An interview from Journalist, Hernan Laurino, with someone with an unusual story.
He is an Argentinean footballer playing abroad. Well, nothing unusual up to here.
He did the youth development in no oyher club than Boca Juniors, but was left with shattered dreams when he was released at 21.
He was not going to give up. He wanted to play football, so he packed his bags, returned to Cordoba and played for Sportivo Belgrano, in the Argentino B, where he lost a final against Atletico Tucuman, that he won’t forget.
Then Carlos Granero, took him to Talleres de Cordoba.
But like quite a few clubs in Argentina, the T where in financial and institutional trouble and he was not playing as regularly as he would have wanted.
But then a DVD with his best games, made its way to Malta. There he had a friend and also ex Boca, Sebastian Monasterolo already playing.
The DVD was a success and a team there Hibernians wanted to speak to him.
He admits that he knew nothing about Malta, not even where in the map he needed to look at to find it.
This battling midfielder, Pablo Doffo’s, luck, once he arrived in Malta changed for the better.
He started by saying
“When I arrived the first impression was wow, the place is beautiful, the people are polite and friendly and the club was well organised, which was not my experience from my country. The quality of life is better here. Although people work really hard and long hours here, they can afford to do things with the money they earn.
In Argentina, you find people work as hard as well, but the money sometimes does not stretch until the end of the months and they can’t enjoy the fruits of their hard work.”
He is now 28, and plays for Floriana of the Maltese premier League.
“Malta is a holiday destination where people from all over the world come to enjoy the weather and relax. It is like Ibiza, but smaller. The country is full of history, and many famous films have been shot here.”
“The league is pretty hard, it compares with a Primera B or an Argentino A (third division leagues in Argentina). They are a bit unorganised tactically, and sometimes a little naïve. They make mistakes that on a Premier League should not be made. But winning the league or the cup here, you get the chance to play in the qualifying rounds of the European competitions. Although no Maltese team ever qualified to the group stages, you do get to play against good teams and it is like a window to better leagues”
With his first club here, Hibernians, Doffo won the cup, and played the preliminary round of the old UEFA cup.
Now, playing for Floriana a team that he tells “is one of the big teams but we have not won anything for a long time”
“Off course I miss La Carlota (his home town in Cordoba), where I have my family and friends, but with internet these days things are much easier.. I go back once a year, as the league here only stops for the festive period. If I can’t go there, I bring some of my family over here. I have not set myself goals on when to return, but after 6 years here, it is more difficult to be away from everybody and everything. My contract finishes in May 2012, so we will see then”
To close the interview, he recounts and anecdote of one of his first experiences here.
“on my first few days, one of my team mates who was from Brazil, came to get me to give me a lift to training. It was weird at first because they drive like in England, in the other side of the road. He asked me if I wanted to drive, and I said yes.
I wanted to overtake a car, but I did it from the side we would do it in Argentina and caught it. We were going slow, but still did some damage. Problem was, my team mate did not have a license, and had some trouble with the police.
Luckily our team captain lived near by and sorted everything out with the other guy and all was sorted”
He is an Argentinean footballer playing abroad. Well, nothing unusual up to here.
He did the youth development in no oyher club than Boca Juniors, but was left with shattered dreams when he was released at 21.
He was not going to give up. He wanted to play football, so he packed his bags, returned to Cordoba and played for Sportivo Belgrano, in the Argentino B, where he lost a final against Atletico Tucuman, that he won’t forget.
Then Carlos Granero, took him to Talleres de Cordoba.
But like quite a few clubs in Argentina, the T where in financial and institutional trouble and he was not playing as regularly as he would have wanted.
But then a DVD with his best games, made its way to Malta. There he had a friend and also ex Boca, Sebastian Monasterolo already playing.
The DVD was a success and a team there Hibernians wanted to speak to him.
He admits that he knew nothing about Malta, not even where in the map he needed to look at to find it.
This battling midfielder, Pablo Doffo’s, luck, once he arrived in Malta changed for the better.
He started by saying
“When I arrived the first impression was wow, the place is beautiful, the people are polite and friendly and the club was well organised, which was not my experience from my country. The quality of life is better here. Although people work really hard and long hours here, they can afford to do things with the money they earn.
In Argentina, you find people work as hard as well, but the money sometimes does not stretch until the end of the months and they can’t enjoy the fruits of their hard work.”
He is now 28, and plays for Floriana of the Maltese premier League.
“Malta is a holiday destination where people from all over the world come to enjoy the weather and relax. It is like Ibiza, but smaller. The country is full of history, and many famous films have been shot here.”
“The league is pretty hard, it compares with a Primera B or an Argentino A (third division leagues in Argentina). They are a bit unorganised tactically, and sometimes a little naïve. They make mistakes that on a Premier League should not be made. But winning the league or the cup here, you get the chance to play in the qualifying rounds of the European competitions. Although no Maltese team ever qualified to the group stages, you do get to play against good teams and it is like a window to better leagues”
With his first club here, Hibernians, Doffo won the cup, and played the preliminary round of the old UEFA cup.
Now, playing for Floriana a team that he tells “is one of the big teams but we have not won anything for a long time”
“Off course I miss La Carlota (his home town in Cordoba), where I have my family and friends, but with internet these days things are much easier.. I go back once a year, as the league here only stops for the festive period. If I can’t go there, I bring some of my family over here. I have not set myself goals on when to return, but after 6 years here, it is more difficult to be away from everybody and everything. My contract finishes in May 2012, so we will see then”
To close the interview, he recounts and anecdote of one of his first experiences here.
“on my first few days, one of my team mates who was from Brazil, came to get me to give me a lift to training. It was weird at first because they drive like in England, in the other side of the road. He asked me if I wanted to drive, and I said yes.
I wanted to overtake a car, but I did it from the side we would do it in Argentina and caught it. We were going slow, but still did some damage. Problem was, my team mate did not have a license, and had some trouble with the police.
Luckily our team captain lived near by and sorted everything out with the other guy and all was sorted”