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With the Coweta Tigers, Alessandro Cairati began his soccer adventure in the United States. image: zvg
1.90 m, 130 kg: this Swiss teenager does everything for the NFL
16-year-old soccer player Alessandro Cairati has set big goals for himself: Performing well in high school, he wants to fight for a place on a college team so he can get into the NFL.
When the new NFL season kicks off on Thursday, someone will definitely get a closer look at it: Alessandro Cairati. Not just because Suhr’s soccer player is a huge fan of the Houston Texans, who are opening the new season against current Super Bowl winner Kansas City Chiefs, but because Cairati certainly has the potential to play the NFL to stand on. field.
A Swiss in the NFL? What has happened for a long time in other American professional leagues like the NHL or the NBA would be a first for American football. Because in this traditional American sport nobody waits for Europeans. There is enough talent in America. With the buzz increasing in German-speaking countries, it seems to be only a matter of time before Switzerland, in addition to Germany and Austria, can show a representative in the NFL.
Cairati in the cockpit of her new team. image: zvg
Support from Björn Werner
Alessandro Cairati is currently one of the greatest hopes. The 16-year-old lineman is only in high school, but at 190cm tall and 130kg, he already has the optimal physical conditions to start his defensive position. The Gridiron Imports Foundation believes in this too.
The non-profit organization, which was founded by former German NFL player Björn Werner, helps European talents make the leap to the United States. “When Björn called us at home last July, the spoon fell out of my hand during breakfast. For me, he’s not a former NFL player, he’s a true role model. “
It is also thanks to her mother that Cairati came into contact with her idol: “After graduating from the learning platform in Wettingen, last year I went to an exchange school in Oklahoma to play soccer. During this time, my mother contacted the Werner Foundation so that she could obtain a scholarship to a high school. I had barely returned to Switzerland when the first call came from the Foundation. “
Life in the Texan town
The fact that Werner himself is betting on the Swiss is a very good sign. Because the 30-year-old German was playing defensive end in a position where Cairati is also used. The fact that Werner did this so well that he was selected 24th in the first round confirms his judgment.
Thanks to Gridiron Imports, Cairati has found gold. The young lineman has been attending Brook Hill High School in the 3,000-resident village of Bullard, Texas, since August. Despite the riots and the large number of corona cases in the US: “I already knew there was a lot going on in this country right now, but if you are here in a private school and you also live on the site, then you are quite isolated. Here I can fully concentrate on football. “
Dogs can keep watch here too.
Cairati would also have had other offers: “With Brook Hill High School, I had a close option to my host family from last year, with whom I have a very close relationship. Also, the school is known for its good training in my position. When I found out that I was allowed to go to school, I almost felt like I was being recruited. I was overjoyed “.
Gain another seven kilograms of muscle mass at the end of the season.
If you take a closer look at Cairati’s path, it is even more remarkable that he received a scholarship thanks to Soccer. He’s only been playing this sport for three years: “When I was 13 I started with AFC Zurich Renegades. At the time, he weighed almost 60 kilograms and was playing offense as a pass receiver. When they realized that he was better defensively, things started to roll. “
The stone that started rolling a good three years ago now reaches 130 kilograms. So he already has the same weight as NFL star JJ Watt, who admires Cairati. But Cairati is still not satisfied with that: “At the end of the season I want to gain another seven kilos of muscle mass.”
The statement is emblematic of the footballer’s tireless will to work, who prefers to spend his free time in the fitness room lifting weights. However, you will need it urgently in the next two years to be able to receive an offer from a university with a football team of the highest level (Division 1).
Because practically only then will he be able to live the dream: “I’m a reserved guy and I let football speak for me. Sure, I know why I’m here, I definitely want to go to the NFL. If no Swiss have done it by then, it would be a great honor for me. But it will be at least five years before I can register with the Draf. There is still a lot of work to do, ”emphasizes the Aargau resident.
