#1 Biography

[Prikulis5]

I haven't written an article in like 10 years so please don't judge me

Cesare Pinkman is a son of a now former SSL star Walter Pinkman, born in Rome, Italy while his father was playing for Italy's best team AC Romana. Cesare was basically born with a football at his feet because of his fathers involvement in worlds best league so it was always inevitable that he would become a baller. Early days of his life he was just kicking ball around his back garden with his dad which evolved into a genuine interest in playing the sport, since the age of 5 Cesare started training with the local youth team in Rome and straight away the coaches noticed he does have a talent and could replicate his fathers achievements in the sport. He started off as a striker because everyone wants to score loads of goals, right? Cesare played up front for a few years but as he got older and the tournaments got more serious it became apparent other players have more of a natural striker instinct so the coaches suggested he switch his game to a more defensive role so the choice fell to the wing-back position occasionally playing central defense as well. After the first season playing as a defender he became the best best defender in his youth league, forwards were struggling to get past him to a point where they adjusted their tactics to attack through the other side of the pitch. At the age of 16 it was time to decide what route does he wants to take in his career - sign up for the SSL draft or continue his career elsewhere and the obvious choice was the SSL. Requirement for SSL draft was to play at least a season in one of the SSL approved academy teams, Adowa Accra was keen on the Latvian defender so he gladly accepted their offer and joined the Ghanian team to kick off his road to SSL draft. Accra haven't had the best results in past academy seasons, occasionally not even participating due to lack of players but Pinkman was up for the challenge, will that prove to be the right choice? Only time will tell..

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[Rezo950inat0r2]

Sadie Black is a Canadian soccer prodigy coming from a family of greats. Since his time in the youth teams, he would get noticed by coaches and parents for the sheer amount of effort they would display on the pitch. Slide tackling 5-year-olds. getting their hands dirty with the mud in front of the net, and playing with no self preservation. As such, injury has been an issue in Sadie's past. However, they are incredibly excited to be en route to join a league as prestigious as the SSL, and take advantage of the medical staff they have. Outside of the field, Sadie also has a brother, named Carter. Despite being younger than their brother, Sadie was picked up by Port Poyal scouts a few years before him, truly showing that the scouts have an eye for pure talent. However, the two are very different in terms of positions. Sadie prefers to play as a fullback, being defensively sound, making plays, and lobbing assists to their leaping forwards whenever possible. Truly the dream of all who play on the wing.
With a career ahead of them, Sadie hopes to become the best fullback in the league, and end up being well known for their elite playmaking ability, racking up assists season after season. They also wish to improve their eye for the game, potentially finding themselves as a head coach once their career has run it's course. Yet, with all this hopefully in their future, they will never forget their upbringing in the small local parks, playing with a deflated ball for far too long, far too often. Sadie will always be thankful to their coaches, former teammates, and friends that helped them get into the SSL in the first place, and cannot wait to eventually become one of the best!

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[iltornante]

I have already told much of my story. From Banfora to France. But I have not really explained how I got from France to the SSL Academy.

The first academy I played in was Clermont Foot. The coach there did not like to use wingers, so I had to adapt to playing right wingback. This was a very different role to what I was used to, and I could no longer cut inside onto my stronger foot as much. This was a difficult season for me, and I had to develop my right foot to be more balanced. That season taught me many things. I learned when it was the right time to cut inside and play a through pass, or switch play to the other flank. With no winger in front of me, I had to learn better positioning, so we would not be vulnerable to counter attacks. I had to learn when to press forward and exploit the space left by the other team.

After a year at Clermont, we moved to Paris, where I played in the academy of Red Star. This was my favourite place to play. The coaches there encouraged me to play multiple roles. Multiple positions. Sometimes on the right of a midfield four or five. Sometimes as a wingback, like at Clermont. Sometimes as a winger, next to the striker, like I really wanted to play. The striker, Mathieu, was a tall guy, and he would often win headers and flick them on for me to attack. I scored a lot of goals for Red Star that way. We stayed there for two years, until Mathieu moved to Paris-Saint Germain, and I could not link up with the replacement striker as well. He wasn't as good at winning headers, and I don't think he liked me much, so he did not pass to me often. More and more I found myself on the bench, until Philippe came to me one day and said Marseille were interested in signing me for their academy.

I did not know much about Marseille, other than a lot of foreigners lived there, like in Paris. But I knew I was running out of time to establish myself as a good enough player to get a professional contract. Philippe went ahead to Marseille while I finished the season at Red Star, staying with a teammate's family. When I arrived in Marseille, it felt so different to everything else I had experienced so far. Even the French they spoke was different. It was great. Something about the city felt like home.

On the pitch, I was at home too. The coaches played me as a right winger, and instructed me to cut inside often. The left winger, a Senegalese guy called Ibrahim did the same thing, so we would both attack the centre. Sometimes the centre forward, Aleissandre, dropped deep to win headers like Mathieu. Sometimes he attacked higher to create space behind him. We all did well that season, but I was the only one who got an offer from the SSL Academy. I had to think about it. Do I want to go and take a gamble, test myself against the best in the world? Or do I want to stay with these guys, my brothers, and see how far we can go together? I could not decide. We talked about it, and they both encouraged me to go. "We will catch up to you later," Aleissandre told me. "And if we don't, I will be there to beat you at AFCON," Ibrahim said.

So I spoke to Philippe and arrangements were made. Now I am in Stockholm. Ready to start the next chapter.