Florida State's Deyna Castellanos honored now, but the real reward may come later
— -- Deyna Castellanos contends that she knew soccer was the love of her life from the first moment she stepped on a field near her home in Maracay, Venezuela, and kicked a ball. If that seems precocious perspective on life and love from someone who was no more than 5 years old, there is every reason to trust her memory on what drew her to the ball in the first place. In her version of a familiar story, she wanted to be like her older brother. To do what he did.
But it may not be a sibling who inspires girls to kick a ball in future generations. It may be her.
When you are just 18 years old and nominated for FIFA's Women's Player of the Year award alongside Carli Lloyd and Lieke Martens, opposite men's finalists Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo on a star-studded short list, you have the potential to inspire a lot of people.
Unlike Lloyd, the U.S. captain who split her club season between Manchester City and the Houston Dash, or Martens, who won the European Championship with the Netherlands over the summer and was named the player of the tournament, Castellanos is not a professional. She is only a sophomore at Florida State. That youth made her a surprise finalist for the award -- which will be announced on Monday -- even after she excelled in her first NCAA season, led Venezuela to the semifinals of the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup (two years after doing the same as a 15-year-old in the event) and helped the Santa Clarita Blue Heat reach the final of United Women's Soccer, a summer pro-am league in the United States, a step below the National Women's Soccer League.
In an absolute sense, her resume is not as refined as some of those bypassed, perhaps most notably Australian international and NWSL record goal scorer Samantha Kerr. That a player like Kerr could be omitted by the cumulative tally of votes from media, fans, national team coaches and captains raised eyebrows about a voting system retooled a year ago and about the attention some of those parties, and the powers that be generally, pay to the women's game.
