The winning game that secured the North American Martyrs a position in the finals, which they went on to win, had the feel of a great sporting movie.
“It was in one of the knockout games. We had taken an early lead but the game was just like a tennis match. We took a goal and then the other team scored a goal; we started to feel the pressure. One of our players was fouled; no one was happy with the foul but we got a free kick. I scored the free kick; as soon as I had made contact, I knew it was going to be a good hit. My teammates came running towards me; it was wonderful and we won 4-2.”
There is a reason why it’s known as “the beautiful game”; for many, it is the effortless footwork of the greats: Maradonna, Pele, Best and, in recent years, Thierry, Gerard, Ronaldo, just to name a few.
It is, to millions of fans throughout the world, a heart-throbbing 90 minutes of pure exhilaration but, for Lewi Barakat, an Australian seminarian studying in Rome who is also a keen footballer, it is beautiful for another reason. Football, he says, is an opportunity for sport and faith to meet.
Mr Barakat has been playing since he was eight years old. Originally from Syria, he was raised in Sydney (his family migrated to Australia 37 years ago).
He used to be a striker but now plays centre midfielder and helped secure the winning goal for his team which went on to win the Clericus Cup.
But what exactly is the Clericus Cup? And how does sport help us foster a deeper understanding and relationship of our faith and ourselves?
The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, began the Clericus Cup in 2007. It is an annual association football tournament organised by Centro Sportivo Italiano (CSI) with the goal of “(reinvigourating) the tradition of sport in the Christian community”.
The teams come from seminaries throughout Rome. And while the players are mostly seminarians, a few priests help to make up the teams as well.
“It is like a mini world cup,” Mr Barakat told The Record. “Sixteen teams from the seminarians in Rome enter and there are about 70 countries represented.”
Mr Barakat, a seminarian at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, plays for the college’s team, the North American Martyrs. Just like football everywhere, whether played in the backyard, on the street or on a green field with St Peter’s Basilica in the background, the game brings out the best or worst in people; seminarians are no exception.
“The game is played in good spirits,” Mr Barakat said. “But it gets competitive. Just because we are seminarians doesn’t mean we can do what we want. I think it is good that the ref pulls out a yellow card.”
Football’s most conspicuous form of discipline is represented by two cards, one red and one yellow.
Yellow cards are a warning for misconduct committed and red cards signify that a player has been ordered off the pitch (the latter have become synonymous with footballer Wayne Rooney, known for his aggression on the pitch).
“It is a great tournament; we play not for the trophy but as disciples of Jesus Christ.”
The Clericus Cup introduced its own card, the “blue card”, which imposes a 5-minute bench penalty for unsportsmanlike behaviour.
“I didn’t see a red card come out of any of our games,” Mr Barakat said, “and I didn’t get a blue card.”
While the rules of the game have remained the same, there is one thing that makes the Clericus Cup different from every other football tournament.
“We play the sport at a good level,” Mr Barakat said, “but we are not fighting for the trophy; every man here is fighting for the same thing, to one day become good holy priests. That’s the exciting part and the players are aware of that. We play with St Peter’s in the background and soccer is a tool helping us grow.”
When the media thinks football, often there are only two thoughts that spring to mind: the actual game, and the glamour of it all: the endorsements, parties, celebrations, and the much-photographed WAGs (wives and girlfriends of footballers).
So who would have ever imagined that seminarians and priests would use the game as a tool to better understand themselves and how best to answer Christ’s call?
“Pope John Paul II said sports is the school of virtue,” Mr Barakat said. “It teaches us temperance. You don’t want to make it excessive or distracting. It also teaches us to be humble; if you are a better player than someone else, do not show off about it – I’m not saying that you shouldn’t play to your full potential but at the same time build up others.”
Lewi Barakat entered the seminary last year and, after 18 years, temporarily stopped playing football. However, the game which he has been playing since he was a child refused to let go of him.
“It is an opportunity to get the guys together for some fraternity,” he said. “Sports is a way to learn about the other person; it’s an opening into personality, you see how people approach their sports and the attitude they approach their sports with and this is encouraged in the seminary.”
It is obvious that Lewi Barakat enjoys playing football and clear to all that he is a highly skilled player. He could have easily pursued a professional football career, but the young seminarian is adamant that was never a goal.
“It was never my desire to be a professional sportsman,” Mr Barakat said. “My family instilled in me a more balanced outlook on life; football was never going to be everything for me but it has helped me grow as a person and I have a lot of respect for professional players.”
English Premier League side Arsenal are his favourite team: “They play better than anyone else,” he says. Dennis Bergkamp is his favourite player.
“I admire players who create opportunities and who have the ability to control the game.”
In spite of the excesses of tabloid journalism, it is clear that the fame and lifestyle often associated with the game have led many players into a downward spiral of partying, substance abuse and alcohol.
That was true of the legendary footballer George Best, known for his amazing skills, which have yet to be rivalled, as well as his battle with alcohol.
“George Best describes the personal battles,” Mr Barakat said.
“He is what can go wrong and we need to recognise that football is not an end in itself; there’s more to life than the field and we need to simply enjoy the game.”
The Clericus Cup highlights all the positive effects football has on people. Just like the World Cup tournament, the Clericus Cup brings everyone, including enthusiastic fans on the sideline dressed in their finest Spiderman, Wolverine, Captain America and the Ninja Turtle get-up.
“The Clericus Cup gets the whole community involved,” Mr Barakat said.
“There is an official supporters club with different chants for the players and teams and some fans even get dressed up as super heroes. I have never experienced that before.”
The tournament is so much more than men running up and down a pitch trying to score the winning goal. For some footballers playing in the big leagues, it may all be about winning titles and basking in the glory but, for the seminarians in Rome, it’s all about the best way to serve the Lord.
The men of the Pontifical North American College are led in prayer by a deacon or a priest before and after each game. They give praise to God for the gift of their bodies and ask for his protection over all those competing, not just for themselves.
“The Clericus Cup fosters virtue,” Mr Barakat said. “Seminarians aren’t immune to abusing sports. It must be approached with the right attitude to grow and build a community. It shouldn’t be about yourself and about being a star, otherwise it might have a negative effect.”
The Martyrs will start training again after Christmas in preparation for the 2013 Clericus Cup.
“I think that it’s positive for human formation,” Mr Barakat said.
“You get personal enjoyment from playing the game, and it’s a way of avoiding the trap of falling into laziness; we need to look after ourselves and sports help with human formation as they have a positive effect on physical and mental health.”
“It is a great tournament; we play not for the trophy but as disciples of Jesus Christ.”