2025-06-24, 08:35 AM - Word count:
Joao Cancelo has always been the supporting cast. A man never wanting the spotlight, but working hard in the background to find a way to deflect that attention to anyone but himself. Playing on a recreational soccer team, its always been easy to have someone else stand front and center. The downside for Joao is he's extremely competitive. Once joining the team, he spent all of his free time learning to control the ball. Hours on end, spent kicking a ball at targets. Ensuring he knew at all times exactly how much power and exactly where to hit the ball to get it to go where he wants it to go. Joao and his team had just gone undefeated in a local tournament when he was approached by an stranger. He introduced himself as Roque. No other name was given. Roque proceeded to break down Joao's entire game, from individual skills to mistakes. He paused and then looked Joao right in the eyes and asked, "What are you so afraid of"? In a complete understanding of the sport and everyone's roles, Roque knew exactly how Joao played was demonstrating his desire to stay in the shadows. He handed Joao a card with the Sydney City Academy team logo and his number on the back simply stating give me a call if you're ready to take the next step. Joao's everyday boring life in the shadows was history, and going forward his passes will be supporting the Sydney City strikers as a broadcasted player in the SSL Academy.
