SOCCER-SPAIN/BARCELONA-UNICEF Kids ask questions of soccer stars FC Barcelona's Iniesta and ter Stegen

Record ID: 146408

  • Title: SOCCER-SPAIN/BARCELONA-UNICEF Kids ask questions of soccer stars FC Barcelona's Iniesta and ter Stegen
  • Date: 20th July 2015
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA (JULY 20, 2015) (REUTERS) FC BARCELONA MIDFIELDER, ANDRES INIESTA, AND GOAL KEEPER, MARC ANDRE TER STEGEN, WALKING ONTO STAGE AND JOINING UNICEF STUDENT AMBASSADORS CHILDREN CLAPPING INIESTA SPEAKING MEDIA AND GUESTS LISTENING TO NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHILD ASKING QUESTION TO TER STEGEN: "My question is, when you were a kid did
  • Embargoed: 4th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA541G1QDQY3RVYPVODK4HT7UUM
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Kids had the opportunity to ask questions of their soccer heroes FC Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta and goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen at a UNICEF event in the coastal Los Angeles community of Marina del Rey on Monday (July 20).
    Iniesta and ter Stegen responded to elementary-age children asking about the players' childhood and hurdles as professional soccer players.
    "I tried to do everything, it's not just about football, football is very important. It was really nice to be in a team sport, but it was not the only thing that I did, it was really important. My mother always said 'Go out and play volleyball or tennis or whatever," ter Stegen responded to a young girl asking about his childhood past-times.
    Another student asked Iniesta about the tough parts of being a professional athlete.
    "Since I was a boy, since I was very young I was always at home playing on the street or at school until my mom would come get me at night and I'd have to go home. Soccer is my life, it's my passion. I would play since I was very little, the more hours the better. And as the years have passed things got more serious and more professional, but like I said when you do what you love there are practically no negative aspects to it. Sometimes you don't want to be famous but everything is very positive," the team's captain, Iniesta, replied in Spanish.
    Speaker and regional managing director for UNICEF, Amber Hill, called the players' responses "inspirational".
    "I thought the questions were, I think they were very much, they were inspirational right? And I think the responses were so genuine and real and I think also inspiring to the children as well. You could tell that they looked up to these players and their responses were enlightening," Hill told Reuters.
    The Spanish team, missing resting Copa America participants like forwards Lionel Messi and Neymar, arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday (July 19) and play their opening International Champions Cup game against MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy in Pasadena on Tuesday (July 21).
    After taking on the LA Galaxy, the Spanish and European champions meet English Premier League sides Manchester United in Santa Clara on Saturday (July 25) and Chelsea in Landover on July 28.
    They then return to Europe to play Serie A club Fiorentina in Florence on Aug. 2.
    Barca's first official match of the 2015-16 season is the European Super Cup against Europa League winners and La Liga rivals Sevilla on Aug. 11.
    They then play Athletic Bilbao over two legs for the Spanish Super Cup before they get their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years underway against the Basque club on the weekend of Aug. 22-23.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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