1
00:00:13,709 --> 00:00:15,876
I opened a blind man's head.

2
00:00:16,827 --> 00:00:21,301
I didn't make him think or reflect;
I cracked his head open, literally.

3
00:00:22,101 --> 00:00:24,105
He was walking grabbed by my shoulder,

4
00:00:24,106 --> 00:00:26,926
I didn't correctly estimate
the space between the two

5
00:00:26,927 --> 00:00:29,291
and I made him hit against a gate.

6
00:00:29,292 --> 00:00:30,481
(Laughter)

7
00:00:30,482 --> 00:00:32,805
Five stitches on his forehead.

8
00:00:33,675 --> 00:00:38,261
I felt the worst teacher in the world,
I really didn't know how to apologize.

9
00:00:39,292 --> 00:00:45,210
Luckily, El Pulga is one of those people
who take things quite well.

10
00:00:45,226 --> 00:00:47,599
And today he goes on saying

11
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,919
that I was the coach who left
the most important mark in his career.

12
00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:52,560
(Laughter)

13
00:00:52,561 --> 00:00:56,007
The truth is that when I started working
at the institute for the blind,

14
00:00:56,008 --> 00:00:58,145
I was surprised by a lot of things.

15
00:00:58,146 --> 00:01:01,735
A lot of things they did
I didn't imagine they could:

16
00:01:01,736 --> 00:01:06,075
they swim, do athletics, play cards,

17
00:01:06,076 --> 00:01:09,424
drink mate, pour it themselves
and don't get burned in the process.

18
00:01:10,019 --> 00:01:14,031
But when I saw them playing soccer
I found it amazing.

19
00:01:14,032 --> 00:01:18,458
They had a field with two rusted goals
and broken nets

20
00:01:18,459 --> 00:01:21,833
and the blind who attended the institute
would play their games there.

21
00:01:21,834 --> 00:01:24,642
Just like I do in a vacant lot near home,

22
00:01:24,643 --> 00:01:27,280
but there they were playing
without being able to see.

23
00:01:27,281 --> 00:01:30,473
The ball had a sound
so they could locate it;

24
00:01:30,474 --> 00:01:33,571
there was a guide
behind the rival team's goal

25
00:01:33,572 --> 00:01:35,721
to know where to kick ball,

26
00:01:35,722 --> 00:01:37,501
and they used an eye mask.

27
00:01:37,502 --> 00:01:39,966
There were kids who could still see

28
00:01:39,967 --> 00:01:43,122
and to play under the same conditions
they wore that eye mask.

29
00:01:44,412 --> 00:01:46,742
When I got confident,

30
00:01:46,751 --> 00:01:51,199
I asked for a mask myself,
I put it on and tried to play;

31
00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,579
I had played soccer all my life.

32
00:01:53,580 --> 00:01:55,807
I found it more amazing still,

33
00:01:55,808 --> 00:01:58,628
in two seconds didn't know
where I was standing.

34
00:02:01,482 --> 00:02:03,841
I had studied physical education

35
00:02:03,842 --> 00:02:05,631
because I loved high performance.

36
00:02:05,632 --> 00:02:07,862
I had started working there by chance.

37
00:02:07,863 --> 00:02:10,732
My other job was
with the Argentinian National Rowing Team,

38
00:02:10,733 --> 00:02:12,411
and I felt that was my thing.

39
00:02:12,412 --> 00:02:14,238
Here, everything took me double.

40
00:02:14,239 --> 00:02:17,918
I'll never forget the first day
I did the warm-up with the team.

41
00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:19,452
I put them in front of me,

42
00:02:19,453 --> 00:02:20,815
- I had a lot of experience

43
00:02:20,816 --> 00:02:23,485
from when I worked
with the national rowing team -

44
00:02:23,486 --> 00:02:25,624
and I said, "Now, everyone down,"

45
00:02:25,626 --> 00:02:27,237
and I did this. (He bends)

46
00:02:27,238 --> 00:02:30,762
When I looked up, there were 2 seated,
3 lying around, others squatted.

47
00:02:30,763 --> 00:02:31,914
(Laughter)

48
00:02:32,714 --> 00:02:36,235
How do I do here what I was doing there?

49
00:02:37,905 --> 00:02:39,755
It took me a lot.

50
00:02:39,756 --> 00:02:43,145
I started looking for tools,
to learn from them,

51
00:02:43,146 --> 00:02:45,833
from the teachers who work with them.

52
00:02:45,834 --> 00:02:50,583
I learned that I couldn't explain a play
on a chalkboard like a coach does,

53
00:02:50,584 --> 00:02:53,525
but I could use a plastic tray with caps

54
00:02:53,526 --> 00:02:55,546
so they could interpret me through touch.

55
00:02:56,496 --> 00:02:59,672
I learned that they could also run
on a running track

56
00:02:59,673 --> 00:03:02,084
if I ran with them holding a rope.

57
00:03:02,086 --> 00:03:05,563
Then we started looking for volunteers
to help us run with them.

58
00:03:05,564 --> 00:03:11,984
And I was enjoying it and I was finding
the purpose and meaning to the activity.

59
00:03:13,134 --> 00:03:17,161
It was difficult, it was uncomfortable,
but I decided to overcome this discomfort.

60
00:03:17,162 --> 00:03:22,368
And there came a time when it became
the most fascinating job of all.

61
00:03:22,369 --> 00:03:24,926
I think that's when I wondered,

62
00:03:24,927 --> 00:03:29,151
why couldn't we be, with the blind,
a high-performance team as well?

63
00:03:30,263 --> 00:03:34,112
Of course, the other part was missing:
to know what they wanted,

64
00:03:34,113 --> 00:03:37,625
the real protagonists of this story.

65
00:03:37,626 --> 00:03:41,377
Three hours of training on that field
we played soccer on

66
00:03:41,378 --> 00:03:43,458
were not going to be enough.

67
00:03:43,459 --> 00:03:45,875
We would have to train differently.

68
00:03:45,876 --> 00:03:49,251
We started to train harder
and the results were great,

69
00:03:49,252 --> 00:03:50,831
they asked for more.

70
00:03:50,832 --> 00:03:55,532
I understood that they also wondered
why they couldn't be high-performance.

71
00:03:56,959 --> 00:04:01,376
When we felt ready,
we knocked at CENARD's doors,

72
00:04:01,378 --> 00:04:03,657
our National Center
of High-Performance Sports

73
00:04:03,658 --> 00:04:05,240
we have here in this country.

74
00:04:05,241 --> 00:04:09,757
It was hard to have them open doors,
but it was considerably more difficult

75
00:04:09,758 --> 00:04:14,185
to get the other athletes training there
to consider us their equals.

76
00:04:14,186 --> 00:04:18,982
In fact, they would lend us the field
only when no other teams used it.

77
00:04:18,983 --> 00:04:23,793
And we were "the blind", not everyone knew
what exactly we were doing there.

78
00:04:25,220 --> 00:04:29,717
The 2006 World Championship
was a turning point in the team's history.

79
00:04:29,718 --> 00:04:32,372
It was held in Buenos Aires
for the first time.

80
00:04:32,373 --> 00:04:37,841
It was our chance to prove to our people
what we had been doing all this time.

81
00:04:37,842 --> 00:04:42,649
We made it to the final,
we were growing as a team.

82
00:04:42,667 --> 00:04:47,834
On the other hand, Brazil was leading,
so far the best team in the tournament.

83
00:04:48,730 --> 00:04:50,890
They were winning
every game by a landslide.

84
00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:56,180
Almost nobody believed
that we could win that game.

85
00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,146
Almost nobody, but us.

86
00:05:00,708 --> 00:05:05,690
During training, in the locker room,
during each warm-up,

87
00:05:05,691 --> 00:05:07,832
there smelled of champions.

88
00:05:09,222 --> 00:05:11,474
I swear that smell exists.

89
00:05:11,475 --> 00:05:14,189
I smelled it several times with the team,

90
00:05:14,190 --> 00:05:17,771
but I particularly remember the day
before we played that final.

91
00:05:18,681 --> 00:05:21,714
The Argentine Football Association
had opened their doors to us

92
00:05:21,715 --> 00:05:26,043
and we were preparing in AFA, where Verón,
Higuain, and Messi train.

93
00:05:26,044 --> 00:05:31,327
For us, it was feeling like
a national team for the first time.

94
00:05:32,109 --> 00:05:37,899
The day before at 7:30 pm, we were
in the lounge during the technical talk

95
00:05:37,900 --> 00:05:41,842
and a young man knocks on the door,
interrupting our conversation,

96
00:05:41,843 --> 00:05:46,303
suggesting us to go to church;
he came to invite us to go to church.

97
00:05:46,304 --> 00:05:50,433
I try to dissuade him, replying
it was not the best of times,

98
00:05:50,434 --> 00:05:53,452
that we better leave it for another day.

99
00:05:53,453 --> 00:05:58,966
And he insists asking me to please
let him take the kids to church

100
00:05:58,967 --> 00:06:02,317
because that day a pastor came
who performed miracles.

101
00:06:03,993 --> 00:06:07,698
I asked with some fear
what miracle he was talking about,

102
00:06:07,699 --> 00:06:11,389
and he easily replied, "Coach,
let me take the team to the church,

103
00:06:11,390 --> 00:06:14,989
when we return
I'm sure that half of them will see."

104
00:06:15,954 --> 00:06:17,064
(Laughter)

105
00:06:20,364 --> 00:06:24,631
Some laughed, but imagine
you are blind and someone says that.

106
00:06:24,632 --> 00:06:29,084
I didn't know what to say,
I kept silent, an awkward silence.

107
00:06:29,085 --> 00:06:30,914
I didn't want to make him feel bad

108
00:06:30,915 --> 00:06:33,514
because he truly believed
this could happen.

109
00:06:33,515 --> 00:06:35,726
And one player saved me

110
00:06:35,727 --> 00:06:37,767
when he stood up and confidently said,

111
00:06:37,768 --> 00:06:42,708
"Juan, Gonza already told you
it's not the best time to go to church.

112
00:06:42,709 --> 00:06:46,168
Besides, let me make this clear:
we get to go to that church,

113
00:06:46,169 --> 00:06:49,361
and I'm part of those half
of us who see when we return here,

114
00:06:49,362 --> 00:06:52,947
I beat the shit out of you, for tomorrow
I won't be able to play the game."

115
00:06:52,948 --> 00:06:53,996
(Laughter)

116
00:06:53,997 --> 00:06:55,344
(Applause)

117
00:07:04,521 --> 00:07:10,308
Juan left laughing in resignation,
we continue with the technical talk,

118
00:07:10,309 --> 00:07:16,546
and that night, when I went to sleep,
I began to dream the next day's game,

119
00:07:17,441 --> 00:07:20,420
to imagine what could happen,
how we would play it.

120
00:07:20,421 --> 00:07:24,218
And then I felt the smell of champions
I mentioned a while ago.

121
00:07:24,219 --> 00:07:27,220
Because at that moment I felt
that if the other players had

122
00:07:27,221 --> 00:07:33,525
the same desire Diego had to play
that game, we could only be champions.

123
00:07:35,015 --> 00:07:37,689
The next day was going to be wonderful.

124
00:07:37,690 --> 00:07:42,959
We got up at 9 am, the game was at 7 pm,
and we already wanted to go and play.

125
00:07:43,955 --> 00:07:49,843
We left AFA, and the bus
was full of flags given to us,

126
00:07:49,844 --> 00:07:53,107
we were talking about the game
and we could hear the honks,

127
00:07:53,108 --> 00:07:55,294
and people cheering who were saying,

128
00:07:55,295 --> 00:07:58,307
"Go Bats, today is the last day,
the last effort."

129
00:07:58,308 --> 00:08:01,964
The boys asked me, "Do they know us?
Do they know we are playing?"

130
00:08:02,792 --> 00:08:06,042
There were people who went
to CENARD following the bus.

131
00:08:06,918 --> 00:08:10,531
We arrived and found a pleasant scene.

132
00:08:10,532 --> 00:08:13,179
Along the lane from the locker room
to the game field

133
00:08:14,042 --> 00:08:19,084
I was walking with Silvio, who grabbed
by my shoulder, let me guide him;

134
00:08:19,090 --> 00:08:22,139
fortunately, no gates on the way.

135
00:08:22,140 --> 00:08:23,760
When we reached the field,

136
00:08:23,761 --> 00:08:27,255
he was asking everything and everybody,
he didn't want to miss a detail.

137
00:08:27,256 --> 00:08:31,313
Then he said, "Tell me what you see,
tell me who is playing those drums."

138
00:08:31,314 --> 00:08:35,591
I tried to explain what was happening,
with as much detail as possible.

139
00:08:35,592 --> 00:08:39,653
I would say, "The stands are packed,
a lot of people could not get in,

140
00:08:39,654 --> 00:08:42,852
there are blue and white balloons
all over the field,

141
00:08:42,854 --> 00:08:46,714
they are opening a giant Argentina flag
that covers the entire grandstand."

142
00:08:46,715 --> 00:08:49,396
Suddenly, he cuts me off me and says,

143
00:08:49,397 --> 00:08:53,255
"Do you see a flag that reads San Pedro?"

144
00:08:53,256 --> 00:08:55,307
- the city where he lives -

145
00:08:56,027 --> 00:08:57,982
and I start looking into the stands

146
00:08:57,983 --> 00:09:03,607
and I find a little, white flag written
in black spray paint that read,

147
00:09:03,608 --> 00:09:07,774
"Silvio, your family
and all San Pedro is here."

148
00:09:07,775 --> 00:09:11,701
I tell him that and he replies,
"That's my old lady,

149
00:09:11,702 --> 00:09:14,533
tell me where she is,
I want to I wave at her."

150
00:09:15,213 --> 00:09:18,462
I orientate him, I show him,
with his arm, where the flag is,

151
00:09:18,463 --> 00:09:21,299
and he waves his two arms
at that direction.

152
00:09:21,300 --> 00:09:24,937
About 20, 30 people stand up
to give him an ovation,

153
00:09:24,938 --> 00:09:28,647
and when that happens, I see how his face
changes, how moved he is.

154
00:09:29,487 --> 00:09:34,052
It was moving for me too; 2 seconds later,
I had a lump in my throat.

155
00:09:34,933 --> 00:09:38,521
It was strange, because I felt
the excitement of what was happening,

156
00:09:38,522 --> 00:09:41,833
and the anger and the anguish
that he could not see all this.

157
00:09:42,983 --> 00:09:48,625
A few days later when I told him
what had happened to me,

158
00:09:48,626 --> 00:09:53,826
he was reassuring, because he said,
"Gonza, don't feel bad,

159
00:09:53,827 --> 00:09:57,608
I could see them, differently,
but I swear to you I saw them all."

160
00:09:58,668 --> 00:10:02,081
The game started;
we could not fail, it was the final.

161
00:10:02,932 --> 00:10:07,103
People had to stat still, like here,
because in soccer, for the blind,

162
00:10:07,104 --> 00:10:10,064
the public has to be quiet
so that the players hear the ball.

163
00:10:10,738 --> 00:10:14,121
And they are only allowed to cheer
when the game is over.

164
00:10:14,125 --> 00:10:19,958
About 8 minutes to go, they cheered
what they hadn't in the first 32.

165
00:10:19,959 --> 00:10:25,825
When Silvio nailed the ball at angle,
they cheered that goal from the heart,

166
00:10:25,826 --> 00:10:27,853
in an incredible way.

167
00:10:30,483 --> 00:10:34,814
If today you go to CENARD, you will see
a huge poster on the door,

168
00:10:34,815 --> 00:10:36,546
with a Bats photo.

169
00:10:37,516 --> 00:10:42,293
They are a model national team,
everyone knows who they are in CENARD,

170
00:10:42,294 --> 00:10:46,621
and after having won 2 World Championships
and 2 Paralympic medals,

171
00:10:46,622 --> 00:10:49,600
no one doubts they are high performance.

172
00:10:49,601 --> 00:10:50,920
(Applause)

173
00:11:06,947 --> 00:11:10,909
I was lucky to train
this team for ten years,

174
00:11:10,910 --> 00:11:13,520
first as trainer and later as their coach.

175
00:11:14,401 --> 00:11:20,579
The feeling I have is that I received
much more than I gave.

176
00:11:21,751 --> 00:11:27,882
Last year I was suggested to coach
another national team, Power Soccer.

177
00:11:28,974 --> 00:11:32,660
It's a national team of young men
who play soccer in wheelchairs.

178
00:11:33,292 --> 00:11:36,362
Motorized wheelchairs
that they drive with a joystick,

179
00:11:36,363 --> 00:11:40,261
as they have no strength in their arms
to drive a conventional chair.

180
00:11:40,262 --> 00:11:44,212
They added a bumper to the chair,
a safeguard that protects their feet

181
00:11:44,213 --> 00:11:46,399
while allowing them to kick the ball.

182
00:11:47,379 --> 00:11:53,217
It's the first time they stop being
spectators and turned protagonists.

183
00:11:53,218 --> 00:11:58,464
It's the first time that their parents,
friends, and siblings go to see them play.

184
00:11:59,465 --> 00:12:01,678
For me, it's a new challenge.

185
00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:06,806
Again the discomfort, insecurity, and fear
like when I started with the blind.

186
00:12:07,756 --> 00:12:10,265
But I face it all
from a more experienced position.

187
00:12:10,266 --> 00:12:14,795
That's why from day one,
I treat them as athletes on the field,

188
00:12:14,796 --> 00:12:18,248
and I try to put myself
in their place outside the field.

189
00:12:18,249 --> 00:12:23,378
With no prejudice, because treating them
naturally is how they feel best.

190
00:12:24,941 --> 00:12:29,770
Both teams play soccer;
it was something unthinkable for them.

191
00:12:29,771 --> 00:12:33,972
They had to adapt the rules to do so.

192
00:12:35,012 --> 00:12:37,509
And both teams broke the same rule,

193
00:12:37,510 --> 00:12:40,901
precisely that which said
they could not play soccer.

194
00:12:40,902 --> 00:12:45,063
When you see them play,
you see competition not disability.

195
00:12:46,044 --> 00:12:47,770
The problem starts

196
00:12:47,771 --> 00:12:50,770
when the game is over
they leave the field,

197
00:12:50,771 --> 00:12:53,390
and they come out to play our game

198
00:12:53,391 --> 00:12:55,455
in a society that sets rules

199
00:12:55,456 --> 00:12:59,133
that almost don't take them on account,
that don't care for them.

200
00:12:59,134 --> 00:13:00,831
I learned from sports

201
00:13:00,832 --> 00:13:04,979
that disability greatly depends on
the rules of the game.

202
00:13:04,980 --> 00:13:08,885
So I think that if we change
some of the rules of our game,

203
00:13:08,886 --> 00:13:11,984
we can make their lives
a little easier for them.

204
00:13:12,883 --> 00:13:17,328
We all know that there are people
with disabilities, we see them daily.

205
00:13:18,268 --> 00:13:21,219
But by having no direct contact with them,

206
00:13:21,220 --> 00:13:24,876
we are not aware of the problems
they face every day.

207
00:13:24,877 --> 00:13:29,295
How hard it is for them to get on a bus,
find a job, take the subway,

208
00:13:29,296 --> 00:13:30,792
or cross the street.

209
00:13:32,296 --> 00:13:35,258
It's true that there is
an increasing social responsibility

210
00:13:35,259 --> 00:13:38,797
regarding the inclusion
of people with disabilities.

211
00:13:39,707 --> 00:13:42,596
But I think it's not enough yet.

212
00:13:42,597 --> 00:13:45,680
I think change should come from within us.

213
00:13:45,681 --> 00:13:49,444
First, by leaving behind
the indifference towards them,

214
00:13:49,445 --> 00:13:52,689
and then by respecting the rules
that do take them on account.

215
00:13:52,690 --> 00:13:54,761
They are few, but they exist.

216
00:13:56,478 --> 00:14:00,170
I cracked a blind man's
head open: El Pulga.

217
00:14:00,171 --> 00:14:03,404
I can assure you these 2 teams
also opened mine,

218
00:14:03,405 --> 00:14:06,197
because they taught me
how you have to get out there

219
00:14:06,198 --> 00:14:07,427
and play every game

220
00:14:07,428 --> 00:14:09,549
in the beautiful championship
that life is.

221
00:14:09,550 --> 00:14:10,837
Thank you.

222
00:14:10,838 --> 00:14:12,091
(Applause)