From Barnack to Brazil

English boy becomes a football star in Brazil after he is spotted by scouts on a school trip from the Daily Mail

If you want to impress with your football skills there is no tougher crowd than the Brazilians.
But that is exactly where a Lincolnshire teenager has been catapulted to national fame after signing for a national league side.
Seth Burkett, 18, was on tour with his local youth team AFC Stamford from Stamford when he was spotted by football agent Anderson da Silva in June.
The agent was so impressed with Seth's footballing talents he quickly signed him up for league outfit Sorriso EC and the youngster made his debut in November.
Seth is now the only British man playing professionally in Brazil and has become a national celebrity after playing against top-side Palmeiras in a cup match

Sorriso, who play in the Brazilian fifth division, lost 4-0 but the match catapulted left-back Seth into the national spotlight.
Millions watched the game live on all four of Brazil's national television channels and Seth was interviewed after the game.
The youngster is a rarity because while many Brazilians such as Kaka, Ronaldinho and Robinho all play in Europe, few European players make the trip across the Atlantic.
He said this week: 'I'm really proud to be doing something that nobody else is doing and am pleased to be playing for a professional team which is probably a dream for most kids my age. The whole thing is absolutely crazy.'
Before the cup match, the life-long Peterborough United fan from Barnack, Lincs., wrote about his new-found celebrity status on his blog.
He wrote: 'I have been on television three times a day - it's crazy. There are flags and posters all over the town, more than even for the world cup. I even got mentioned on Globo which is the Brazilian equivalent of the BBC.
'There are 17 television cameras that I counted when I warmed up and they followed me the whole time.'

Seth's father, St John, who watches his son's games on the internet said his son had been stunned by the media attention and was enjoying life in Brazil.
He said: 'They are taking a massive interest in him over there because he is the only English player in the country.

'He has been interviewed left, right and centre and says he is always being asked to sign autographs by fans. He's always been a good player but what has happened to him now is out of this world.'
Seth used to play for Peterborough United academy and rejected a contract with Kettering Town two years ago to finish his A-levels.
He plans to return to England to study science at sports science at Loughborough University within the next two years depending on his Brazilian football career. The uncle of Seths' grandfather, former football star Charlie Williams, managed Brazilian giants Corinthians after retiring from playing for Arsenal.
His former coach Guy Walton said the young footballer was living a 'fairytale' experience as the only British player in Brazil.

Guy, 42, the youth team manager at Seth's old club, Stamford AFC, was with him when he was spotted playing in a tournament in Salvador last summer.
He said: 'While he is out there he is being treated like a star and has gone from playing in obscurity in this country to national TV in Brazil.
'They have taken him to heart and some of the games are watched by thousands of people who all have a real passion and spirit for the game.
'A lot of fans across Brazil are fully aware there is an English lad playing samba football. For many it's the first time they have ever seen an Englishman play in the flesh.
'The atmosphere is intense and hostile and there are often queues of lads who just turn up in the morning hoping to get a game. Many see football as a passage out of poverty. Seth could be the equivalent of Wayne Rooney in Brazil.'
Sorriso is a city of 50,000 people in the western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. In Portuguese, Sorriso translates as 'smile'.

British football rejects ‘Los Ingleses’ turn to Spanish league

I've posted a couple times (here and here to be precise) about the success of the Glenn Hoddle Academy. Further news has come out about possible success stories, and it always makes good reading. This is from the Metro.

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Football fans often bemoan the lack of home-grown players turning out for the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and even Portsmouth.

Maybe they should look to the Spanish league and check out Jerez Industrial. The third division side boasts six British players – and two Irishmen – and has earned the title ‘Los Ingleses’.

The eight young players may not have attracted the same kind of attention given to David Beckham when he left Manchester United for Real Madrid but they have been crucial to Jerez Industrial’s fortunes.

All have been recruited through Glenn Hoddle’s Football Academy, based in southern Spain, which helps players who have been rejected by clubs – including the likes of Man United, Millwall and Bolton Wanderers – to kick-start their careers.

‘I have made it clear to them that the hard work really starts now. We’ve given them the opportunity and now it’s down to them to take it,’ said the 52-year-old former England player and manager.

Industrial play in front of a home crowd of 8,000 at the Stadium of Youth in the city of Jerez, in the province of Cadiz in south-west Spain.

The squad is now made up of 14 Spaniards, six Brits, two Irishmen and one Senegalese.

Striker Chris Fagan, 20, spent two years with United and has played for the Republic of Ireland’s under-21s. He is on loan at Industrial from Lincoln City.

He scored two goals on his debut and said: ‘I learned a lot from Sir Alex Ferguson but I’ve also made a lot of progress with Glenn Hoddle. We’ve got a good team.’