Freed Chilean miners play football game against the President
Recently 33 trapped miners in Chile were all rescued after 69 days underground. It was a huge rescue operation that took almost a month to accomplish but they were all pulled out alive and healthy. The power of football to uplift spirits and build bridges
was seen once again when the 33 miners played a football game at the presidential palace. The President of Chile had invited the miners to take part in a medal ceremony and an exhibition football match. Hopefully other countries can learn from this story and
try and uplift the spirits of their countrymen and women.
The story of the 33 Chilean miners was one of a horrifying ordeal, a daring rescue and a triumph over adversity. After 69 days underground, all 33 miners were rescued. The operation to get them out was coordinated by many different groups and a very scientific
process was employed to lower a huge drill down to the miners initially. Then a capsule was lowered down to bring them back to the surface. One by one, each miner was brought back up to the ground and in one of the most heartfelt scenes ever seen; the miners
were fighting to stay underground to let their colleagues ascend before them to freedom. The foreman of the mine was the last to ascend and he made sure that every single one of his team was safe before leaving the mine himself.
After their rescue the President was on hand to witness the historic event and later invited them all to the presidential palace for a medal giving ceremony and a football game. The football game was to take place between the 33 miners and a team made up
of the president and his government. It was a lively affair and a great bonding experience for the men with government officials. The match was another event where the power of football was witnessed to bring people together and celebrate a positive aspect
of people’s lives. Football is a great way to celebrate and enjoy the good times in life and it has the ability to unite as well.
The match was contested between a team made up of the miners versus a team of the President of Chile Sebastian Pinera, other government officials and even some of the rescuers who were part of the effort to help bring the miners to freedom. The miners’ team
featured a former professional footballer named Franklin Lobos who scored the opening goal for the miners. This goal was quickly followed by another goal by the miners’ team which came from the courtesy of miner, Raul Bustos. Then it was the turn of the government’s
team to score some goals.
In a stunning comeback which was started by the president himself, the government managed to score 3 goals in the remainder of the game to win the friendly match 3-2. Pinera scored the first goal for his team and then this was followed up by two more spectacular
strikes from his teammates. The teams were very large and were made up of 16 players each to give each of the miners a chance to play. There were also frequent rolling substitutions in play which gave the game a very quick pace. The miners had to be substituted
often because of their low fitness levels but overall, they all seemed in good spirits and in good health as they took to the field for the match. No player on either side felt any ill effects from the game and the match ended in high spirits.
This football match helped to solidify the relationship that the current President has with his countrymen. By getting on the field and playing a game of football with them, he showed them all that they meant a lot to him and he was glad they had all been
rescued. This match was actually a friendly game because no hard fouls were committed, everyone played the game in a positive manner and there was a high level of sportsmanship on display. Maybe other teams who play friendly matches could learn a lesson from
the game played in Chile on Monday.
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