Baltika defender Guillermo Soto in an interview with Telecomasia.net spoke about his experience of playing for a football club called Palestino, which was created by Palestinian immigrants in Chile.
- You played for the Chilean club Palestino. Tell us about this team.
- When I first joined Palestino, it was a first division team. I was only 23 years old, I had no experience of playing at that level. That's where my career started. To be more precise: I became fully immersed in my profession. The press started to write about me, I got called up to the national team. This club literally opened the door to football for me.
- How did this team get its name?
- It's the team of the former Palestinian colony that was in Chile. This club really means a lot to people in Chile. Yes, they don't have a lot of fans, but they cheer with all their hearts and follow the team. The Palestinians have always been very important to the club. Now because of all the things going on, Palestine is in the center of attention. The people in the club are extremely worried, they are a part of it, they feel their responsibility. So if we're talking about the team's connection with its historical roots, it is, of course, a very strong connection, and it is not only about the name.
- How do your friends in that club react to the current events?
- Most of the people who work at the club are from Palestine. They have families there right now. However, there are also people of different backgrounds in the team. What can they do for Palestine, playing for the club every day? They can probably try to bring at least a little joy for them by playing, by achieving results. I am sure that the players who play for Palestino follow the team as if it were their national team. That's the contribution they can make in some way. The people who work there are directly connected, involved in everything that is happening now.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict escalated in October, with several thousand people killed on both sides.
This season, the 29-year-old footballer moved from Argentina's Huracan to Russia's Baltika. The defender of the Chilean national team played five matches for his new club.