Sioux City coach recounts childhood match with soccer great Lionel Messi

“I played a match with Messi in 1997 in my native Peru,” explained Saenz, a physical therapist with MercyOne and a Morningside University assistant soccer coach. “He was 10 at the time and I was nine. Even back then, he was phenomenal and smoked my team.”

Of course, Saenz was talking about Lionel Messi, who dominated 2022’s FIFA World Cup and helped to secure Argentina’s third title win.

At age 35, Messi is already considered the soccer world’s greatest athlete of all time.

However, Saenz remembered him as being a boy who constantly juggled a soccer ball with his feet.

“When other kids would be socializing, Messi was all about soccer,” he said. “You need that level of commitment in order to excel.”

Saenz knows a thing or two about commitment to a sport.

Attending a soccer academy in Lima, Peru from age 7 to 16, he played semi-pro soccer as a teenager. This experience allowed him to travel to tournaments in Spain, Chile and Mexico before moving to the United States at age 17.

Since then, Saenz earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Mount Marty University, in Yankton, SD, and a master’s degree in health care management from Sioux City’s Briar Cliff University.

Still, soccer has remained his passion.

That was certainly the case when Saenz coached the Siouxland Diablos, a team made up of teenage soccer players in Sioux City and South Sioux City.

“The Diablos were a team that had talent but needed a burst of confidence,” he explained. “They gained that confidence when the Diablos were asked to participate in the Gothia Cup Soccer Tournament in Gothenburg, Sweden (in 2016).”

Remembering how traveling the world improved his soccer playing, Saenz wanted the Diablos to have a similar experience.

“Traveling to a different country takes you out of your comfort zone and exposes you to a new level of sportsmanship,” he said. “You’re pitted against teams from around the world. That makes you want to play your A-Game.”

When the Diablos returned from their European adventure, they began beating local teams for bigger communities.

“A soccer club from Omaha wasn’t as intimidating after you’ve played a top team in an international tournament,” Saenz said.

The Diablos also got a taste of soccer madness.

“In America, athletes can play all kinds of sports,” Saenz explained. “But in other parts of the world, soccer is, by far, the dominant sport to play and to watch.”

This was never as true as it was during the World Cup.

“It seemed like the entire world was watching soccer,” Saenz said.

And they marveled at the talent of athletes like Messi.

“Messi didn’t come from a privileged background but he had a passion for soccer,” Saenz said. “It was a passion he had as a young kid and, now, he is the biggest name in the sport.”

Incredibly enough, Saenz has photos of him and Messi from more than 25 years ago.

More significantly, Saenz’s former coach gifted him with five DVDs of photos and videotapes from the nine years spent at the soccer academy in Peru.

Saenz said he plans on sharing this footage with the soccer students he coaches at Morningside as well as the younger athletes he trains at URU High Performance.

“At URU, we combine conditioning and technical skills to sharpen a player’s individual skills,” he explained. “It’s a high intensity workout.”

Hopefully, a commitment to athletics will lead to confidence and a good work ethic which can be applied to any vocation.

Yet soccer is a sport that can be played as an amateur or professional level.

So, Saenz would like to coach the next Lionel Messi?

“That would be nice but you never know,” he answered with a chuckle.

Saenz is just happy to say he was able to be on the same soccer field with the future World Cup phenom.

“Messi is a superstar,” Saenz said. “He’s inspired a lot of people to soccer.”