Spencer Rose
Staff Reporter

Germany, England, Sweden, Denmark and the United States of America span two continents and four languages. Sophomore David Abidor has experienced exposure to all of these languages but is masterful in the one universal tongue (or foot); Soccer.

Throughout his career, Abidor has traveled to several European countries in order to play soccer. Whether for a tryout with a professional club, or placing in the top 20 of two worldwide tournaments, he has had many lifetime learning experiences through his travels. He is also one of two sophomores who plays for the GBS varsity soccer team.

He first fell in love with the sport at age five. There were no teams for that age group at the time, so he just played in his yard before plunging into competition at the raw age of seven. Abidor played his first true game of soccer in 2000 and went on to play club soccer around the state, competing in several tournaments. Later, his tournaments became more competitive with better opponents and greater rewards. Abidor recalls a team trip to play in Scandinavia, where his team placed eighth out of 150 teams.

Abidor went on another out-of-country excursion this past summer when he traveled to Germany to practice with prospects of FC Cologne, a German professional soccer club, for two and a half weeks. Abidor noticed a difference in the mentality of the German players.

“It’s not for fun over there; it’s their job,” he said. He added that most kids were fighting hard for a spot on the team. “There is no time for fun, they all wanted it so badly.”

He also used the workshop as a personal evaluation, Abidor said. “It was a learning experience to see how good some of the kids were and what I need to be just as good or even better than them.”

Abidor plans to use his European experience to try out for a spot on England’s West Ham professional team this spring. If they like him, he will most likely move to England to train year round.

All of his hard work with groups like the University of Illinois-Chicago team has finally paid off in the form of this great opportunity.

Abidor’s love of the game has opened the door to a very bright future.