THE Hawkesbury has become a home away from home for young Uruguayan footballer Allen Yuletian-Taedeo and his family in more ways than one.
The 14-year-old and his family immigrated to the Hawkesbury three years ago, after moving from Canelones, Uruguay, a small city in the south of the country near the capital Montevideo.
“It is pretty good living in the Hawkesbury, it is like where I used to live in Uruguay,” Allen said.
“It is very similar because Canelones is very green too.”
Allen plays for Hawkesbury City Football Club’s under-15s team, coached by his father Gustavo, who played a hand in bringing fellow Uruguayan, Santiago Pallares – who recently featured in The Gazette - to the the club.
While Allen and his family have settled in nicely – they live in Windsor - the move was difficult, with Allen going through the final year of primary school trying to learn a new language.
“I didn't speak English at all. I came here when I was in year 6,” he said.
“All year I took English lessons, it was really hard, because in class the teachers were talking to me and I didn't know what they were saying.
“My friends didn't laugh at me, well as far as I know they didn't, and they encouraged me.”
Allen hopes to become a professional footballer, and has a great support network around him.
Gustavo used to be a pro player and coach. He played football and futsal in both Uruguay and Australia over 25 years, and in the later years of his playing career took up coaching.
Allen said he often spoke to his dad about the game.
“Every time I don't know what to do, I ask my dad because he knows a lot about football," he said.
It never hurts to know an a current pro either, and Gustavo happens to know Western Sydney Wanderers player and fellow Uruguayan Bruno Piñatares.
“Piñatares is a good friend of my dad's. He is a good example to me, we talk about football a lot. He tells me what I need to eat and how to train and what I need to do to become professional,” he said.
Allen, who usually plays left wing and occasionally number 10, said the best aspects of his game were dribbling and passing and the fact he never rushed things, and said he would like to improve on his shooting.
“There is a lot of stuff you need to learn to become a professional and obviously everyone my age needs to learn a lot,” he said.
Allen has played with Hawkesbury City for the past three seasons, and said he thoroughly enjoyed playing for the club.
However, he also said as much as he enjoyed Australia and the Hawkesbury, he missed his home land.
“I like it here, it is a pretty nice country, but I miss my country and my culture and my language,” he said.
“It is pretty hard for me to feel part of this, but we like it here and it is nice to live here.”
He especially misses his favourite football team, Defensor Sporting, who play in the Uruguayan Primera (or first) División.
“I love that team. They need two wins and they will win the cup. I am pretty excited about it,” he said.
Allen was a member of Sporting when he was younger. He played in the under-13s squad.
“Football is different over there, we have a different type of football,” he said.
“It is more tough and competitive, but I have come here and I have adapted to Australian football.”
