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USF soccer player Pedro Faife lives very own American Dream

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Published  August 22, 2024 5:09pm EDT
Sports
FOX 13 News

USF soccer player lives American Dream

Sean Barie reports

TAMPA, Fla. - Pedro Faife doesn't just love the game of soccer; he was born for it. 

"My dad was a pro, so I already had it in my system, and it was always the only sport we played," he said. 

With just one season of college soccer under his belt, that love for the game that Faife displays can't help but be noticed by his coaches at USF. 

READ: Former USF walk-on Sean Atkins ready for encore season

"His demands on the team as a freshman were something to be in awe of," said Bulls head coach Bob Butehorn. 

Growing up in Cuba, however, the game looked very different to Faife back then. 

"We were just having fun in the streets with my friends, barefoot, waiting for cars to pass by and go so we could keep on playing. It was great," he recalled. 

But when Faife was three years old, the man who inspired him to play in the first place, his father, left. 

MORE: USF QB Byrum Brown ready to improve on stellar first season under center

"I was three years old and had no idea what was happening," he said. 

While playing a Gold Cup match for the Cuban national team, Faife's father snuck away from the team hotel and defected to the U.S. in order to pursue his professional dreams. 

While Faife admitted being away from his father was tough on both him and his mother, he understood why his father had to leave. Over the years, the two kept in contact via the phone. 

"He would just tell me to keep playing [soccer], have fun and that he would work as hard as he could to get me out here to the United States," Faife said. 

It was a promise that took five years, but eventually his father was able to keep his promise to his son. 

READ: Bucs' Mayfield, Wirfs, Otton compare notes on field and in fatherhood

"It was great, especially because my mom had it hidden from me," Faife remembered. "I didn't know. One day before, we had to start packing, and she told me we were leaving. It was hard. I cried."

Despite those tears knowing he was leaving everything he knew behind in Cuba, Faife had a flight to catch and a reunion five years in the making with his father awaiting him in Miami. 

His dad, meanwhile, came prepared. 

"My dad already had a pair of cleats, and a soccer ball [for me]," Faife said. "The first thing I did was go to McDonald's, and he got me a hamburger. I promise. And then we went to a park, straight away."

It was a first taste of freedom and the game that Faife still carries with him to this day while keeping the sacrifice his father made for him close to his heart. 

"Sometimes if I'm tired or if I'm not having a good day, I'll [remind myself] that we've been through a lot to be here," he said. "You can't quit and can't let your family down, because they worked so hard for you."

Now, Faife is forging his own path on the pitch while grateful that he doesn't have to make the difficult decisions his father once did. 

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