Talent is not enough. In football, having quality does not ensure you succeed in the elite. Sport creates talents, but it also destroys them. That is why having a plan B becomes relevant. Even a plan C. Pol Calvet (San Cugat del Vallés, 1994) and Javi Perez (Rocafort, 1996) traced them when soccer still promised them heaven. They were part of two of the best talent factories in Spanish football, La Masía and Paterna respectively. They had everything to succeed in the elite, but the injuries ended up separating them in a cruel and premature way. Soccer left them 24 years old, but today both enjoy and live from the sport. And no, the ball is no longer part of your day to day.
“The ingenuity of youth leads you to think that you will live your whole football life, but nothing is further from reality. If you think about it cold, very few people reach the elite. I always had studies in mind, much more when injuries started to cross my path, “says Calvet, who did not neglect the career of Business Management nor when I played in the Second with Barça B. “When I was in the youth team of Valencia, studies were the fifth most important thing in my life. I was right, placing them among my priorities. I recommend to young lads that they continue studying because, sooner or later , football leaves you. He says goodbye and you have to do something, “says Javi Pérez, a graduate of Marketing and Digital Communication.
Los Angeles, the city of stars and broken dreams
Calvet had to undergo surgery after a hamstring injury that kept him away from the field of play for over a year and a half. Pérez, meanwhile, broke the crusader just as he was going to make the leap to Valencia Mestalla. Their lives turned 180º, and when they turned around, they both met on the other side of the pond, at the American University of Pittsburgh. There they succeeded both academically and athletically. They shared costumes and enjoyed the successes of their compatriot. First Pol and then Javi, both were 'drafted' by Los Angeles FC. The first did not make his debut, although he defines his time in the Californian franchise as “a gift”: “It was clear to me that when I finished my time in Pittsburgh, I would not continue playing. Arriving in Los Angeles was not in my plans, but I also had no nothing to lose”. Javi Pérez did wear a short and won two titles: an MLS Supporters' Shield with Los Angeles FC and a USL Championship thanks to the games he played on loan at Phoenix Rising: “It was a very positive experience. I enjoyed playing and I got a lot out of it to the city. 'I'm 23 years old, I live in Los Angeles, I have a good salary and I earn it playing soccer, which is what I like. I have to get the most juice out of this moment in my life '“
Javi Pérez (left) and Pol Calvet (right) during their time at the University of Pittsburgh.
Calvet did not renew and decided to hang the boots; Javi broke the crusader again and Los Angeles turned his back on him: “Any club renews a player who is on the payroll and suffers a serious injury. They misbehaved with me, but I prefer to keep the good times.” It also ended his sports career. When they sentenced, they were both 24 years old. “It was a very premeditated decision and I do not regret anything. In football I did not see much more journey,” says Pol Calvet. “Mine was more circumstantial. I went to the United States to have more options to be a professional soccer player, but after three previous cruciate ligament tears I decided to prioritize my health. My knee is a painting: I have seven scars and I have to prick myself one day and another one too. If it happens to me again I can stay lame for life“Javi Pérez details.
The idea of playing football again went through the head of Pol Calvet and Javi Pérez, but finally both of them they decided to start a new path in which the ball is no longer the protagonist. Pol works as sponsor responsible for Beach Soccer Worldwide, a company that manages beach soccer worldwide: “You realize that soccer is a school of life. From a very young age you are part of a group of people with a common goal and that helps when it comes to landing in life What I learned at Barça – in whose quarry he spent eight years – has helped me rebuild my life. ” Javi Pérez, for his part, is part of DV7 Management, agency headed by David town focused on the representation, management and marketing of professional soccer players. “Having a busy mind helps make the process much easier. I have been mentalizing myself for a long time and little by little I am getting used to the new life away from football.” Investing in the future has never been so profitable.