For Quakes & Country: Stefani Miglioranzi's love for brazil

By San Jose Earthquakes

June 15^th, 2018

For Quakes & Country: Stefani Miglioranzi's love for brazil

Thanks for joining me here today. First things first, let’s talk about your connection to Brazil. What has your journey been like to the U.S.?

“I was born and raised in Brazil. I grew up in a little town called Poços de Caldas. It’s a rural part of the country. It’s similar to the Midwest over here. I grew up there until the age of 12 and then me and my family moved to New York for a better life. My father got a job as a mechanic.”

“With my roots being from Brazil, I grew up playing indoor soccer for the first 10 years of my life and that’s the basis of everyone’s foundation in soccer in Brazil. My father was a professional soccer player at the height of his career with Corinthians, but his love for my mom was stronger than his love for football, so he left and went back home to be with his hometown team before blowing out his knee. The connection to soccer doesn’t just come from the country, but from the family I come from. Growing up in Brail, it’s all you did. When I woke up in the morning, I would play on a make-shift field that we played with in the backyard. My father put together pieces of wood to make a goal and he knitted a net with shredded carpet.”

From your humble beginnings in Brazil to your journey to New York, what ultimately led to your professional career?

“My heritage is Italian as well. I have Italian citizenship. When I moved to New York, I joined a youth club just like any other player in the U.S. I played for a club in White Plains, New York called White Plains Lightning. From there, I went to a little higher competitive level to FC Westchester that is still in existence. From there, I got recruited to go to Iona College, a division one school. My dream was to always be a professional soccer player, so after my freshman year I transferred to St. Johns University and finished my career there. I was fortunate to go to one of the biggest soccer programs at the time in the U.S. Once I graduated, agents approached me and because I had a European passport, I wanted to play in England.

In England, where did you play and how did it lead to your time in the United States?

“My time in England was with Portsmouth mostly, and then Swindon Town. It was all a dream come true for me. Fortunate to have had that experience. In 2001, my contract was almost up and Harry Redknapp was the latest manager. He inherited a club that had too many pros on the books. My contract was coming to an end and Harry said he’d love to keep me but it’s such that he’d have to let me go. He was very nice about it. After four years with Swindon Town and some time at Northampton, I came to the U.S. to a wedding with one of my teammates and met my wife. Two years later, we decided to get married. On the way back, I was going to sign for Northampton, but my agent called me to say there was an opportunity to play for the LA Galaxy. It worked out at that I stayed with the Galaxy and my career took off here in the U.S.”

Talk about your love for the Quakes and what drew you to be a fan of the club?

“Major League Soccer was always a big part of my life. In 1998, it was the first couple years of the MLS Draft so I had interest then and still have an interest to see it succeed. The Earthquakes kind of tied into it all because my wife is from the Bay Area. I played for Milan Mandaric at Portsmouth and he jokingly threatened to send me back to the U.S. if I didn’t play well. Really, my interest began when I was playing against them and the passion of the club. Frank Yallop was someone I became really close with at the tail end of my career after I left Philadelphia. When I finished in Philadelphia, I had discussions with him about playing for the Earthquakes. I was 34 at the time. It was difficult for the club to take a chance on a 34-year-old player, although Frank liked me. At that point, it was time for me to think about the future. Enzo had just been born a couple years earlier in Philadelphia, so when we came over here I started my new career as an agent. Having a home team to follow, a beautiful stadium to go to and being able to see the players I represent, it became ingrained in our family and part of our yearly routine that we really, really love.

What are your expectations for this year’s World Cup squad?

“I always feel like Brazil’s a favorite. It’s something everyone feels and the love we have for our team. Even when they haven’t had the best qualifiers, you feel like they can just put on their shirt and they can put themselves in a good place to be successful. I think leading up to this World Cup and the qualifiers, losing to Germany during the last World Cup left a bitter taste in our mouths and I always say it awoke a sleeping giant. Brazil has revamped their player development and as a result, you’re starting to see quality in numbers and throughout. Before, Brazil has always produced good players, but they never had to really develop them. Going into the World Cup, I feel more confident with this team than many of the Brazilian teams before due to how organized they are as well. The part I love about Brazil more than anything else is the entertainment, the flare and the love they show for the game.

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