“In 20 years, you will be more disappointed in the things you didn’t do than in the things you did. So loosen the berths and sail away from known harbors. Take advantage of the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover ‘: said the American writer and comedian, Mark Twain in his 1881 book “The Prince and the Pauper”.
This phrase is applied to the young doorman, born into a humble and hardworking family in a small town Sulaco, YoroAs a student, he was diligent and grew up with the dream of one day becoming a professional footballer which he achieved when he debuted in National League in December 2019 with Marathon.
Life in football for the young Luis Enrique Ortiz has already been flagged and until Wednesday night he sat on the couch for the last time Marathon as a substitute goalkeeper in the game against Portland Timbers Oregon, United States, the country that receives him today after making the decision to continue in search of a better life for himself and his family, a situation he has not achieved in the club of his loved ones.
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The dream of Luis Enrique As the years went by, football became a nightmare that is present among many professional players today. The economic conditions that many clubs offer are meager, so terrible that they force talent to stop that dream and look for it in a different way: in the United States, the land of opportunity to move forward .
Luis Enrique Ortiz was one of two footballers who made the decision to leave the concentration of Marathon in the United States. The goalkeeper felt that his dream was no longer with the greens, the economic conditions provided by the sampedranos were for a colleague, a practitioner and not a professional footballer.
Together with Perdomo, they had a valid single entry visa and this trip to the USA was a unique opportunity to stay and fulfill their American dream.
HIS START IN SOCCER
Seven years ago, Luis Ortiz arrived in Marathon, recommended by a friend. The first team fought against relegation Manuel KeosseianThe media spoke that a historian could take second place. The economic conditions were similar to the current one, but he didn’t care about the desire to play and he managed to play with reserves.
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With a height of 1.91 meters, long and outspoken hands, left-handed and with good reflexes, he caught the attention of the viewers who signed him to play with reserves without receiving pay. His parents who lived in Villanueva, CortésThey had to pay for Luisito’s ticket every day so that he could go to school in the morning and train with the Greens in the afternoon. All they gave him was the uniform to practice with.
In special reserves it is the parents who help their children, it is a very heavy burden that the leadership of the first team in Honduras cannot. The years passed, Luis grew and shaped that opportunity and it came, but he had to go through many tournaments without receiving a single lempira until they decided to sign him with the first team. His salary was no more than eight thousand lempiras.
“You cannot live in Honduras with that, it is impossible”, they tell TEN from their close circle. When I arrive Hector Vargas, Argentinian coach, saw Ortiz had to go first, he was a youngster with good skill and Victor Coello, goalkeeper coach gave a good reference. He signed his first contract and what he wanted was to become a professional player, the salary was something that wasn’t an obstacle at the time. But as time went on, that payment would turn into a nightmare that now led him to make that decision.
DIFFICULT SITUATION WITH WAGES
Under the shadow of Denovan TorresLuis Ortiz, a goalkeeper who had to travel an almost similar path, started appearing as the purslane’s third goalkeeper. There were matches that were on the list and depending on that situation there was wages, something that is not well understood in many clubs, sometimes the third goalkeepers are treated as reservists and do not have a professional salary.
In December 2019 came the opportunity that I so badly wanted to have. The suspension of goalkeeper Denovan Torres was given and against Honduras Progreso the night he had been waiting for: he made his professional debut as part of Marathon, but with such an accident that four months later the coronavirus he came to change the world and football was hit. Marathón has been forced to cut salaries, like several institutions, and has struggled to catch up with the workforce.
Ortiz waited, but Denovan never let go of the goal, he held on like his partner, Carlos “Bird” López Perdomo, who made the decision to break the club’s discipline because they realized the American dream was near them the day they stepped onto that country when they came to play the Concacaf Champions League. Many have criticized them, but behind that decision are sacrifices.
THE LAST PAYMENT YOU RECEIVED
Both players have received between five and six thousand lempiras in payment in recent months, a situation that prompted them to make that decision. “It is impossible to live with so much misery, he felt that the situation was untenable,” they report from their close circle.
Now dreams of being the starting goalkeeper Marathon they fell apart and Luis will fight from another trench like many Honduran footballers did in the past. He is not the first to do that. Players from Olimpia, Real España, Vida, Victoria and Marathon.
Marathon sent a statement explaining the situation in which both players were fired for having to clean up his image. He explained that he was in Tegucigalpa for the revocation of visas that both players only received for entry into the United States.