The relatives of soccer players Óscar Duarte and Carlos Martínez saw the start of the world cup distributed in two different geographical points: Some in Costa Rica and others in Nicaragua.
This year both athletes with Nicaraguan roots will be in Qatar as part of the Costa Rican team that qualified after defeating New Zealand in June.
Walkiria Duarte, Óscar’s mother, who has already participated in at least three World Cups, highlights the voice of america that soccer has unified the two Central American nations, which have had historical conflicts.
“Costa Rica and Nicaragua have had a rapprochement since Óscar when he went to the World Cup in 2014. As a result of this we had the perception that neighboring countries understood each other more,” stressed the mother of the 33-year-old athlete.
Duarte, who is originally from the city of Catarina, some 33 kilometers south of Managua, managed to inflate the pride of Nicaraguans after entering the World Cup with the Costa Rican team.
Soccer players children of migrant parents
Both Óscar Duarte and Carlos Martínez jointly share dramatic stories about the migration of their parents years ago.
Oscar arrived in Costa Rica at the age of six, says his mother, who remembers him as “a little boy who was very dedicated to soccer and also very disciplined,” which he says helped him get to where he is today.
Óscar and his mother’s conditions upon arrival in Costa Rica were not the best.
“Sometimes we didn’t have the ability to give him what he really needed in those moments, but thank God he was persevering and understanding with me because there were days when I couldn’t give him what he needed.”
She recounts that there were times when she and Duarte had to walk, go to training on foot because there were no financial resources to travel by taxi or bus.
“Thank God, Costa Rica offered him many opportunities, it was a country that opened its doors for him. I am grateful to them, ”she highlights.
Thanks to several opportunities that were presented to him, Duarte gradually stood out in soccer. He was in the Saprissa team, and then he went up.
The case of Carlos Martínez is somewhat similar.
Martha Castro, originally from Managua, is the mother of three children. The youngest of them is Carlos Martínez, he is 23 years old, and this year he became the second soccer player of Nicaraguan origin to participate in a World Cup, in this case in Qatar 2022.
Martha arrived in Costa Rica approximately 26 years ago in search of better economic opportunities and months after settling down she gave birth to Carlos, whom she remembers that since he was little he liked sports, which is why his brother took him to play soccer.
“I thought that it was only moments that they were going to play and that’s it, but I did see that he was already taking it seriously, especially when they said they were going to grant him a scholarship at a soccer academy, then the matter was more serious because They already called me. So, I already had to commit myself to taking it and bringing it back”, Doña Martha told the VOA.
Little by little he also stood out and climbed in different local leagues, until he was in the Costa Rican team.
Seeing the current achievements inflates her chest with pride, she assures when she remembers that when Carlos was little she went out to sell tortillas in the streets to be able to support her children.
“They were quite complicated circumstances because practically the one who got us through is my mother with work, so what we did was support each other from a young age,” recalls Martha Martínez, 30, who is Carlos’s sister.
“I had to take care of Carlos when he was born. I was already seven years old, so I took him everywhere, changed him and dressed him, so he was always the prettiest. For me he was like a little doll and my other brother also played a lot ”.
“Seeing us now in the situation where we are, is quite satisfying because he is already grown up, my other brother got ahead and, in fact, we try to keep my mother from working”, adds Carlos’s sister.
Nicaragua welcomes the victories of Costa Rica
When Óscar Duarte participated in the first World Cup some time later, he was received in Nicaragua with hullabaloo, including his hometown of Catarina.
Duarte’s mother assures that this motivated many young people in the country to seek an opportunity to improve themselves in soccer, especially in Nicaragua where the favorite sport is baseball.
In the case of Carlos Martínez, he only went to Nicaragua once and it was when he was little, his mother recalls, and he recalls that about three or four years ago they planned to go to Nicaragua “but when the COVID thing started, we stopped the trip. Now it will be in the future ”, he expresses.
“Carlos wants to go to see Nicaragua because people tell him when they go on excursions that Nicaragua is a very beautiful place and they tell him, and he says: “Idea, I am the son of Nicaraguan parents and I hardly know Nicaragua”, at least for photos, things that they tell him, so yes, he is eager to go to see Nicaragua”, assures his mother.
In a brief communication via WhatsAppCarlos Martínez told the VOA that he would love to know Nicaragua now in his adulthood.
“I would love to go to know, it is a country that they have indicated to me that it is very beautiful and I want to know it, mainly I would like to go and spend time with the family.”
Finally, Martínez appreciates the support of the Nicaraguans who wish him success in his foray into this world cup.
“I feel proud to represent two countries, not everyone has that privilege,” he concludes.
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