IN MY WORDS: DARWIN CEREN

The life story of the Quakes midfielder as told by Darwin

By San Jose Earthquakes

August 31^st, 2017

My journey to professional soccer has been incredible. Before I was a soccer player, I had a normal job like any other person. I was in charge of quality control for a company that made bricks for building houses. It was a huge responsibility because it was a big company that exported products and everything. I was happy with my job, but in the back of my mind I had a desire to do something else.

Ever since I was little my brother and I talked about how we wanted to play soccer. Our parents supported us. I think the fact that my dad was a professional soccer player made things easier for us because he loves soccer too. He always took us to trainings and to play with the other kids. We grew up in a soccer atmosphere. We studied and played soccer, and we never had a reason not to play because our parents were always there supporting us.

"I was happy with my job, but in the back of my mind I had a desire to do something else."

"We made the difference on the team and always worked hard to fight for our dreams."

Thankfully, my company gave me the opportunity to go to trainings and try out. The team was in the second division and called Juventud Independiente. They said they would sign me. I continued to work and also play soccer, but I couldn’t dedicate enough time to both things. I neglected one to focus more on the other. In the end, I decided to continue on the soccer path. The rest had been personal growth and I have overcome many things that have made me who I am today.

My brother also is a professional soccer player. We played together at Juventud Independiente and started to make a name for ourselves. Everyone spoke about the Ceren brothers. We made the difference on the team and always worked hard to fight for our dreams. As I said, since we were little we dreamt about playing soccer and now that we had the opportunity, we didn’t want to throw it away. We wanted to work hard and see what we could achieve, including promotion to the first division.

We both scored in the final to get the promotion. I scored the second goal and he scored the third. These are really important memories for me, and now when I have the opportunity to play with him on the national team, I remember the times that we played together and feel this chemistry and connection that we have as brothers. I know where he wants the ball, the movement he is going to make and where he is going to run. That connection can be unexplainable at times.

"we dreamt about playing soccer and now that we had the opportunity, we didn’t want to throw it away."

"They change your life because you no longer have to think about what you want, but more about what you want for your kids."

I met my wife on the training field. She is a person that was going be a really important person and support in my life; someone that was going to put my life in order and make a different path. I think I saw her like that, I saw her in a good light. We planned our children; I always said that I wanted to have my kids young so I could enjoy them. My children dramatically changed my life and I started to look at things with different values, including my parents because now that I have responsibility as a father, I see how difficult it can be and I put myself in my dad’s place with my siblings and I.

They change your life because you no longer think about what you want, but more about what you want for your kids. That is so important. You come home, sometimes with many problems, and you see your children smiling, waiting for you. They don’t know about your problems. This process has been incredible and I continue to enjoy it. Time files and my kids are growing up fast.

"When they said about me coming to Orlando, I didn’t expect it to be honest..."

When they talked to me about coming to Orlando, I didn’t expect it to be honest, but I always dreamt about representing El Salvador and playing outside the country. I spoke with my family and my wife about it; our daughter Darlin was very young at the time. In my country, there are people who walk or do whatever they can to get here, and they were giving me the opportunity to come here with all the benefits, including the chance to get a green card, so I made the decision to come.

It changed my life because it is a completely different world. The education is different, the culture is different. I come from a country that is dangerous, where you can’t walk in the street at certain hours. This country is so free where you can go where you want, when you want. It makes me happy to have my family here where my kids will grow up without any problems and in a stable place. The education that I want for my kids is here so I think I made the right decision to come, even though I left my parents in El Salvador.

"I am happy here and with this opportunity."

I am a very family oriented person and spent my free time with my parents when I was in El Salvador. It was difficult because I miss it like anyone misses his or her country. I miss my parents, my brothers and sisters and this time that we had together, but thankfully I had the chance to get them visas. When they are not here visiting, I go there during vacations.

I am happy here and with this opportunity. I want to continue winning with the team and growing as a player and father for my children. I hope that my country remembers me as a good person, for doing good things and being different from other players. I continue fighting for this every day, working hard and giving my best effort to stay at this level and continue advancing.

Footnotes

Contributor: Charlotte Muscroft

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FootNotes

Contributor: Charlotte Muscroft