Ingreso relishing his Philippines adventure
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| FIFA.com |
Many promising young footballers around the globe dream of a career in one of Europe’s top leagues – hardly a surprise when many of the beautiful game’s superstars play in England, Spain or Germany. For budding young players, there are few pleasures greater than having the opportunity to line up against their idols.
While Kevin Ingreso knows this joyful feeling, he experienced it many miles from the Old Continent and his homeland of Germany after recently signing for Philippines league champions Ceres. “I only slept for a couple of hours after arriving, then went straight to training,” the 22-year-old explained in an interview with FIFA.com.
”I’ve settled in quickly, not least because the team made it easy for me. I already knew some of the guys from the national team, and they showed me around during my first few days here,” he continued, before recalling his first impressions of his new home. “The country and the people are very open. They help you out when you need it, but they are quite spontaneous, more relaxed and not as organised as the Germans. They cut themselves a little more slack.”
Ingreso was plying his trade in Germany’s fourth tier, the Regionalliga, when he received an invitation to represent the Philippines national team last summer. “Our national team coach (former USA international Tom Dooley) looks all over the world to find footballers with Filipino roots, then tries to get them to play for us,” said the midfielder. “It’s such a great opportunity and an honour, that he’s already convinced plenty of players.”
"My father was delighted because he comes from the Philippines and knows the place well. I still have a lot of family here."
Kevin Ingreso
Having accepted the invitation, Ingreso travelled to his father’s homeland for the first time in June to take part in 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ qualification, watching the encounter against Bahrain from the bench before making his international debut against Yemen a few days later. “That was such an exciting moment for me,” he recalled. “I was quite nervous and got goosebumps when the national anthem played. It was an incredible feeling.”
Although the Azkals are now out of contention for Russia 2018, this team from an archipelago made up of more than 7,000 islands have made remarkable progress – thanks in part to their new arrivals from overseas.
Ingreso’s inaugural visit took an even more interesting turn thanks to Manuel Ott and Patrick Reichelt, two German-born footballers who play not only for the Philippines national team but also in its national league. The pair approached the 22-year-old to ask him whether he was interested in playing for the newly crowned domestic champions, whose recent victory had secured them a spot in the AFC Cup. “I then met with the club’s coach and quickly came to a decision.”
Before long, the Hamburg-born son of a German mother and Filipino father was packing his bags in search of a new adventure 10,000 kilometres from home. “My mother was all in favour of it,” he recalled. “She said that I’d always gone my own way and took the news well. She was sad at first, of course, but that will pass. My father was delighted because he comes from the Philippines and knows the place well. I still have a lot of family here.”
For Ingreso, the most difficult farewell was with his girlfriend, who currently lives in Hamburg but will soon join him in Asia, first visiting for a few weeks in February before moving there permanently in the summer. “She’s excited about it,” the midfielder said. “She’s always wanted to go abroad and said that it’s also a good opportunity for her to see the world. If she likes it, she’ll stay,” he explained. Until then, the couple are keeping in regular contact via social media, telephone and Skype.
“Everyone’s very proud of me and happy for me,” he added. “My family in Germany can even follow some of my matches online, which is fantastic. Now I can finally say that I’ve achieved my dream of becoming a professional footballer.”