“The relationship between player and referee, you can’t let it become a distraction, so you’re focused on winning. Referees are not there to screw you up,” he said with a laugh. “The referee can be your No1 fan. So you need to resist [getting] frustrated over calls you don’t like.
“Over time, referees will respect you for your perseverance and how you treat your teammates and the opposition,” the club president said.
Furtado, a history teacher at the high school, has a knack for imparting life lessons to his players.
Changing Mentalities
“The relationship with the referee was the same for our kids [as] with policemen,” said Furtado, born in Praia, Cape Verde, but proud of his adoptive Brockton – which ranks among Massachusetts’ cities with the highest crime rates. “If you get pulled over, do you assume somebody is out to get you? If the referee blows the whistle, what are you going to do? The perception was everyone was out to get us. Regardless if it was true, it was irrelevant. If you want to win, you need the referee on your side. Referees are a proud kind of people. They want to be respected. If a police officer stops you, they don’t want attitude.
“What we teach on the soccer field [applies] when you step off the field,” continued Furtado.
Brockton United, in their sixth season as a club, have attracted players from very different walks of life.
“A lot are in their mid-20s, some were college players and some didn’t go to college,” Furtado said. “We have two police officers on the team. Our players are getting a foothold on a career and doing well in their personal lives. Players who are not doing well, socially, are focused when they’re with us. They say, ‘When I’m with the team I don’t get in trouble.’ If it wasn’t for Brockton FC, he’d probably be in jail.”
Faraway Roots Finding Purchase in Massachusetts
The Republic of Cabo Verde, an archipelago of nine inhabited volcanic islands off the West African Coast, began sending emigrants to Massachusetts as part of the whaling industry as early as the late 1700s.
Cape Verdeans have since developed a strong presence in the larger New England region, while maintaining cultural ties to their homeland through music and sport. And the No1 sport, without rival, is soccer, which, for Cape Verdeans, combines individual industry and a bit of showmanship.
