FROM POVERTY TO PARADISE
»»Incoming Celt lifts lid on his impoverished childhood in Argentina »»Family so poor he went days with no food and bathed in fountain »»He hunted pigeons and iguanas to survive and laboured for cash
ALEXANDRO BERNABEI has done the hard yards to get to Celtic Park.
And the Argentine kid has lifted the lid on the gruelling sacrifices and astonishing efforts he had to make during his childhood to support his family as well as keeping his football dreams alive.
Bernabei has jetted into Glasgow to seal his big-money move to Glasgow where he will have the opportunity to operate in Europe at the elite Champions League level.
At the age of 21, he’s taking a huge step on his journey.
But Bernabei has been forced to fight for every opportunity.
In a past interview with Ole in his homeland, he revealed the scale of the problems he had to overcome to stay on the right path:
● He explained how poverty hit his childhood so hard that he went some days without eating.
● He hunted pigeons and iguanas to survive.
● He milked cows and lifted bags of sand and cement to make money for him and his sister to survive.
● He would use a fountain to have baths.
● And now everything he does is to try to ensure his family lives a comfortable life.
Bernabei made his professional debut three years ago for Lanus in a league match against Atletico Talleres and went on to become a mainstay in their side to move on to Celtic’s radar.
He was born and brought up in the town of Canada de Gomez in the Santa Fe region of Argentina and had a tough start to life, as he revealed soon after he burst onto the Lanus first-team scene when speaking to the Buenos Aires-based publication.
Bernabei said: “I lived a childhood blighted by poverty. I was raised by my grandparents and it was tough to survive. My mum couldn’t feed us.
“From when I was six months old, I lived with my grandparents. I stayed with them until I was 11 and I moved in with my mother again in the countryside.
“From 11 years old, I worked milking cows, unloading bags of sand and cement. There were 15 of us in the house and I had to get money for my mother and sister to eat.
“My mother couldn’t feed me because she had no money. So every night I drank a drink cooked with stale bread from two days ago.
“Sometimes I didn’t even eat at all. My bath was a fountain nearby.”
Bernabei revealed he would do other odd jobs just to help make ends meet.
He said: “My mother’s house is right in front of a cemetery and I remember that, if there was a funeral, I would wash and take care of the cars to see if I could get a few mangoes to eat.
“My main childhood memory is hunting pigeons and iguanas.
“I left school and didn’t come back until 11pm.
“My grandfather used to ask what I had been doing. I was hunting. I used to hunt pigeons and iguanas and I also fished.”
Bernabei insists the reason for taking on these tasks was ensuring life went as smoothly as possible for his loved ones.
He said: “I wanted to help my grandfather by getting him whatever he needed. I ended up cooking and running errands for him.”
Throughout the formative years, Bernabei would keep working on his efforts to become a footballer and live out his dreams.
He explained: “On rainy days I used to go play in the mud. I was on the street all day.”
Bernabei was rewarded for his hard work and dedication when he was taken into the youth set-up at Lanus and progressed his way through the ranks on to the first-team scene.
When he made his debut for the top-team against Talleres, the full-back didn’t need much time to make an impact, scoring after just six minutes in a 4-2 win.
Bernabei has caught the attention of the national team scouts and was called into the squad at Under-19 level for the South America Games.
Having cemented himself into the Lanus side, the player has attracted attention from European scouts with his ability.
Capable of playing on the right flank as well as his natural left, Bernabei is also able to play inside the pitch, meaning the inverted full-back role favoured by Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou won’t pose him any problems.
Of course, moving away from his homeland at a young age will mean adapting to the culture and surroundings away from the field as well as slotting into a new footballing environment.
That will be a hefty challenge to overcome for such a young player.
But Postecoglou has already shown that he is capable of importing young stars into Scotland, with Liel Abada shining last season after moving from Israel aged just 20.
The gaffer will help Bernabei settle immediately both inside and outside of Lennoxtown with the assistance of the club’s experts on player liaison.
Bernabei will have his targets as he begins his journey at Celtic.
But he will never forget his roots back in Argentina. The defender said: “My dream is to help him grandfather live a comfortable life. Everything I do in football will be for
him.”