Loyola Meralco Sparks Football Club goalkeeper Tomas Trigo is the latest in the list of players who have left his club and the United Football League. While the likes of OJ Porteria, Mark Hartmann and Daisuke Sato did so in search of testing themselves in different countries, Trigo had a different case.
Trigo explained, “I’m leaving because sometimes in life there are more important things than football. I have my family in Spain, have a new project in Spain so I wanna go to Spain and try to start a new life. I will stop, I will quit (football) and I will look for new projects.” He then added, “First of all I want to rest. I want to be in Spain because of a family gathering in my sister’s wedding so I want to be there and first of all rest. Refresh my mind from soccer and after that we’ll see.”
The Filipino-Spanish goalkeeper arrived in the Philippines two years ago. He was part of the Meralco squad which won the 2014-15 Philippine Football Federation National Men’s Club Championship and he was also awarded Best Goalkeeper for his exploits. However, it was his experience with the Philippine Azkals which fulfilled him the most.
“The best moment and I always say the same is when I was part of the Azkals and the experience of the Suzuki Cup. Always when Thomas Dooley trusted me and called me is the best moment. The first time, the second time, the third time to be the goalkeeper, maybe the second keeper, third keeper and represent the country for me is the best moment, the best thing in the Philippines”, shared Trigo.
Injury may have curtailed Trigo’s last few months here in the Philippines, but he was all praises for Meralco’s current starting goalie Guilherme Hasegawa. He said, “I think that Gui is playing good, playing continuously so he deserves it also. I will keep on supporting him and for sure always supporting the team.”
While it’s not nice to see a young player end his football career abruptly, Trigo gave a lot to Meralco and local football in his time here in the Philippines. Tributes and well wished poured in for Trigo when the big news came out. He reflected, “I received too much love, too much kindness from my fans, from my teammates, from everyone, from my family also. I didn’t realize how much people love me. It’s exciting for me how many people follow me. Some of the fans messaged me telling that they’re very sad, please don’t leave. I think most of the people say this.”
