I opened a blind man's head. I didn't make him think or reflect -- I cracked his head open, literally. We were walking with him holding onto my shoulder, I miscalculated how much space there was between us, and I knocked him into a gate.
Jednom slepcu sam otvorio glavu. Nisam ga naveo na razmišljanje, bukvalno sam mu otvorio glavu. Hodao je držeći se za moje rame, pogrešno sam procenio koliko prostora zauzima njegovo telo i zbog mene je udario u rešetke na kapiji.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Five stitches in his forehead. At that moment, I felt like the worst teacher in the world. I really didn't know how to apologize. Luckily, El Pulga is one of those people who takes things quite well. And to this day, he says that I was the coach who left the most important mark on his career.
Pet šavova na čelu. U tom trenutku sam se osećao kao najgori profesor na svetu. Uistinu, nisam znao kako da mu se izvinim. Srećom da je Pulga jedna od osoba koja sve prima prilično dobro. On i dan danas govori da sam bio trener koji je ostavio najvažniji beleg u njegovoj karijeri.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
The truth is, when I started working at the institute for the blind, I was surprised by a lot of things. A lot of the things they did, I never imagined they could: they swam, did exercise, played cards. They drank mate, and could pour it without burning themselves in the process.
Istina je da kad sam počeo da radim na institutu za slepe, mnogo šta me je izenadilo. Gomila stvari koje su oni obavljali, a ja nisam ni mislio da mogu: da plivaju, bave se atletikom, igraju karte, piju mate, sami su ga sipali, a da se ne opeknu. No kad sam ih video da igraju fudbal, to me je oduševilo.
But when I saw them playing soccer -- that was amazing. They had a dirt field, rusty goalposts and broken nets. The blind who attended the institute would play their games there, just like I did at a field near my house. But they played without being able to see. The ball made a sound so they could locate it. They had a guide behind the rival team's goal to know where to kick the ball. And they used eye masks. There were guys who could still see a little, and they wore eye masks so everyone was equal.
Imali su teren s parom zarđalih golova i pocepanim mrežama i slepi koji su pohađali institut su tu igrali svoje utakmice, baš kao što sam i ja igrao na napuštenom placu blizu moje kuće, samo što se tamo igralo na slepo. Lopta je odašiljala zvuk kako bi je mogli pozicionirati; imali su vodiča na golu rivala kako bi znali kuda da šutiraju i stavljali su maske. Bilo je tu momaka koji nisu bili potpuno slepi i kako bi svi bili jednaki koristili su maske.
When I was more at ease with them, I asked for a mask myself. I put it on and tried to play. I had played soccer all my life. This is where it got even more amazing: within two seconds, I didn't know where I was standing. I had studied physical education because I loved high performance.
Kad sam malo stekao njihovo poverenje osmelio sam se da zatražim masku, stavio sam je i pokušao da igram; čitav život sam igrao fudbal. Bio sam još više zapanjen, za samo dve sekunde pojma nisam imao gde stojim. Ustvari, studirao sam DIF jer mi se sviđao profesionalni sport.
I started working at the institute by chance. My other job was with the Argentinian National Rowing Team, and I felt that was my thing. Here, everything was twice as hard. I'll never forget the first day I did the warm-up with the team. I lined them up in front of me -- I used to do that with the rowing team -- and I said, "OK, everyone bend down," going like this. When I looked up, two guys were seated, three were lying down and others were squatting.
Slučajno sam počeo da radim ovde. Moj drugi posao je bio u argentinskoj veslačkoj selekciji i imao sam osećaj da mi to leži. Ovde sam morao dvostruko da se trudim. Nikad neću zaboraviti prvi dan kad sam se zagrevao s ekipom, i poređao sam ih preda mnom, uz sve iskustvo sa veslačkom selekcijom, i reako sam im: "U redu, sad se svi sagnite", uradio sam ovo (Savija se) kad sam podigao pogled, dvoje je sedelo, troje ležalo, ostali su čučali. (Smeh)
(Laughter)
Kako da ovde postignem isto što i tamo?
How could I do here the same things I was doing there? It took me a while. I started looking for tools to learn from them, from the teachers who worked with them. I learned I couldn't explain a play on a chalkboard like a coach does, but I could use a plastic tray and some bottle caps so they could follow me by way of touch. I also learned they could run on a track if I ran with them, holding a rope. So we started looking for volunteers to help us run with them.
Trebalo mi je poprilično. Počeo sam da tražim oruđa, da učim od njih, od profesora koja su radili s njima. Naučio sam da im ne mogu objašnjavati kredom igru na tabli, poput trenera, ali da mogu da koristim plastičnu ploču sa čepićima kako bi me shvatili dodirom. Naučio sam da i oni mogu da trče na atletskoj stazi, ukoliko i ja trčim s njima, držeći konopac. Pa smo počeli da tražimo volontere koji bi nam pomagali u trci.
I was enjoying it, and finding purpose and meaning in what we were doing. It was hard at first, it was uncomfortable, but I decided to overcome the discomfort. And there came a time when it became the most fascinating job I'd ever had.
I svidelo mi se i pronašao sam svrhu i smisao ove aktivnosti. Bilo je teško, u početku je bilo čudno, ali sam odlučio da to prevaziđem. I došao je tren kad mi je ovaj posao postao uzbudljiviji od svih prethodnih.
I think that's when I wondered: Why couldn't we be a high-performance team as well? Of course, one thing was missing: I needed to find out what they wanted, the real protagonists of this story. Three hours of training, playing soccer on that field, were not going to be enough. We would have to train differently.
Verujem da sam se tad zapitao, zašto i naša ekipa slepih ne bi mogla da bude ekipa profesionalnih sportista? Naravno, nedostajala je druga strana, morao sam da vidim šta oni žele, istinski protagonisti ove priče. Neće biti dovoljna tri sata na tom trošnom terenu na kom smo igrali fudbal. Morali smo drugačije da treniramo.
We started to train harder, and the results were great; they asked for more. I came to understand that they, too, wondered why they couldn't do high-performance. When we felt ready, we knocked at CENARD's door. CENARD is the National Center for High-Performance Sports here in Argentina. It was hard to get them to hear what we had to say. But it was considerably more difficult to get the other athletes training there to consider us their equals. In fact, they would let us use the field only when no other teams were using it. And we were known as "the blind ones." Not everyone knew exactly what we were doing there.
Počeli smo više da treniramo i rezultat je bio čaroban: tražili su još. Shvatio sam da su se i sami pitali zašto nisu profesionalni sportisti. Kad smo osetili da smo spremni, zakucali smo na vrata CENARD-a, Argentinskog nacionalnog centra za profesionalni sport. Mnogo nam je trebalo da nam otvore, ali nam je trebalo još više da nas drugi sportisti, koji su tu trenirali, vide sebi ravnima. Zapravo, pozajmljivali su nam teren samo kad ga nijedna druga ekipa nije koristila. I zvali su nas "slepcima", nisu svi znali šta smo tamo radili.
The 2006 World Championship was a turning point in the team's history. It was held in Buenos Aires for the first time. It was our chance to show everyone what we had been doing all that time. We made it to the finals. We were growing as a team.
Mundijal 2006. je bio odskočna daska u istoriji ove ekipe. Prvi put se održavao u Buenos Ajresu i bila je to prilika za nas da pokažemo našima šta smo radili već duže vreme. Stigli smo do finala, rastući sve više kao ekipa.
It was us against Brazil in the finals. They were the best team in the tournament. They won every game by a landslide. Hardly anyone believed we could win that game. Hardly anyone -- except for us.
U finalu nas je čekao Brazil; bili su najbolja ekipa na turniru. Sve utakmice su ubedljivo dobili. Skoro da niko nije verovao da možemo da dobijemo tu utakmicu. Skoro niko, osim nas.
During pre-game meetings, in the locker room, during each warm-up, it smelled of victory. I swear that smell exists. I smelled it several times with the team, but I remember it in particular, the day before we played that final. The Argentine Football Association had opened their doors to us.
Tokom treninga i u svlačionici i tokom svakog zagrevanja, osećao se miris šampiona. Kunem vam se da taj miris postoji. Osetio sam ga više puta s ekipom, ali se naročito sećam dana pred finalnu utakmicu. Argentinsko fudbalsko udruženje nam je otvorilo vrata
We were training at AFA, where Verón, Higuain and Messi trained. For the first time ever, we felt like a true national team. At 7:30pm, the day before the game, we were in the lounge discussing strategy, and a waiter knocks on the door, interrupting our conversation. He suggested we go to church. He came to invite us to church. I tried to get rid of him, saying it wasn't a good time, that we better leave it for another day. He kept insisting, asking me to please let him take the guys to church, because that day, a pastor who performed miracles would be there.
i pripremali smo se u AFA-i, gde treniraju Veron, Igvain i Mesi. Zbog toga smo se prvi put osećali kao prava reprezentacija. Na tehničkom razgovoru, dan pre, u šest popodne, bili smo u sali kad je razgovor prekinuo konobar, lupajući na vrata, da bi nam predložio odlazak u crkvu, došao je da nas pozove u crkvu. Pokušao sam da ga odgovorim, govoreći kako nije pravo vreme, da to ostavimo za neki drugi dan. A on je insistirao, molio da povede te momke u crkvu jer je tog dana došao pastor koji je čuda činio.
I was slightly afraid to ask what type of miracles he meant, and he replied nonchalantly, "Coach, let me take the team to the church, and when we return, I guarantee that half of them will be able to see."
Upitao sam ga, s blagom strepnjom, na kakva čuda misli, i neodređeno mi je rekao: "Profesore, dozvolite da povedem ekipu u crkvu i dok se vratimo, ubeđen sam da će polovina njih da progleda."
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Some of the guys laughed, but imagine being a blind person and someone says that to you. I didn't know what to say. I said nothing; it was an awkward silence. I didn't want to make him feel bad, because he truly believed this could happen.
Začuo se smeh, ali zamislite da ste slepi i neko vam kaže nešto slično, Nisam znao šta da mu odgovorim, zaćutao sam, beše to neprijatna tišina. Nisam hteo da ga povredim jer on je zaista verovao da je to moguće.
One of the players saved me, when he stood up and confidently said, "Juan," -- that was the kid's name -- Gonza already told you it's not the best time to go to church. Besides, let me make this clear: if we go to that church, and I end up being able to see when we return, I will beat you so hard if I can't play tomorrow."
Iz te frke me spasio jedan igrač, koji se podigao i samopouzdano rekao: "Huane", tako se mladić zvao, "Gonza ti je već rekao da nije najbolje vreme za crkvu. Ali dozvoli da nešto raščistimo: ako pođemo u tu crkvu i kad se vratimo, ako ja budem među polovinom onih koji vide, ubiću boga u tebi ako sutra ne budem mogao da igram utakmicu."
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
Juan left, laughing in resignation, and we continued with our pregame talk. That night when I went to sleep, I began to dream about the next day's game, imagining what could happen, how we would play. And that's when I noticed that smell of victory I mentioned a while ago. And it's because at that moment, I thought: if the other players had the same desire as Diego going into the game, it was impossible for us not to win.
Huan je otišao smejući se, nastavili smo trenerske konsultacije, i te noći, kad sam zaspao počeo sam da sanjam sutrašnju utakmicu, zamišljao sam šta može da se desi, kako ćemo da igramo. I tad sam osetio taj miris šampiona o kom sam vam malopre govorio. Jer sam u tom momentu osetio da ako i drugi igrači imaju podjednaku želju kao Dijego da igraju tu utakmicu, ne možemo da ne budemo šampioni.
The next day was going to be wonderful. We got up at 9am, the game was at 7pm, and we were already eager to play. We left AFA, and the bus was full of flags that people had given to us. We were talking about the game, and we could hear people honking and cheering, "Go Murciélagos! Today's the day! The final challenge!"
Naredni dan će biti čaroban. Ustali smo u devet ujutru, utakmica se igrala u 7 posle podne, i jedva smo čekali da zaigramo. Napustili smo AFA-u i autobus je bio ispunjen zastavama koje smo dobili na poklon, razgovarali smo o utakmici i čuli smo ljude kako trube i uzvikuju: "Napred, Šišmiši, danas je poslednji dan, poslednji napor."
The guys asked me, "Do they know us? Do they know we're playing?" Some people followed the bus to CENARD. We arrived and found an amazing scene. In the corridor leading from the locker room to the game field, I was walking with Silvio, who was holding onto my shoulder, so I could guide him. Fortunately, there were no gates along the way.
Momci su me pitali: "Poznaju nas? Znaju da igramo?" Ljudi su stizali na CENARD, prateći naš autobus. Stigli smo i zatekli neverovatan prizor. A na putu od svlačionice do terena hodao sam sa Silviom, držao se za moje rame, vodio sam ga, - srećom nije bilo nikakvih rešetki na putu -
(Laughter)
i kad smo stigli na teren,
When we reached the field, he asked me about everything. He didn't want to miss a single detail. He said, "Tell me what you see, tell me who's playing the drums."
o svemu se raspitivao, nije želeo ni detalj da mu promakne. Potom me je upitao: "Reci mi šta vidiš, reci mi ko svira bubnjeve."
I tried to explain what was happening with as much detail as possible. I told him, "The stands are packed, a lot of people couldn't get in, there are blue and white balloons all over the field, they're opening a giant Argentine flag that covers the entire grandstand."
Pokušao sam da im opišem što detaljnije šta se dešavalo. Govorio sam im: "Tribine su popunjene; mnogo ljudi je ostalo napolju, svuda po terenu su svetloplavo-beli baloni, raširili su jednu ogromnu argentinsku zastavu po čitavoj tribini..."
Suddenly, he cuts me off and says, "Do you see a flag that says 'San Pedro'?" That's the city where he lives. I started looking into the stands and I spotted a little white flag with lettering done in black spray paint, that read: "Silvio, your family and all of San Pedro are here."
U jednom momentu me je prekinuo i rekao: "Pazi, da nema jedna zastava na kojoj piše San Pedro", to je grad u kom živi. Počeo sam da gledam po tribini i visoko gore sam video malenu, belu zastavu na kojoj je crnim sprejem bilo ispisano: "Silvio, tvoja porodica i čitav San Pedro su ovde."
I told him that and he replied, "That's my mom, tell me where she is, I want to I wave at her." I pointed him toward the flag and showed him with his arm where they were sitting, and he waved his arms in that direction. About 20 or 30 people stood up and gave him an ovation. When that happened, I saw how his face changed, how moved he was. It was moving for me, too; two seconds later, I had a lump in my throat. It was strange -- I felt both the excitement of what was happening, and the anger and the anguish that he could not see it.
Rekao sam mu, a on je rekao: "To mi je majka, reci mi gde je, želim da je pozdravim." Usmerio sam ga i njegovom rukom sam mu pokazao gde je bila zastava i sa svoje obe ruke je pozdravljao u tom smeru. Otprilike 20, 30 ljudi ga je ovacijama pozdravilo i kad je to prošlo video sam kako mu se lice preobrazilo, kako je ganut. I ja sam bio ganut, no za tren sam imao knedlu u grlu. Bilo je čudno, jer sam bio uzbuđen zbog svega što se dešavalo, a osećao sam bes i bol jer on ne može da vidi sve to.
A few days later when I told him what I had experienced, he tried to reassure me, saying, "Gonza, don't feel bad, I could see them. Differently, but I swear to you that I saw them all."
Nekoliko dana kasnije kad sam razgovarao s njim i rekao mu šta se dešavalo, umirio me je rečima: "Gonza, ne sekiraj se, video sam ih na drugi način, ali kunem se da sam ih sve video."
The game started. We could not fail; it was the final. The audience was quiet, like here, because in soccer for the blind, the public has to be quiet so the players can hear the ball. They're only allowed to cheer when the game is over.
Utakmica je počela, nismo mogli da posustanemo, bilo je finale. Publika je morala da bude tiha, poput vas sad jer u fudbalu za slepe publika mora da bude tiha kako bi se čula lopta. I može da se navija jedino tokom prekida utakmice.
And when there were eight minutes to go, the crowd did all the cheering they hadn't done in the first 32 minutes. When pigeon-toed Silvio nailed the ball at an angle, they cheered with all their heart, in an incredible way.
Ostalo je bilo 8 minuta do kraja, vikali su kako nisu vikali prethodna 32. Iz srca su vikali, kad je Silvio zabio loptu u ugao gola, taj gol su slavili na neverovatan način.
Today, if you go to CENARD, you'll see a huge poster on the door, with a photo of our team, Los Murciélagos. They're a model national team, everyone in CENARD knows who they are, and after having won two World Championships and two Paralympic medals, no one doubts they are high-performance athletes.
Ako danas krenete u CENARD, prođete kraj vrata, videćete ogroman poster sa fotografijom Šišmiša. Oni su uzorna reprezentacija, svi u CENARD-u znaju za njih, i nakon što su osvojili dva svetska prvenstva i dve paraolimpijske medalje, niko ne sumnja da su profesionalni sportisti. (Aplauz)
(Applause)
(Applause ends)
I was lucky to train this team for 10 years, first as a trainer and later as their coach. I feel that they've given me much more than what I've given them.
Imao sam sreće da treniram ovu ekipu, prvo kao kondicioni trener, kasnije kao tehnički trener tokom deset godina. Osećaj koji me prati i koji imam je da sam dobio mnogo više nego što sam im dao.
Last year, they asked me to coach another national team, Power Soccer. It's a national team of young men who play soccer in wheelchairs. They use motorized wheelchairs that they drive with a joystick, because they don't have enough strength in their arms to use conventional chairs. They added a bumper to the chair, a safeguard that protects their feet, while allowing them to kick the ball. It's the first time that, instead of being the spectators, they're now the main characters. It's the first time their parents, friends and siblings can see them play.
Prošle godine mi je predloženo da treniram selekciju u električnim kolicima. To je argentinska reprezentacija momaka koji igraju fudbal u invalidskim kolicima. To su električna kolica, kojima se upravlja uz pomoć džojstika jer nemaju snage u rukama da guraju klasična kolica. Dodat je štitnik na kolica kao zaštita stopalima, koji pored toga što štiti stopala dozvoljava im i da šutiraju loptu. Prvi put su prestali da budu posmatrači i postali su protagonisti. Prvi put njihovi roditelji, prijatelji, rođaci, mogu da gledaju njih kako igraju.
For me, it's a new challenge, with the same discomfort, insecurity, and fear I had when I started working with the blind. But I approach it all from a more experienced position. That's why from day one, I treat them as athletes on the field, and off the field, I try to put myself in their shoes and behave without prejudice, because treating them naturally feels best to them.
Za mene je to novi izazov. Ponovo osećam nelagodu, nesigurnost, strah kao i sa slepima u početku. Međutim, sad imam više iskustva. Zato ih od prvog trena tretiram kao sportiste na terenu, i pokušavam da se stavim na njihovo mesto kad su van terena. Bez predrasuda, jer se najbolje osećaju kad se prirodno ophodite prema njima.
Both teams play soccer; something once unthinkable for them. They had to adapt the rules to do so. And both teams broke the same rule -- the one that said they couldn't play soccer.
Obe ekipe igraju fudbal; to je za njih bilo nezamislivo. Morali su da prilagode pravila kako bi ga igrali, istina. I obe ekipe su prekršile isto pravilo, baš ono koje im je govorilo da ne mogu da igraju fudbal.
When you see them play, you see competition, not disability. The problem starts when the game is over, and they leave the field. Then they step in to play our game, in a society whose rules don't really take them into account or care for them.
Kada ih posmatrate kako igraju, ne vidite hendikep, vidite sposobnost. Problem nastaje kad se partija završi i kad napuste teren, i kad zaigraju našu utakmicu. U društvu koje uspostavlja pravila koja gotovo da ih ne uzimaju u obzir, koja ne mare za njih.
I learned from sports that disability greatly depends on the rules of the game. I believe that if we change some of the rules of our game, we can make life a little easier for them.
Naučio sam iz sporta da hendikep uveliko zavisi od pravila igre. Zato verujem da ako promenimo neka pravila u našoj utakmici, njima ćemo bar malo olakšati živote.
We all know there are people with disabilities; we see them daily. But by having no direct contact with them, we're not aware of the problems they face every day, like how hard it is for them to get on a bus, find a job, take the subway or cross the street.
Svi znamo da postoje osobe s hendikepom, svakodnevno ih viđamo. Ali možda, bez direktnog kontakta s njima, nismo svesni problema s kojima su svakodnevno suočeni. Koliko im je teško da uđu u autobus, nađu posao, spuste se u metro, pređu ulicu.
It's true that there is an increasing social responsibility regarding the inclusion of people with disabilities. But I think it's still not enough. I think change needs to come from every one of us. First, by leaving behind our indifference toward the disabled, and then by respecting the rules that do take them into account. They are few, but they do exist.
Istina je da postoji velika društvena odgovornost za inkluziju osoba s invaliditetom. Ali verujem da i dalje nije dovoljna. Verujem da mora da dođe do promene kod svih nas. Pre svega, odbacivanjem ravnodušnosti prema njima a zatim poštovanjem pravila koja ih uzimaju u obzir. Ima ih malo, ali postoje.
I cracked a blind man's head open -- El Pulga's head. I can assure you these two teams opened mine as well. They taught me that above all, you have to get out there and play every game in this beautiful tournament that we call life.
Otvorio sam glavu jednom slepcu u Pulgi. Uveravam vas da su te dve ekipe takođe otvorile moju, jer su me naučile pre svega kako se igra svaka utakmica na ovom divnom šampionatu koji se zove život. Hvala!
Thank you.
(Aplauz)
(Applause)