From Sydney's grassroots to Chile, today at Boca Juniors.

The case of Australian-born or raised players deciding to play abroad and for foreign national teams is all a familiar case within our football fraternity as there are various factors behind these reasons. There have been in particular several going all the way to Champions League success, World Cup representation but not wearing the green and gold. Some claim to have never even kicked a ball in the old NSL or our current A-League domestic competition yet possess not only an instantly recognisable Australian accent in their English but glowing memories growing up in this country during their childhood.

Meet Marcelo Peña, raised in the heartland of football in Sydney's west. Having had a few years developing his first steps into professional football with Marconi and Sydney Olympic, he soon decided his destiny laid elsewhere aside from Europe after having played for the under 17 Joeys alongside Craig Moore so he packed his bags and moved to Santiago, Chile to live with his grandparents, as he apparently would say.

This was at least his excuse when approaching clubs for several trials in the country's capital. Whilst trying his luck to play in the youth teams, he finally got a crack and his reward into one of the 'big three', Universidad Católica or "la UC". The adventure began from here where he applied his midfield skills and his trade in clubs like Audax Italiano where he played alongside coach Claudio BorghiUnión Española, Santiago Morning, Everton of Viña del Mar and giant Colo-Colo.

GoalWeekly caught up with him during his stay in Melbourne this past week as he currently works as right hand to coach Claudio Borghi at none other than Boca Juniors.

Daniel: Marcelo, after so many years away from this country and what could be possibly over 30 years personally that we haven't met again since a child, under our parent's supervision whilst watching our fathers play back in the days of State League competition, what is it like to be back?

Marcelo: It has been funny you know because now I am a viejo, I'm old (laughs) and back then I also spent some time living here in Melbourne when playing with Bentleigh Greens in the Victorian Premier League. Not that anybody noticed back then because I have tried throughout my playing career to remain low-profile.

Well if I start by asking you how and when did your connection with coach Claudio Borghi commence?

Marcelo: It has been nearly 14 years that we have known each other, there is a family tie as well. Starting from the time we both played with Audax Italiano in the first division (in Chile), it has become something very close that we have. As difficult as it can be having a strong friendship lies the professional aspect to it that requires a boundary in order to separate the two. This requires one to respond even more but it has been a very positive experience for us. To think that a year ago (two championship seasons ago) with Argentinos Juniors in our first season we finished fifth and later on in this first half of 2010 we ended up as champions.

Therefore results aside, your coaching career began by working with Claudio after retirement and remain loyal, close-knit with his working staff?

Marcelo: I have been able to measure my capacity to grow as a coach even as an assistant because at times it is the coach that only keeps the limelight when it is the coaching staff at hand doing much of the work as well. He is a coach that understands how to empathise and read the dressing room. For me this is important that I can learn as I go, that I may have space to move about and exercise my duties and this is all thanks to him, to Claudio. I feel very much appreciative with it all.

Obviously then, not anybody gets to do an honourable victory lap around the stadium as champion in Argentina and you have done so, what is it like now to make the transition to Boca Juniors, with this new challenge ahead?

Marcelo: You have to think first up, I had particular fortune, I don't believe much in luck either but a particular way of doing things. You see, I came from Ashcroft in Sydney's suburbs, from Liverpool out in the west you know and 33,000 kilometres away I got the chance to be formed as a player with Católica, then I played in Chile's most popular team Colo-Colo. Played with Everton in Viña del Mar as well, played for the Chilean national team. The fact that I can now play a part in Argentinean football has been very difficult. You just cannot understand how difficult it is. I believe that having played and accomplished such feats has been incredible.

I do not recall anybody with similar background who has done the same as I have. Sure, everybody is unique and different. Now if you ask me had I expected this to occur, absolutely not. I did not imagine this even in my wildest dreams. This is why I prefer to remain humble and very appreciative. This is just to cap off again by mentioning how competitive, how difficult it is to play or coach in Argentina. It can nearly be impossible and coming from abroad nobody really stands a chance. From the sense as an Australian, I don't believe even the most accredited coaches or experienced players would ever understand what Argentinean football means.

Has Claudio Borghi enabled you to fulfill this path for you and believe in your capacity, in the work at hand?

Marcelo: It's not that in any way he has made things easier for me or paved the way either. I worked hard for this. On the contrary like I said, the fact that we have a family tie these days makes even more special and challenging because there is more trust at hand. It is also not about believing, people need to understand that in South America believing or trusting, that degree of nepotism does not get you far. In football, the way South America handles it professionally all goes to capacity, to the amount of dedication, discipline and hard work you invest into the game. If you do not fulfill the requirements of the task at hand, you're simply gone. You're fired and there are others just as ready to do the job. There are in fact hundreds and thousands of other options, in players and coaches who are available and waiting.

You're saying that it is motivating to be working where you are and to be conscious that competition is out there?

Marcelo: Of course, you see my friend, there is a saying, a proverb that if you pick up a stone over (in South America), you find thousands of football players and coaches.

Coach Claudio Borghi has over five thousand genuine friends through football and played alongside another three thousand as a player. Now any one of these would have been preferred. Claudio himself had he not have been selected to play back all those years ago and made the career that he did, forming part of the 1986 World Cup winning side, there would've been somebody else just as talented.

It is a question of determination, a question of having the capacity. It is also most importantly a question of whether you want to grow as a person, as a football professional as well. Nobody in football does you favours. Even in Chile, the fact that I made it was one in a thousand so just imagine how competitive it is in Argentina or Brazil.

This is interesting you mention the football culture behind it all supporting the professionalism in South America. As you see here in Australia things have been changing over the years and as a result, the qualification to the 2006 World Cup in Germany four years ago marked the beginning of a new era. 

As Johnny Warren once said, it should not be a question of when is Australia going to qualify to a World Cup but rather when and how are we going to qualify to the second-round and beyond in the tournament. Does it regard coaching, infrastructure, the training methodologies, psychology and philosophy, the media? What do you find that Australia still needs to step up in football?

Marcelo: Everything that you have mentioned can pretty much conform a summary regarding this issue. It is near impossible to give you a concrete answer in these set of questions because the issue is quite more complex. It takes years to build results, in fact generations. The most common factor in Australian football is that natural inclination towards the British way of playing. For decades it has been tried and and tried again. Now, if you think about it, where has it taken?

Football changes and that requires one to change as well. You still see Australian players knocking the ball up and running, chasing after it without stopping a ball first, without lifting their heads up to have a look and pass and it is still two-touch football at nearly an electric pace as if it's a hot potato. When you play, the tempo needs to be dictated by the ball and this is still evident when you observes the differences. Change? You cannot change if it's incarnated in the sporting mentality from childhood. You just simply cannot change that.
One adapts to a country, not the contrary, a country does not adapt to you. You need to think that one of the most difficult circumstances are changes and this is constant and this is where I can argue that Australia needs to look beyond and elsewhere for nurturing a football psyche, to look for coaches and play from Latin America for example but there are always excuses and they are continually overlooked. Why? I don't know.
I came here to play twice back in this country, this same country I grew up in and I couldn't adapt because I was given trials and interrogated all the time, given obstacles each time I turned up. You have to consider that I played continental tournaments such as the
Copa Libertadores and the Copa Mercosur.

Regarding South Americans, there is too much questioning. The attitude needs to be more embracing. This lack of reception has created alienating and distancing so if you ask a South American about an offer to visit or tour Australia, the reaction is the same, it's overlooked at first. So this circle within the footballing scene in this country, the attitude around is still one-sided and closed. This gap that I find is a bridge that needs to be opened.

Well if you asked me about those at the helm at the FFA, the coaching staff included there has not been many significant changes, you still see many of the same names and they do not want to let go.

Marcelo: You've said it. There are coaches who remain I'm sure for years and years with little results so what's the point? I don't see any point in remaining at a club if there are no results. One would assume that no changes would be needed if there is continued success so if things are not to change now, because now is the time for a makeover as the World Cup has finished and the focus must now be with the continental tournaments, is it the Asian Cup?

Yes indeed, Australia's qualified for next year's edition of the AFC Asian Cup.

Marcelo: See, this is a great opportunity to provide youngsters to step up and showcase themselves. Gain experience, confidence and try themselves out at the top level. I found that Australia in this World Cup held in South Africa needed more variety and depth in the squad. There were players omitted that were more than capable of doing the job in the game's biggest stage. However the coach's decision is final when selecting and this is why Australia needs coaches with a different outlook and perspective to things. If no change is done soon, Australia will suffer very much because Asia is much more competitive. It will never be like in South America where you have to battle out consistently against quarter-final opposition such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay just to mention. The position of being always progressing, growing seems to me to be the same fairytale all the time so when is this day going to come? It's not about tomorrow, it's today when changes can be made. It is a very in-depth topic to discuss about.

Now back to your role with Boca and regarding this Australasian tour, after the match over in Wellington things will begin to hot up. Tell me what will be the order of things get done?

Marcelo: We are now in a stage where the structural setup is being trialled. Claudio wants to encourage a backline of three defenders with five rotational midfielders so the main objective to have in mind is that it is not Melbourne Victory or Wellington Phoenix our opposition but rather the opposing teams we face back in Argentina that we are thinking about.

It has been wonderful for me to be back here and also for the Boca players to experience a different setting, a different surround because it all contributes to becoming a better person, a better football player. Thank you very much for your words and your time.

Interview conducted in Spanish.
Daniel Campos (Francis Fields).

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