SANDY, Utah — Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni has soccer in his blood. The Argentine native grew up in Arizona dreaming of representing the United States. He made two FIFA World Cup appearances in 2002 and 2006, but his love for the tournament and the game started as a kid.
"The first World Cup that I remember was the 1986 World Cup. At the time, another GOAT was Diego Maradona that played for Argentina and he was front and center in that World Cup, a lot like Messi was in the last World Cup," said Mastroeni.
"When I got to go to the World Cup and have my family there, I feel like there was so many people that I was standing on the shoulders of that gave me this opportunity," Mastroeni continued. "It was the greatest feeling of my family back in Argentina watching that World Cup, my parents who sacrificed a lot of their lives, my brother, my wife, there's just so many people to share these experiences with. It was like a dream come true."
From the MLS to the World Cup stage in '02 and '06, Pablo reflects on his "welcome to the World Cup" moments.
"There's two," Mastroeni sighed. "One's on the field and one's off."
"My first World Cup moment: we were playing Portugal in our first game and I wasn't slated to start, we had an injury to our first 11 and then I was called upon two days before the game," Mastroeni said. "It was great because I didn't have too much time to think — I kind of just went out there and did."
Mastroeni and the U.S. faced Luis Figo and a highly touted Portugal team — a level of talent Mastroeni hadn't competed against before.
"My style of play was really aggressive, and slide tackles were a part of my game," he recalled. "I had Luis Figo cornered, one the best players in the world at the time, he got the ball on the sideline and I was going in for a tackle, I left my feet and I remember the ball getting flipped over my head as I'm sliding in and I realized, at this level, these attackers are two or three plays ahead of what I'm accustomed to in the MLS."
His off-the-field moment connects back to his family, who allowed him to chase his dreams from the beginning.
"After we beat Portugal that game, I was trying to find my family in the stands and it was packed," Mastroeni said. "And then I see this big banner at the top. It said, 'DARE TO DREAM, PABLO' and it was my brother and my dad holding up a banner, and it made me realize all the stuff I worked my whole life for, and then for my brother and my dad to be holding up this banner in the stadium and me being able to see it, it still gives me goosebumps to this day."
The power of the World Cup is real — it brings people and cultures together, and it's what every soccer (or football) player works toward.
"Representing your country in the World Cup, that is the pinnacle," Mastroeni said with a grin. "That's where all leagues in the world shut down and all eyes are on this moment, sporting fans all over the world, so it's not just like the league is watching — it's however many countries and however many billions of people are tuned into the TV set — that is the pinnacle of sport."
