When all matches are played "away from home"
Playing at home VS playing away is a dynamic that is part of a player's routine from the very beginning of their youth career. At home, there is the comfort of being on a pitch known in every detail; in the stands, a largely supportive crowd, often with the presence of family and friends; familiar facilities; experiences built over time. In short, a sense of belonging and even control of the environment.
In away matches, at the opponent's ground, the environment is very different - experiences and emotions tend to be the opposite.
Individual reactions to this duality may vary depending on the athlete's profile. Some even see a challenge and additional motivation in playing at the opponent's ground. Far from being a binary situation, countless other perceptions and feelings may arise. But the central point here is the value, for the young athlete, of playing at home, in an environment where their references are.
The challenge of leaving home
Playing at home VS playing away is a constant factor, but this symbolism can be applied to countless situations, from the simplest to the most complex.
In a penalty shootout, for example, the choice to take kicks with supporters behind the goal is something disputed in the coin toss. In practice, it is about seeking more control over the environment surrounding the kicks. The goal with one's own supporters behind it becomes, in a way, a "home" goal.
Players are valued as they take part in specific competitions. A player competing in a tournament for the first time is different from one who has already been there - and this applies even to athletes who are no longer considered beginners. Beyond essential technical experience, there is also familiarity and the value of knowing the environment in which one is inserted.
Different forms and intensities highlight the importance of the athlete being able to build connections and seek stable bonds within the environment they are in. The competition itself, the toughness and the challenge of the contest on the pitch are elements that cannot be changed. But the player can, indeed, work on their personal perception of the environments they go though.
The challenge of leaving the first home
So far, we have been discussing aspects that are relatively quick to change - moments, matches, tournaments. But what happens when we look at the personal history of young athletes?
Young players who, very early - from fifteen, sixteen years old, or even younger - leave their families and move to other cities of even countries. They stop "playing at home" and begin to "play away from home", always. The familiar environment, the support of important people, the positive elements that had always been present, disappear. From that point on, all matches are "away from home". Added to this is a greater demand for performance and results.
Although all of this is known by the parties involved - clubs, families and athletes - there is still much to be understood and processed. Young athletes rarely have the opportunity to work through the emotional impact of this change, as they are tied to an automatic, almost mandatory understanding that this is part of the career: leaving home is a sign of success and future prosperity, and should be celebrated. But this step, of enormous value, carries with it a pressure never experienced before, often not even recognised. It is not simple. Even so, it is often easier to act as if this challenge does not exist.
The point here is that promises and expectations for the future, or even present achievements, do not erase the bonds of a lifetime. The immense value of the emotional ties built "back there" reaches everyone. The differences lie in the unique story lived by everyone who leaves home in pursuit of their goals and dreams. The challenges of being far from where one was formed - geographically and/or culturally - are constantly present. And this needs to be heard and worked through.
The effects of denying or dismissing these challenges can compromise a player's career, as hidden difficulties become potential traps along the way.
There is no termination of contract with origin and belonging
It is worth observing the reality of athletes who have already achieved great recognition and success - players who left their origins and achieved so much that they are well received and recognised wherever they go. In theory, for these professionals, any chosen place can become a place of belonging, with the prior assurance that they will not be seen as outsiders. On the contrary, they will be welcomed and admired as soon as they arrive.
Even so, many of them proclaim their love and connection to their origins - whether linked to a club, a city, a family reference, or a combination of factors - and return to these places. At this point, they openly express what is at stake in this decision: the return home, to their origins, often without financial ambition and sometimes with a reduction in sporting expectations. This situations transcends nationalities and specific personal stories. It becomes simply that young person who left home, achieved goals, dreams and glory, and now wishes to reclaim their own home, their own origin.
Each in their own way, the return to origins
Different generations, different nationalities, different career paths - similar feelings in valuing one's origins and the meaning of returning.
Di María, after a great career in Europe, at a moment of full success at Benfica, announces his return to his club and city of origin (these two rarely coincide — usually the player chooses to return first to one or the other). “(Returning to Argentina) is a dream that can become reality. I have always said it would be a joy to end my career at Central.”
Kaká, at the end of his also successful career in Europe (where he won the Ballon d’Or), announces his return to São Paulo Football Club. “Returning to São Paulo was something I always wanted” — and here also his city, São Paulo.
Wayne Rooney, returning to Everton: “Everton has always been in my heart.”
Johan Cruyff, after being the greatest player in Ajax’s history and a winner with the club, played in the United States and Spain, and decided to return to Ajax, stating: “Ajax is my home.”
Didier Drogba returned to the club where he had his main reference, in France: “(Olympique de) Marseille changed my life.”
Pepe, after more than a decade away from Portugal, with a successful spell at Real Madrid, decided to return to FC Porto: “Returning to FC Porto is returning home. It was here that everything began in Europe. (...) There were other offers, but my heart spoke louder.”
Hulk, a forward who left Brazil at 17, describes what he felt at 34: “It was the end of 2020 and I was in Campina Grande, resting and thinking about the next step after China. If my phone had not rung with Rodrigo Caetano, who was Atlético MG’s football director, asking ‘Do you want to come here?’, I would have gone to Turkey. I would have played two or three years and spent the rest of my days feeling incomplete, regretting a gap I was unable to fill, despite all my achievements. (...) Atlético MG gave me the chance to fulfil the dream of playing at a high level for my people, in my country.” (Read full text here.)
The list of players with this type of testimony could fill dozens of pages.
When returning home is very different, outside the norm and the spotlight
Not all returns are the same. The case of striker Adriano, known as “Emperor” by Inter Milan fans, who voluntarily ended his career at his peak, is clearly an atypical situation, generating surprise and controversy. In this case, nothing is clearer than the player’s own words.
“Yes, maybe I gave up millions. But how much is your peace of mind worth? How much would you pay to get your essence back?” (...) “I lived many years in Barra da Tijuca, but my umbilical cord is buried in the favela, Vila Cruzeiro.” And his final sentence in his autobiographical text: “Adriano did not disappear in the favela. He simply went back home.” (Read the full story here. And more content in the book: Adriano Leite Ribeiro. Meu medo maior: a história de Adriano Imperador. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Rocco, 2024.)
The value of returning reveals the magnitude of leaving
The cases mentioned — just a few among many — in which renowned players highlight the importance of returning to their origins only reinforce the challenge of making the opposite movement at the beginning of a career.
Leaving home should not be seen as a challenge for which willpower and hard work will always be sufficient. Willpower and hard work are certainly essential attributes in this movement. Even so, the exploration and processing of the feelings and subjective difficulties perceived at this moment must be treated with the seriousness and priority they deserve.
No matter how great the young player’s technical attributes and commitment may be, this first and decisive movement — leaving the “known” for a dreamed-of world, yet at the same time feared — must be followed with great attention. Attention to feelings, attention to fears, attention to the signs that will appear at the beginning of a professional career.
Each player, when “leaving home”, will need to recreate themselves. And this subjective movement will not be found in any tactical system or training program. This movement will always reside in the player’s inner world and in everything they have lived up to that moment — in everyone’s unique story.
In the mfc program, we work with the perspective of developing personal strategies that allow the young player to feel “their home” close, even when they are far from it.