Andrew Lubahn's life took an unexpected turn this summer when the Erie native earned a tryout with Cercle Brugge, a pro soccer club in Bruges, Belgium. The tryout turned into an offer to train with the club and play for its reserve team for the next year, after which he'll be eligible under European law for a passport and the possibility of signing a pro contract with the team.
As he acclimates to Belgium and shapes his dreams, Lubahn invites friends, family and fans into his life through regular blog entries here at www.GoErie.com/blogs/Sports. Check back often for updates.
Entry 2:
The last week has been some of the most hectic days of my life. At one point it seemed I wouldn't be able to get the right papers to be able to stay here, but after a week and a half of meeting with the club president and Belgian embassy, we found the way around the legislation is to get an "internship" at a pro sponsor of the club. This way I can get a work permit until I turn 18 and and then I can sign a pro contract and won't have any more problems.
This, on top of training and figuring out schools, has been a lot to think about.
I got my first taste of real international soccer during training last week when I upset the captain from Russia and got my first real "welcome" into the team as a new guy (my nose still bleeds a little bit from the elbow to the face).
Tonight we had our first game against Anderlecht (the highest-paid team in the league). We won 1-0, and the celebrations after the game were incredible.
I'm still working on figuring out the school situation and hopefully by next week I'll know for sure about the paperwork for being able to stay here for a year. But soccer is only getting better and I'm meeting people outside of soccer, thanks to my moped.
Tomorrow night I'll watch the first team play from the lounge boxes upstairs at the stadium and am excited for the game and the atmosphere.