Check out this feature on Carli. Lots of pics and inside info.
www.azkalsfootballteam.com/news.php?id=26Carlie’s Way: Break Time with Carlie MartÃnez de Murga
By J.Anne Gonzales & Miji Gonzales 2012-01-24 21:59:41
Time to bid “Bienvenido!†to Azkals player and the newfound midfielder of Global FC, Carlos Alberto MartÃnez de Murga or Carlie. This 23-year-old, Filipino–Spanish futbolista may have been born and raised in Spain, but his Pinoy roots come out once in a while, especially when savoring his mom’s chicken adobo and pancit. Off field, he’s a prankster who prides in his near perfect Tagalog and confesses his failed attempts at playing the guitar. So who says Carlie’s the serious type?
Yo Hablo Filipino
“Marunong ako ng Tagalog,†was Carlie’s remark when asked about his knowledge of the local lingo, with so much conviction I was tempted to ask him to recite the Ama Namin.
However, sources from Global FC attest that when someone hollers “Ma-gan-dang gabeeee!†on a sunny morning, that can only be Carlie. Whether he hasn’t fully adjusted to the Philippine time zone or he forgot to take his siesta the other day, we can’t be sure, but this tells us not to trust his instincts on time or choice of Tagalog words, for the time being.
After all, with a favorite parting greeting, “Kita tayo bukas!†that is more inspiring than realistic, we can’t tell if he really means tomorrow or a hypothetical event in the future. Better judgment has guided us to a more reasonable analysis, he means: See you around. When that is, only the Global FC schedule of games can answer. Don’t bother asking Ãngel Guirado about it either, unless you want to get bumped on the head by a giant question mark.
What Long Name You Have
Born Carlos Alberto MartÃnez de Murga Olaivar in El Puerto de Santa Maria, don’t let the lengthy titles scorn your memory. It’s Carlie for short, and that’s enough name calling to get this hombre to smile at you and say something familiar like, “Maupo ka dito.†Typical of the Spanish language to add the suffix “ito†to anything little (like poquito), Carlos was once Carlito, that was shortened to Carlie.
Given the Filipinos’ penchant for name calling, expect more interesting nicknames to replace Carlie in the future. Coach Graeme of Global FC already started the trend by calling him “Clark Kentâ€. With a name as long as a mile, Filipino fans would certainly come up with craftier nicknames in no time.
The princely name may be confusing to us local folks; his mom Jaqueline (Olaivar) is the Filipino, while his dad Antonio is the main hombre in the de Murga household. In the typical Filipino fashion, naming his older brother was the no-brainer: Antonio Junior or Junior for short (pronounced Yunior). If his name has that telenovela-like quality that is enough to get the ladies giggle, it comes to no surprise since his mom Jaqueline named him after character Carlos Alberto. With so many telenovelas running in Spain alone, I’m afraid even Google encountered difficulty in tracking Carlie’s on-screen namesake. ¡Lo siento!
¡Viva futbol!
As early as 4 years old, Carlie was already acquainted with what would be his favorite sport and choice profession: futbol. Older brother Junior taught Carlito the game, influenced his favorite team and eventually stirred the passion for playing football, for life.
Despite this Spanish football mania, Carlie can’t help but have a soft spot for the Pinoy’s next favorite sport as well, basketball.
“My childhood ambitions were to play for Barcelona and to play in the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan,†he narrates with glee.
“I used to like basketball back then, but now I like football more,†he confesses. After all, when asked about his basketball skills, he gave a sheepish grin that could only mean that well, he’s better off kicking balls than making three-pointers.
Back in Spain, he was the right back/midfielder for Racing Club Portuense. Being a versatile player, Carlie proves that he can play other positions with dexterity, but if he could choose, “I want to be a midfielder so I can get more touches on the ball.†When a midfielder gets more touches, he becomes more influential in the game. As the cliché goes, lose the midfield, lose the game.
Wish granted, as Carlie made his debut last January 15, 2012 at the Global FC versus Philippine Army Fritz & Macziol game at Nomads Sports Club, as a midfielder for Global FC. Carlie’s stamina, speed, work rate, determination and confidence provide him the necessary tools to be an able midfielder and be the link between defense and offense. Special mention goes to his enthusiasm, as Carlie is often triste (“sadâ€) when left on the bench, his newfound arch rival. Out on the field is where he belongs, and the ball would agree.
¡Hola Azkals!
Carlie is not a brand new sight on the Philippine football field though, as he’s been barking with the Azkals since September 2011. With the fast-paced action on the field coupled with the minute specks of faces that our TV sets could offer, many have confused him for Anton or Rob. If you’ve mistaken Ãngel for Carlie, then you’re probably rooting for another team or have never heard of the Azkals. “Dios mio!†as Carlie would put it.
Recent Azkals matches have been particularly memorable to Carlie—having played against a football superstar and against his hermanos Español.
December 3, 2011 marked the David Beckham sighting in the Philippines and the Azkals’ game vs LA Galaxy. That day was especially remarkable to Carlie because he got to play against Beckham and mingle with this world-class team.
If Carlie could just express his joy in Spanish, it might have been paragraphs long, but lost in translation may be the case—blame my declining Spanish—and so here’s the best that can be said: “I used to watch Beckham when he was in Real Madrid. I never imagined I’d play against him. It was amazing.†With three whole sentences from Carlie, believe me when I say, the joy was evidently present.
The Sendong Charity game (“Dili Kamo Nag-iisaâ€) match last January 7, 2012 versus CF Madrid was another awesome moment for Carlie. Imagine nearly a whole team of Spaniard players and only he had the communication advantage (and Ãngel) with these striped blokes. No need for “Susmaryosep†because everything was muy claro.
Not only that, he actually knew the striker. “I knew him, Dani GarcÃa back in Spain.â€
Out to SEA
Being new to the Azkals, Carlie made it just in time to represent the team in the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia last November 2011. While the team’s experience was not all that pleasant, Carlie recalls that Jakarta taught him relevant experiences in life, “The players there were really good,†and handling roommates.
Carlie’s roommate was neither Spanish nor Filipino speaking but upon further deduction, at least they came from the same continent—Roland Müller, the German–Filipino goalkeeper. They’ve spent quite some time as roommates that Carlie names Roland as one of his best mates (“amigosâ€) among the Azkals. If you think that they bonded over tapas and beer, I expected better from you.
While teammates connect over long training sessions and locker room contests, Roland and Carlie both missed home so much, it became a verbal bonding joust, while sleeping.
“We became so comfortable while sleeping, when we’d wake up, we’d both think we were back in our respective home countries. I would scream something in Spanish, then when Roland would wake up, he would murmur German phrases. We’d both end up laughing because we didn’t understand each other!â€
Imagine Señor de Murga saying something like “¡Buenos dias!†while Herr Müller yells “Guten Tag!†in reply. LOL, is at least, a universal expression. If only Big Brother could capture this moment, “PBB-Azkals Edition†would run forever.
Home Sweet Manila
While fairly new in the Manila, Carlie has a lot to learn about the traffic (“It’s terrible!â€), food, malls and the strange Filipino habits that he’s been picking up lately, such as belching “Psst, uy!†better than the real kanto boy.
In no time, he would probably learn all the local slang and be a telenovela cameo who’d speak better Tagalog than the lead actors. Since he used to act back in school (just the high school theater, nothing grand) he finds that being an actor might be, “Funny.†Bet you didn’t expect that.
A normal day for Carlie includes waking up late, eating and finding free Wi-Fi at malls—that is, if he’s not out doing strenuous training for Global FC or the Azkals. Either way, siesta ought to be part of the routine because we wouldn’t want this boy getting triste all over and saying “Magandang Gabi!†on a sunny day again.
As for food, Carlie says that he “Loves to eat anything!†He misses his mom’s chicken adobo, pancit and tortillas made back home—and I wonder if we ever could get a sample of these too? Looking for fabulous Spanish cuisine may be difficult in Manila, but with Carlie’s mall adventures, we wish him “Buena Suerte!†in hunting for the authentic Spanish dishes that will make him cry “Mamma mia!†Oh wait, that’s Italian! Anyway, Carlie seems to be comfortable with the Italian dialect as well, since it sounds rather similar to Spanish, which is why greeting him with “Buon Appetito†would be met with such welcome and hopefully, a free snack.
Aside from the Manila basics that Carlie’s getting used to, there are also the places he yearns to visit. Poor boy keeps citing Palawan as the best he’s been to—but with the summer approaching, someone better tour him to Cebu, Boracay and Puerto Galera! ¡Pronto!
Carlie admits that he needs English lessons, and we couldn’t agree more, por favor! We wouldn’t want him debuting on TV sounding like every other dubbed telenovela actor or worse, hollering “Iwi! What’s iwi?â€
Best way to get Carlie’s attention may be a loud “Psssst!†or a tortilla, but if you’re dying to have a conversation at the very least, get ready for Spanish trivia and this Carlie-pedia: