My story begins when my dad was about 6 years old. He was born in Tlatlaya, Mexico and his family loved soccer. He would play soccer with his friends when he was growing up in school and eventually became the best in his pueblo. He would continue playing and then when he was 16 years old, around 1996, he immigrated to the U.S. with his sisters, my Tias. 
From then on he still continued to play soccer in his free time and when he moved to Napa, he joined the Napa soccer league. He would win games and tournaments and was able to win medals and a trophy. 
When I was growing up, I was the same way as my dad, I would watch soccer games without knowing what teams were playing, I had the same passion for soccer as he did. My dad wasn’t a great teacher. He didn’t really teach me how to play; I was pretty much self-taught. He wanted me to figure out my own playstyle. So if I wanted to learn something, I would go on youtube. Every Sunday we would go and play against each other, and he would tell me what I needed to work on. I always have a certain mindset when it comes to soccer. If I score a goal or win a game, lose a game or miss a shot, I always tell myself I can do better, no matter if I’m at my best or not; there is and always will be room for improvement.
When I have kids I would love for them to be able to play soccer so that I have something special to share with them. I’m not the type to force things onto people so if they don’t like to play soccer that is perfectly fine. 

– Omero Cardoso

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant