Two of D.C.'s four winners that will be heading to the final event in Los Angeles, both local Hispanic talents living in Maryland, might have found new positions this weekend under the professional guidance at Sueño MLS 2009 - built by The Home Depot. Manfredis Hernandez and Cesar Bezan identify themselves as wing midfielders, but acknowledge that when given the opportunity to defend at Maryland's SoccerPlex, their abilities shined through in ways that helped catch the eye of United's Director of Youth Development John Maessner, and former United star Raúl Díaz Arce, who was on hand in a scouting capacity.
For Manfredis, the successful conversion to an unfamiliar position is just one more example of the fortune he says helped him reach where he is.
"I was nervous because there were a lot of great players there at Sueño that had better opportunities in life and had more luck than I did. So I just felt blessed when they called my name as a winner."
The 19-year-old, who choked up with tears when Republica Deportiva, Univision's weekly sports show covering Sueño as a "reality show within a show", asked for his reaction to winning, left El Salvador when he was 10 to join the D.C. area's prominent Salvadorian community, along with his mother, and her seven sisters and two brothers.
"I really don't remember much about growing up in El Salvador, but as soon as I came to the United States I started playing for a team here, and the coach liked the way I played, so he would come by my house and pick me up to take me practices and games every Saturday," recalls Manfredis with pronounced gratitude for the coach that helped grow his passion.
The young Salvadorian refuses to attribute his accomplishment as one of D.C.'s four Sueño finalists to his own merits, instead he uses the opportunity to offer an emotional thanks to his father-figure, Pasqual Umana, his brother-in-law.
"He has helped me a lot by taking to me places like this. I never would have made it here if it wasn't for him. He takes me everywhere. He is someone I can look up to. He's always telling me not to mess around with drugs, and supporting me even when I'm not around him."
This weekend was another testament of their relationship according to Manfredis. "I told my brother-in-law that we had to get there two hours before the tryout started, so we were the first ones there Saturday and Sunday. We got there at like 6am on Saturday, just hoping that something would happen."
In addition to being named one of the winners out of the 600 hopefuls that turned out, Manfredis also remarked on the experience of meeting Raúl Díaz Arce.
"My brother told me he was going to be there. I knew he wouldn't pick me just because we were both Salvadorian, but I was really hoping he would like the way I play. Playing in front of him was something that I knew I would love to do. He is one of the biggest legends in my country, I never got to shake hands with someone as big as he his before, so meeting him was incredible."
After giving up on his dream to study architecture because he couldn't afford it, Mandfredis has learned to sacrifice and seize opportunities when they came.
"To get ready for the finals in LA, I'm doing everything I can to get in shape. The day after I won in D.C., I woke up at three in the morning, and went running with my old soccer coach. Oh, I'm so excited for it. I'm blessed. I'm just happy to be a part of Sueño MLS, man. Thank God that I got this opportunity."
Unlike his fellow winner Manfredis, Cesar Bazan was unaccompanied at the Sueño tryout, and shrugs somewhat dismissively with self-confidence when asked if someone was there to cheer him on.
The Peruvian-born 23-year-old seems to save most of his talking for the pitch, where Díaz Arce compared his composed and inventive style of play to Zidane, particularly impressive considering he was asked to play as a defender.
"Today I got to try in the back and I liked it because I can go and get the ball," Bazan said, adding he usually plays as a flank midfielder.
"I'm really happy with the effort I've put in and that I've stood out among so many great players that tried out here," he commented after having his name announced as a finalist. "I've always been optimistic that I could be one of those chosen and now I'm really happy."
In preparing for the next challenge, Bazan's optimism is balanced by his self-awareness, noting, "I'll have to improve some areas of my game, like speed, because I'm still coming back from an injury and wasn't playing for a while."
