I returned home last night from the inaugural Transplant Football World Cup held in Cervia, Italy. The team from Chile emerged victorious, securing the championship by winning all their matches against their opponents! I extend my heartfelt congratulations to them! As I process my thoughts, memories, and emotions, I share a few words from Team USA:

Team USA finished 9th in the World Transplant Games Federation’s first Transplant Football World Cup which concluded yesterday in Cervia, Italy.

Although the team of 14 men and women had trained and practiced separately in their own states, they only met each other for the first time the night before the first match.  However, the group was able to come together as a team and salvaged two ties and a final win in their last three matches.

After losses to France, Ireland, and England, Team USA tied Rumania, losing in the penalty kick shootout.  The team then tied Wales, this time winning the shootout.  In its final game, Team USA defeated Northern Ireland to capture 9th place.

The Cup was won by Chile, who defeated Spain, in a classic match of European vs South American style.  England was third, followed by France.

Attending an event like this is an incredibly humbling experience. On the one hand, I recognize that I’m pushing myself, given my past experiences with a transplant. On the other hand, I have the opportunity to meet people from my team and other teams, many of whom have overcome the challenges that make my journey seem effortless. Their inspiration motivates me to continue striving for even greater achievements, for which I am eternally grateful.

For Team USA, the outcome could have been more favorable, but they accomplished something seemingly insurmountable. The team had never played a single game before the tournament, and it took just three games for them to find their footing and begin challenging their opponents. Each and every member of the team gave their all, showcasing the team’s true essence. I want to express my gratitude to my teammates and friends Hatem, Omar, Karen, Richi, Alex, Doug, Hayden, Jill, Matt, Barney, Mohamed, Armend, and Hambar. I am honored to be on the same team as all of you, and I am proud to call you my heroes. A special thank you goes to our team manager, Gary Green, who brought these individuals together and got us all to Italy. Most importantly, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Hatem, our coach and captain, for his remarkable transformation of a group of strangers into a cohesive team within just three days.

Other teams and organizers deserve multiple rounds of applause for creating such an exceptional event and delivering outstanding competing experiences. Additionally, a special thank you to Italy for hosting this tournament and promoting organ donation as a gift of life!

In my case, the injury I was recovering from before the tournament resurfaced with a vengeance after the first game against France, forcing me to miss the remainder of the matches. While I won’t claim to have discovered my true calling as an assistant coach, I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed not being completely useless to the team for the remaining matches. Here’s a rare photo of me not yelling from the sidelines at someone to pull back or come on as a substitute:

Let’s hope that the 1st Transplant Football World Cup won’t be the last, and the Team USA will participate in the future events with even greater results. This will require a lot of work from everyone, and hopefully the team will be able to find some help and sponsors to prepare better for the future tournaments. For me, the priority right now is healing the injury. Once that’s done, I’ll definitely start training again, but I know it’ll take some time. So, I’ll have to be patient with myself (which is pretty hard).

PS The penalty kicks are exhausting: