Blog #4 - Goal! The Dream Begins (Final Blog)

Santiago had a series of reserve great team performances that gave him a further month at the club. One of the conflicts that had occurred was resolved as Hughie actually stuck up for him. Hughie had to of been his biggest problem while trying to perform to his abilities at his club. Every training session they had, Hughie tried to take down and hurt Santiago. He was the one to send him out his very last time when coach Braithewaite said they didn't need him anymore. The reason for him being the problem in this situation was in the dressing room when they were alone, he broke his inhaler which caused Santiago to not play when and couldn't breath. This led to the part where Braithewaite to dismiss Santiago. But to me the biggest conflict resolved was his Dad. Through 99% of this book, his own Dad seemed like he didn't care about him and didn't even want to talk to him anymore because Santiago left to go to Newcastle. His father even told him he is wasting his time to go even try. But when Santiago scored his first goal ever with Newcastle, he didn't know that his Dad was actually proud of him and was at a bar watching him play on. At the very end of the book, when Santiago wins them the match to move on to qualify for the Champions League. His grandmother is on the phone and tells him about how his father actually watched him play and was proud. Santiago was never happier at that moment then he was in his own life. He just scored the tieing goal and set up the final goal to win and he didn't even celebrate with his teammates. He was crying on the phone with his grandmother in joy.


I did like this book because I love to read anything about soccer. It was really interesting and it made me want to read on and find out what happens page after page. It relates to teenagers life because you may only get one chance to prove your worth in anything you do. Not just sports but anything. It makes you realize when you get a chance to get it, because either way if you don't succed in this chance, you have nothign to lose. You can still go back to the life you were just previously living.

Blog #3 - Goal! The Dream Begins (Conflict)

The conflict in my novel Goal, has been revolved all around Santiago's life. He has a conflict after conflict in this book. The first conflict begins as he had been working so far all his life for his father doing yard work for the rich people, as he and his family are a very poor family. They all live together as a unit. Santiago has been playing and enjoying the game of soccer all his life. But he has not had the confidence to go somewhere with it because his father has been telling him his whole life that he would not make it anywhere in soccer. But he keeps on playing and luckily an agent from England saw him play soccer and brought him to try out for Newcastle United. When he arrives to Newcastle, he arrives with two conflict. First he is not used to the England rainy weather and the second is Hughie Magowan. At first he gets used to the rainy pitch but it took not until the end of the book to fix the Hughie conflict and create a relationship. After being handed another months trial he had his puffer broken and could breathe during a game and was asked to leave the club because he was no longer needed. But then again this conflict was resolved when he was about to go back to LA, but he encountered Gavin Harris who was his new friend who was the big new signing who had alot of the power on the team and talked to the coach to put him back on the team. After this he finally was succedding and lead them to beating Fulham scoring the winning goal and scoring the second goal and getting an assist in the winning goal from Gavin Harris against Liverpool to put them through to the Champions League next season.


If you were Santiago would you keep on playing or do you think that all the pressure from your family, friends, teammates and coaching staff to succed would be to much and just quit to go home to be with your family?

Blog #2 - Goal! The Dream Begins (Main Character)

The main character in my novel is Santiago and he has a natural talent inside of him but when he gets the chance to shine he fails. The first time he was not use to the playing weather as it rains all the time in England and could not play like he did back home. He is use to a nice dry surface and not a surface that is completely wet and the balls skips and couldn't adjust. Hughie also was tackling him and making fun of him the whole match, which also got him off his game. So he did not impress the coaching staff and was cut. The second time he has the chance again to prove his worth in the reserve squad game. But before the game a certain Hughie Magowon he has been after Santiago the whole novel because he knows he is better, crushes Santiago's inhaler. Santiago has asthma. So when he is playing he loses his breathe quickly and cannot perform up to his normal task. He suddenly collapses on the field and gets substituted. The coach went into the dressing room and told Santiago that he is not needed anymore. Then later on the star player Gavin Harris sees the talent that Santiago has and tells the coach to put him on the team and the manager listens and gives him another shot.

How would you overcome this obstacle that Santiago is having? Hughie is the main problem between him and a starting spot on the team, he is always so close to making his dreams reality. How could you over pass this and strive to succeed?

Blog #1 - Goal! The Dream Begins (General Overview)

As the novel of GOAL! begins as the immigration officers are trying to get Santiago and his family. But they escape and hitch a ride with a friend and goes to Santiago's game. He arrives late to the game, his team is losing when he gets there. The coach put him on and right away he shines and got his team to win 4-2. Couple days later a new character Glen was watching his 7 year old sons game at the same park and he notices this means team and he sees a young player that caught his eye. After the game he walked up and talked to Santiago and he told him how amazing he played. He said he would get an agent to watch him at his next game. Barry is the agent that Glen knows he said he would watch the game. The Americanitos, Santiago's team arrived to play Galaxy reserves. Barry did not show up. Glen had called the Newcastle United coach to ask him if he would allow a player to have a trail. Santiago needed $400 to go to England, so he works his butt off to get the money and then his dad steals it to buy a truck. But his grandmother Mercedes gave him the money to go to England. He then arrives in England and Glen takes him to his house. Next Morning he went to St. James Park for the training practice and messes up. the coaching staff said he is not needed anymore and that is how i finished the 1/3 of the book.


If you were in Santiago's position, would you give up all your money and go to a foreign land to pursue your dreams, even if you knew you could not succeed?