Argentina - Five-a-side soccer for Leito, SDB: a passion that continues as a Salesian

(ANS - Mendoza) - Rosario Leandro Alvarez, affectionately called "Leito", was born in Mendoza 26 years ago. At the age of 19 he decided to become a Salesian priest, but is unable to abandon a passion that has marked him since adolescence: five-a-side-soccer. This year he managed to join the staff of Deportivo Unión Central, participating in the first "B" division of five-a-side soccer.

Tell us your story.

"In the morning, as soon as I awake, I pray in the community and then I give lessons in the schools of Luisa Mora de Olguín, Don Bosco or Santo Domingo Savio. I return at midday to pray and have lunch. In the afternoon I meet the workgroup leaders and friends... " Leito quickly adds: "And in church on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I lead the activities of our youth groups, the Circus of Acrobats, the Companies Mallin and Oratorio."

Of the 12 scheduled, you still have 4 years of study to do; how was your relationship with the sport throughout this period?

With sports, I have always had a special predisposition even before studying physical education; when I arrived in the city last year I asked for permission to practice five-a-side football and it was granted to me.

You have a great inclination for physical activity, but you have chosen another path: what did you feel making this decision?

I began to have a spiritual life and a life of service in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and I wondered: "Why has God given me so much? Family, study, food - and so little for them?" If He gave me a lot, He gave it to me to share. I started to evaluate many things of my family and in work among young people: I gave five-a-side soccer lessons to children with Down syndrome and I had an experience in a juvenile prison. This led me to ask if this was not the wish of a lifetime. They have been four very intense years. A professional retreat generated even more doubts, besides having had other dreams in my life. A sense of doubt was very strong, but the moment I told my parents, I made my final decision and all my worries disappeared.

Source: www.elciudadanoweb.com - Mauro Cucchiara and Fabricio Licata

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