Translated from teleoccidente.it | Original article link
An ASD Città di Carini youth product, Joe Balsamo has made a name of himself overseas in the United States. Finding himself back home, albeit in a different environment, Joe returns to his roots as he and his FA Euro team unearth "homegrown" talent. The reason for the quotes over the word homegrown is because it poses the question of which home Joe refers to as he has made a new life in the United States, living there for over the past twenty six years now.
"It's hard to describe but the way I see it is like this. The United States for me is like having a wife. You get married, move out and build a home. Italy is like a mother. You never forget her and there's no place like home with your mother under the roof." explains Balsamo. "I grew up playing in Carini, before the field was turf. We had dirt and rocks inside. It's a different time and environment, but it's for the better in my opinion."
Joe Balsamo, Ferdinando de Matthaeis, and Angelo Orlando have been in Rome and Palermo during the last week of Christmas for the club's first ever International Stage. The objective of these stages are to offer Italian football players the opportunity to receive scholarships at prestigious universities and colleges throughout the nation as well as the opportunity to find talent to place in professional teams.
This is the first initiative with ASD Città di Carini as both clubs announced a partnership earlier this year. Carini Director Pippo Contrino explains how there will be more events and this is just the beginning of a collaborative effort from both parties.
"We consider each other like family, Both clubs are young and ambitious and we want to offer real opportunity to our players. Players here not only dream about going to Serie A. A big dream, for a lot of players is a more realistic one which is to go to America, get a college education and to see how far the sport will take them. This stage was the first, important step in giving that dream of many a true reality. I cannot wait to do more."
The club now plans to move into Albania, with a stage set in Tirana around March. An announcement will be made regarding that within the new year. For more information regarding International Stages, check out the page on our website under the Programs tab.