An adventure in the NFL, from the memory of Osvaldo Castro
MEXICO CITY, May 17.-Osvaldo looked at himself in the mirror and said that this was not him. He was wearing a helmet and other clothing used by American football players. The Chilean had retired from soccer after playing that semifinal of the 83-84 campaign in which his Pumas lost on penalties to Alberto Guerra's Chivas. Pata Bendita retired after scoring the third university penalty, one before Manolo Negrete missed the final one.
A few months later, the former World Cup player would be tracked down by search engines for the Los Angeles Rams. The NFL men knew about the power of his left foot and wanted to make him the team's future kicker. The chance to train alongside speedy Eric Dickerson, quarterback Jeff Kemp and veteran Vince Ferragamo. The official kicker? It was Mike Lansford, one of those who hit the ball with his bare foot and who added two seasons out of nine that he would have with the National League team. The coach was John Robinson and the Rams played at Anaheim Stadium. Those were the times of the Zendejas, Septién and Allegre on the gridiron.
That man in the mirror was a different man.
As much as I tried to get used to the helmet and other things, he would look at me and insist that I was a soccer player. In fact, it wasn't the first time, since a year after I arrived in America they came looking for me to play with the Dallas Cowboys.
Did you know how to play that sport?
No, but it was my hobby after training with America. He kicked the ball over and over again as a mere distraction. I think someone spread the word and they went looking for me.
I guess he didn't accept.
I told them it would be hard to let me leave América, but I recommended a striker who played in the reserves. They did take him to the test.
And what happened to that young man?
He did very well, imagine it was Rafael Septién.
The recommendation changed Septién's life.
If I had accepted, perhaps Septién would have been known as an American striker and I as a kicker for the Vaqueros.
Where did you get that power in your left foot?
I come from the mining city of Copiapó, there we painted the goal on a wall and kicked the ball as hard as we could. I was about 13 years old and played with guys four or five years older than me. One day one of them told me that I had a blessed paw and that's how the nickname stuck with me.
At the end of his career, after his retirement with Pumas, NFL agents show up again and insist on putting a helmet on him.
I retired in '84 and a year later people came from the Los Angeles Rams. They invited me to try myself as a goal kicker. I spent about 20 days training in Anaheim and they liked how I kicked the ball. I didn't stay because the coach (John Robinson) wanted me to work with the youth team.
Did you dream of being an NFL brand player?
I went to see what was going on. Experience the difference between kicking the ball and a strange ball. I found the ball heavier, but the field goals I made in tryouts convinced the coach.
How many yards are we talking about?
The 10, 20 and 30 were very easy. Out of 40 I scored seven, out of 45 six and out of 48 there were four. Out of 52 I hit three and the longest was 53 yards.
They call it Pata Bendita for a reason.
He had the power, it was just a matter of practicing the goals. So when they invited me, I spent two months kicking footballs at the Tec de Monterrey in the State of Mexico. I think I made a good impression on the Carneros del Carneros.
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— Heyward CPA PLLC Wed Oct 10 20:10:06 +0000 2018
The enormous and heavy players will have caused an impression on you as well.
They were all over 90 meters tall (laughs) and no less than 140 kilos in weight. I measure 1.70 and I weighed sixty-odd kilos. He was still very fast and kicked the ball before defenders tried to block it. It was two steps back, one to the right and that's it.
Passed the test?
The head kicker gave the green light and they invited me to stay. But I preferred to return to my soccer school.
What you wanted was to be the star kicker.
I had passed the test, put on the uniform and the helmet. It felt weird, but I wasn't interested in staying on a secondary team. I wanted to play right away.
Did they ever give you a number?
Not yet. We trained in practice clothes.
Did you have language problems?
There were players who spoke Spanish and I studied English a bit. Those on the other side had a hard time pronouncing my name, they called me 'Owaldo'.
I imagine that the training was very different from what he did in America and Pumas.
They put me in the gym to do a lot of weight. Everyone trained quietly and with a lot of discipline. I liked that.
When he returned, didn't the Tec team want to take him away?
Nope. I returned to mine, although already as a minor coach.
What size do you wear?
From number four.
Not a small foot?
Size doesn't matter, what counts is power.
and lots of
In Chile I managed to break the net with a ball. It was in Viña del Mar, a free kick from 32 meters away that broke the net exactly in the middle of the goal. The referee marked a goal kick thinking that the ball had gone over the top. When they checked the replay on TV, they saw how the ball broke the mesh.
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