My local soccer heroes come mostly from our “hometown” Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo who made a name for themselves and bringing pride to their hometown. They played and starred for the national team; many were named Mr. Football of the Philippines. They dominate the line-ups, year in and year out, of Army, Air Force, and Navy, and by placing all the time soccer in the Philippine map despite and inspite the lack of popularity of the sport in our basketball crazy country. They are indeed our Philippine All Stars in soccer. Two of my heroes are now in the limelight of the so-called “politics” hounding the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) which was brought to the attention of the nation following the recent triumph of the Philippine “Azkals” national team in the recently concluded AFF Suzuki Cup held in Vietnam. I am writing about them, perhaps as a tribute, because I am proud having them as a major part of my life’s journey.
The first is Mariano Valera Araneta, Jr., of the very prominent Valera-Araneta clan in Barotac Nuevo. His father and namesake, served as the longest mayor of this town. Nonong, as he is popularly called, is the “interim” president of the PFF, following the ouster of the then incumbent president in the PFF Congress held just last week of this November. Twent-six out of 33 presidents of local provincial football clubs voted for the ouster on grounds of “No Confidence” brought about by the alleged “misappropriation of PFF finances” after an official audit revealed the irregularity. I’ve known Nonong for a long long time. We were classmates in UP Iloilo High School. We played together, studied together, joined the singing group together, joined class boycotts together, and march to the streets together. We were in fact always seated next to each other in class.and during exams. We were the Mutt and Jeff tandem then. These past years, we would hold reunions with our Manila-based high school classmates, the most recent of which was last November 20, to celebrate our birthdays, his on the 9th and mine on the 17th. A naturally gifted athlete in many sporting events, there was no doubt then in high school that he would excel in sports, most especially the national game of Barotac, soccer.
After high school, he stayed the first two college years at UP Iloilo for his Civil Engineering course and instantly became the school’s star player, both in soccer and basketball. Then he moved to Diliman, and together with his equally talented elder brother, Tony, spearheaded UP’s emergence as a major and champion team in the UAAP. Tony would also later on become a mainstay of the national soccer team, named Mr. Footbal of the Philippines, and played in Germany’s Division II League. From 1975 to early 80’s, Nonong would play with the national team and at many times being its team captain. He would also play in the Philippines major
league teams like U-tex, and Air Force. He likewise also played at the same time varsity basketball in the UAAP, at one time, having been named a member of the UAAP mythical Team. When the PBA was first organized in 1975, his UP coach (I think it was Fely Fajardo) who was the coach of the Mariwasa team, offered him a shoo-in slot to play for the professional basketball league. He was already practicing with Mariwasa (and enjoying the perks, he would tell me) when he decided to concentrate to soccer and leave basketball. It was a decision I’m sure
he did not regret to this day. He was also one of the very few at UP who would be very active in varsity and national sports and graduate in Engineering. In the mid 80’s he retired from active football but still got himself involved in the sport, by acting as the national team’s head coach and later on as officer of the PFF. One other trivia unknown to many but which he himself personally revealed to me was the fact that he was a member of coach Joe Lipa’s UP coaching staff (as
trainerand at times coach when Lipa was not around) when UP Diliman for the longest time won the championship of the UAAP in 1986 behind Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, and Eric Altamirano. For all his love for soccer and what the sport has given him, he wants to give football his due. He is now the president of Iloilo Football Club and during summers, he sponsors a football tourney held in Barotac for the kids. Sometime in 2003 or 2004, he was named by the PFF as one of the Philippine greatest football players. In July 2004, during our first ever high
school reunion at UP Iloilo, our class awarded him our highest “Oscars” award, the class MVP, for “having contributed much to his country, community, and Alma Mater, thereby giving honor and prestige to the Class.” As his partner, collaborator and “sidekick”, it was my privilege to extol his accomplishments and presentor of the award.
Nonong has in fact an indirect relevance to my steel journey. Back in our 3rd year high school, he mentioned to me that he has an uncle who works in a steel plant in Iligan. He said, during summer, they would go there and also pass by Zamboanga del Sur where they operate some fishponds in the towns of Siay and Kabasalan. But what interested me was the story about the perks and benefits his uncle was getting. At that age, free housing, free cars , etc. was fascinating.
Years later, fresh from college, I would be accepted at this plant, named National Steel Corporation. It was this Nonong’s uncle who in fact personally recruited us in school. His uncle is Antonio S. Valera, Resident Manager and the top honcho of the plant. For nearly 20 years, I would stay in this plant and the city, living on my steel career, making friends in and out of work, and most especially, finding there my true partner in life.
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