Bombers get kick out of World Cup

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers would look very different today if a few of their standouts never ditched the pitch for the gridiron.

With the FIFA World Cup in full swing, several members of the Blue and Gold reminisced Wednesday about soccer careers that might have been.

Look no further than star running back Brady Oliveira, who excelled at footy until he was recruited to play football for the North Winnipeg Nomads at age 13.

His older brother Kyle played junior soccer in Brazil and was part of the Canadian national development program, while his younger sister Kallee played at the University of Winnipeg.

“Soccer was my first love,” said Oliveira after Wednesday’s practice, where the Bombers (1-2) prepared for Sunday’s road tilt against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-1).

“Obviously, my dad’s Brazilian, so it’s in your blood, right? You’re born to play the game of soccer. I’m still such a huge fan.”

Oliveira was a striker who suited up for Manitoba’s provincial team and was even teammates at times with fellow Winnipegger Marco Bustos — one of the Canadian Premier League’s top players for Pacific FC.

“I was always a kid that played a year or two up. I was pretty skilled at the game and gifted,” said Oliveira.

“I just figured with my build and size that I didn’t know how far I’d be able to go with soccer.”

Sergio Castillo didn’t grow up in La Joya, Texas, dreaming of one day becoming a professional kicker. He was a die-hard Chivas de Guadalajara supporter who would hop on a bus with his mother to cross the border into nearby Monterrey, Mexico, to watch the club play once or twice a year.

“I’d paint my face, I was hardcore,” said Castillo.

He could play, too. Between the ages of 10 and 12, Castillo had opportunities to join the academy teams for both Atlas F.C. and Tigres UANL — who also play in Mexico’s top division alongside Chivas.

“My mom didn’t let me go because I’d have to move,” said Castillo. “I knew for soccer, if you’re not in an academy, at least in Mexico, by the time you’re 12, it’s hard to crack it and make the dream come true after that.”

A few years later, a new dream was born.

“The high school football coach came to the soccer field when we were practising and he was looking for a kicker and fortunately, I was there at the right time,” said Castillo. “That was the end of Grade 9. The kicker they had, he flunked out and they were like ‘Hey, we need a kicker.’”

Then there’s rookie defensive end Nuer Gatkuoth, who was chosen fourth overall by the Bombers in this year’s CFL Draft out of Wake Forest.

“When I was a kid, they called me a prodigy at soccer. I was really good,” said Gatkuoth. “But there was no contact in soccer. I was a contact guy, I wanted to hit some people. I didn’t really like just kicking the ball around.

“It for sure helped me with football, though. If I have a son or daughter one day, they’re definitely gonna start off with soccer.”

A few years back, Gatkuoth was doing on-field training at Commonwealth Stadium when he looked over and saw Canadian men’s superstar and fellow Edmonton product Alphonso Davies.

“He was home for a break and he was there training and there were all these kids around him going ‘Oh my God, it’s Alphonso!’ It was cool,” said Gatkuoth.

“And it’s funny you bring this up, because last week I was in SportChek and I saw his face (on an advertisement). It’s crazy and it’s just a good thing to have someone like that who’s from your city.”

Even though they prefer football to fútbol now, many of the Bombers are closely following the World Cup.

“If there was one sporting event that I could attend, it would be the World Cup. With it being here (in Canada), I would’ve loved to have attended one of the games,” said Oliveira.

“It’s such an amazing sports tournament that brings so many people together from all these different countries, different walks of life, and obviously, seeing Canada play in it on home soil is pretty cool.

“I’m trying to find the time in my busy schedule to tune into games.”

When the Bombers were on their bye two weeks ago, safety Redha Kramdi flew home to Montreal and spent hours with his dad watching the matches.

In addition to cheering for Canada, Kramdi also supports Algeria — which plays Switzerland in Round of 32 action Thursday — because that’s where his parents are from.

“I talk about it every day with (second-year defensive back) Ethan Ball,” said Kramdi. “I wish we had something close in football. If you compare the Champions League semifinal, PSG (Paris Saint-Germain Football Club) played against Bayern Munich and they had close to a billion viewers. And if you look at the Super Bowl, there’s only like 120 million. It’s so easy to play soccer. It’s unbeatable, you can’t compare.”

The Bombers will take off for Hamilton on Saturday at noon — right as Canada kicks off against Morocco in the Round of 16.

Fortunately for them, the team plane is known to have reliable Wi-Fi.

“It’s fun to see Canada beat the odds and make it out of the group stage as an underdog,” said Kramdi.

“It’s great to see the country you grew up in do well on the international stage.”

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