Renton boy gets chance to play European tournaments

Renton’s Alejandro Hernandez is getting a rare chance: To travel the world while playing a sport he loves, soccer.

Hernandez and the rest of the ‘96 Megson Euro team will travel to Europe Aug. 14-25 to compete in two tournaments.

While the 11-year-old Hernandez has been playing soccer for six years, this is his first time playing for a Crossfire Premier Soccer Club team.

After making the final team roster of 18 out of a pool he estimated at around 100, Hernandez found out he would be going to Europe for the tournaments.

“It felt so good. I was so happy,” Hernandez said. “I just started jumping up and down.”

Hernandez and the rest of the team did car washes and received donations to pay for the trip. The Crossfire team averages five to seven tournaments per year, although that number has dropped this year because of the expense of the Europe trip.

Neil Megson, coach of the 12U team, said Crossfire is the only club in Washington to be invited to these tournaments and called this a “massive” development for the club.

The Megson Euro squad will compete in the United Jeugd Cup in Nieuwegein, Netherlands and The Good Old Tournament in Hilversum, Netherlands.

Megson said the competition will be stiff and his group will be the only team not affiliated with a professional club at the European tournaments.

“If we go over there and hold our own, it’d be great,” Megson said. “If we go over there and get our backsides handed to us, it’ll be a privilege.”

About 10 parents will travel with the players and coaches to Amsterdam. The group plans on taking advantage of the trip to see whatever sights possible.

“I think it’s going to be a good experience,” Hernandez said. “There are a lot of good players in Europe and we’re probably going to go sightseeing.”

So what’s the one thing Hernandez is looking forward to seeing the most? Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. The stadium was built for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and has a seating capacity of 64,000.

In addition to playing and sightseeing, Megson said the team will also be able to train with Ajax, a professional soccer club from Amsterdam. Megson said Ajax produces more top players than any other club and called the chance for his team to train with Ajax a “huge, huge privilege.”

“I’m so excited,” Hernandez said. “I’m not nervous at all, just happy.”

Hernandez plays forward and midfielder for the team, with forward being his favorite. As a primer for the Europe trip, the team won the Nike Crossfire Challenge on July 21 at 60 Acres Park in Redmond. The Crossfire team beat squads from Everett, Renton and Oregon.