This article was written by PrepSoccer staff writer, Matt Smith. Matt Smith is a special news and communications correspondent with SF Elite Academy and will providing viewers with an inside look into SF Elite and what makes our club so special.
Jazer Umanzor does not just want to be good. He wants to be the best. Quite literally, he wants to be the best player in the world. There is a reason he models his game after Lionel Messi, and it's because he wants to surpass perhaps the greatest player of all-time. "When I'm in a game players from other teams tell me that I play like Messi," Umanzor said. "But in the future, I'm trying to be better than Messi." When Umanzor was 5 years old, he started playing soccer and it was the desire to be in a position to play in a packed stadium with his family watching that made him want to pursue this dream.
"You are inside a stadium full of people and that made me play soccer," Umanzor said. "I want my family to see me play soccer with the best players in the world." Umanzor believes that playing for a club like SF Elite is allowing opportunities to get to that point. "I enjoy playing at SF Elite because they take us to play in different parts of the world," Umanzor said. "They took us to Spain and that was a good experience for me and for the team because you get to know a whole different environment and teams." Umanzor scored what was likely the goal of the tournament for the 2008 team, delivering a one-time volley from a corner kick that found him at the far post, burying it in the upper V.
"When I'm in a game, players from other teams tell me that I play like Messi. But in the future, I'm trying to be better than Messi." ​ - Jazer Umanzor, 2008 SF Elite Boys
"His goal is to go pro and he has the ability to go for it and do it," SF Elite 2008 coach Wilfredo Galindo said. "I have very high expectations for him. He has a strong left foot, a big body and he's strong holding the ball." Umanzor enjoyed the experience in San Sebastian because of the chill environment, but also because of playing some very strong competition against teams across the world. If the last name sounds familiar to you, it's because the Umanzor family are essentially a legacy at SF Elite. Jazer is the middle of three brothers as Edwin Umanzor just finished his career at SF Elite, while Levi Umanzor plays for the 2011 team, despite being a 2012, and had a great finish to his season in Manteca. "It's good having two other players in my family because we push each other to become better players each day," Umanzor said, and then added jokingly... "It's just that sometimes they get mad because I tell them that I'm better."
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