yoga, meditation and other methods to cope with stress and rejection. It was also here where he came finally face to face with his abusive past. He said his therapist would notice him take a big gulp or avoid eye contact when asked about his childhood.

"I finally let it out. I would get super emotional about it; instant tears," Velasquez said. "They said this is the cancer that's been growing inside of me and if I don't heal it I'm not going to be OK.

Before he left rehab, Velasquez was instructed to share his unspoken problems and recent progress with his parents. He told them things they never heard before or knew occurred. Telling his mother was one of the hardest things he's ever had to do.

Velasquez speaking about his situation publicly may help others address their own similar issues, according to Dr. Jesse Steinfeldt, a sports psychologist and associate professor at Indiana University.

"When high-profile people such as athletes come forward in a way that (former NHL player) Theo Fleury did or Sebastian does, it provides a boost of courage for other people to come out as well," Dr. Steinfeldt said. "Life in the shadows and the closet is cold, dark and scary. You can't see all of the other people who are in there with you, so when you emerge, it is initially frightening but eventually liberating."

"I had never been able to look him in the eyes and tell him he was going to be proud of me," Velasquez said. "I've always loved my son more than anything. I want to protect him. I don't want him to go through what I went through. I don't want him to feel he can't ever tell me something."

With his personal demons conquered, Velasquez needed to get his professional career on track because NYCFC didn't renew his contract. He signed with Rayo OKC on Jan. 15 ahead of their inaugural season. In 14 games this year, Velasquez has scored one goal for fourth-place Rayo OKC.

"I'm not worried about what happens next," said Velasquez, who wants to be a public speaker or counselor following his playing career. "I don't put myself in bad situations anymore. It hasn't been easy. I didn't make it here by myself even though I used to think of it that way. I think about all the people who helped me along the way and I want to have a successful career to show my appreciation to them."

Prior to the announcement of his collaboration with the brand, the Mexican athlete has already been playing both national team and club matches with Under Armour's Shadow Pro footwear. This shoe is designed for soccer players like him, who bring speed and precision to the field of play.

I was surprised to discover that Aspire, a state-owned sports academy built at a reported cost of over $1 billion, had launched the largest talent search in soccer history earlier that year. They were, in effect, looking for unicorns: those rare young players who can excel at elite international soccer. I would eventually join the search and learn much about both the sport and the nature of talent itself.

Soccer has long been called the global game, but the program took globalization to an almost absurd new extreme. Where else could you find a Spanish scout working for a Qatari sheikh hunting for African players to send to European clubs and possibly one day the World Cup?

I flew to Doha in January 2008 to spend a few days with the African boys while they were at Aspire for their final tryout. I tried to make sense of what I found and wrote an article about the program for the AP.

In Qatar, I raced across sand dunes in a 44 with new Football Dreams recruits while they were in Doha for their own final tryout. In Belgium, I bellied up to bars in the small town of Eupen to hear what locals thought about the fact that their team, the Pandas, was now owned by an Arab country they knew little about and filled with African teenagers.

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