On the right wing of the pitch, Waverly N.11 stylishly stops the ball with his left wheel almost on the sideline. Hesitation. Double step. The football still sticks close to his left foot, while the opponent tries to tackle him down. Another fake, and Fitzroy N.3 is inexorably dribbled. N.11 softly crosses in the middle to his teammate, who easily scores the consolation goal just before the final whistle. Game over. The scoreboard tells Fitzroy 5 – Waverly 1.

Robert takes his jersey N.11 off and plods out of the pitch with a hanging head. Ten minutes later, he gets out of the locker room with his curly hair still wet, and wearily walks to his car. “I have to go home and study. Tomorrow I have another test,” he murmurs turning his back on the coach.

A year ago, Robert took the most important decision of his life when he decided to leave Italy and attend RMIT University in Melbourne. For the first time, Robert chose study instead of sport. “Even if my mom has always been telling me to give a priority to school, my life was only about soccer,” he admits.

“I was living my dream to become a professional player,” he says.

There is a pause.

His right leg starts shaking, while his voice gets lower.

“But I had no choice after my injury.”

After eight years in Hellas Verona, Robert had his chance to play pro in 2010 when a Pergocrema’s observer selected him. It was the opportunity that the young right wing had been waiting for a while.

“Hellas Verona’s management thought I wasn’t ready to play pro in B- League yet, so they let me go without giving me the chance to show they were wrong,” he explains almost gritting his teeth.

“I felt ready to play pro. I trained so much for it,” he fierily added.

Robert started playing for Hellas Verona when he was twelve. The successful junior club has always been a good channel for young talented players to become professionals. The senior team, in fact, was in Serie A, the Italian professional major league, which is one of the best soccer championships worldwide.

Looking at Robert’s intense glance, his passion and determination suddenly come to the surface. He flips his hair back, while his right leg stops shaking.

“I had training sessions everyday and games on the weekend,” Robert says.

“There was no sacrifice, but devotion.”

However, sometimes the fate is cruel. As soon as Robert joined Pergocrema for a trial in 2010, he started suffering from an annoying groin muscle inflammation.

“I couldn’t train properly for months, so I couldn’t play a hundred per cent,” he says.

Again, the silence overwhelmed the room for a moment. The 22-year-old Italian player clenched his fists.

“I knew it was over,” he stammers.

Because of the groin muscle inflammation, Robert was rejected and his dream shattered.

“That was the most difficult moment of my life, because I knew I had missed the bus and I didn’t know what to do with my life,” he admits.

Elaine, Robert’s mother, always supported him.

“In our family we are all athletes,” she reveals.

“I have always understood his sports commitment”.

However, in her opinion a good scholastic education was mandatory. Under his mother’s pressure, Robert never failed at high school and he also got quite good marks, but his mind was overwhelmed by a only thought: soccer. But that injury and the consequent rejection changed everything.

After a long period when Robert’s mind was bewildered and confused, the young talented right wing decided to hang up his soccer shoes, and to focus on studying as his mom suggested him.

“But I needed a change of scene,” he says standing up from the black leather armchair to get a glass of water.

The biggest decision of his life was taken: RMIT, Melbourne, Australia, sixteen thousand kilometres far away from home and his broken dream.

Robert glances up and starts shaking his right leg again. The big dilemma seems to whirls in his mind for a second time.

“Deep-down, I never renounced my dream,” he admits smiling with his brown eyes.

“But Australian universities are very expensive and I cannot muck around,” he adds.

The pitch of his voice is determined.

Since he arrived in Melbourne, Robert gave a priority to university and work. However, wearing his old soccer shoes again, he rediscovered his will to play.

“When I play I feel better. Especially if I don’t play for a while, when I kick the football again I feel released,” he says showing his contagious smile.

After a two year-break Robert joined Waverly Wanderers, a Melbournian team which plays at amateur level. Despite his university commitments do not allow him to train often, he plays as much as he can. Australian championships are not good as Italian ones, and deep-down Robert keeps alive his dream.

“I’m still 22 and I know I could play at a higher level here in Australia,” he states firmly.

“However, I need to understand if it is possible without jeopardising my university commitments. If I want to play for a VPL (Victorian Premier League) I should train 3-4 times per week as I did when I was younger,” he clarifies.

In his eyes, the determination to live his dream is still shining.

“It would be very hard, but nothing is impossible”.