// The amazing story of Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez
This week I had the opportunity to interview a very promising Saints striker who fell in love with the beautiful game thanks to his school in Venezuela. His name is Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez.
When asked how he started playing football he explained: ‘I started playing football because of my school. The main sport was football and I liked it so I started playing more and more’. He hasn’t dedicated himself just to football though… over the past couple years he’s won medals in basketball and athletics, coming 1st in 100m and 200m races.
He recalled starting his journey as a football player at Venezuelan team Club Sport SAP. ‘I have very good memories of where I started my career’ he said in a video that he dedicated to the club.
Ale joined Saints last summer from Junior Premier League club Eastleigh Tornadoes, where he scored 334 goals in just 136 games. Absurd.
Unsurprisingly he received offers from a various number of clubs in the summer, but he reveals that the reason behind choosing to play for Southampton is because he lives close to the club and ‘They [Southampton FC] give chances to the young players’.
Not long after joining Saints he suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for 6 weeks but he stayed motivated as he was eager to get back on the pitch and score more goals.
‘At the start it was difficult’ - Gomes explained - ‘but I started building good relationships with my teammates and keep going. There was a higher level, the players were better and I had to be able to keep up with them and [do] more than them’.
It didn’t take him long at all to get back to scoring goals and in November, just three months after he signed for Southampton, the club decided to offer him an early scholarship. Thanks to his outstanding performances he got called-up to the U15 England training camp in December where he scored 5 goals in one game! This led to another call-up in February where he made his official international debut in a friendly against Wolverhampton Wanderers U16 - where he scored 2 goals - and scored another brace against Belgium. ‘I was very pleased to get the England call-up and score on my debut. It was a fantastic day for me and my family’.
Flash-forward to March 2023 and Ale is 15 years old and has nearly scored 50 goals for Saints across all competitions this season. He has played for the U15s, U16s and U18s. ‘My goals for 2023 are to train with the B team and play more and more with the U18s.’ The hard work never stops!
I have been following Ale since the start of the season and he has been nothing less than exceptional. His speed, physicality and finish are mind-blowing… There are not many young strikers with his qualities. A message he would like to send to all the young players is: ‘Work hard, be focused on your goals and never give up. My secret is to work harder every day and believe in myself.’
I think I’ve run out of superlatives…