Working away from home is not what it’s cracked up to. There’s a sense you’re experiencing life by looking through people’s windowsills – rather than feeling a part of it. The smile of a waitress taking an order is as near to warm conversation as you get, and you stand at the bar ‘contemplating’ over a pint; trying not to look lonely.
Uprooting your life to a new place is is part of a footballer’s routine. They can become legends within their adopted community. Some wait to be rescued from footballing hell by their next club. Others leave burning their bridges completely.
What of B68 Toftir’s Pedro Tarancón? Continually away from his home, family and friends in Valencia. A journeyman chasing the dream of being paid to play the game he loves: in Malta, then the Maldives, and now the Faroe Islands. Tarancón has been playing for B68 Toftir since January.
We look back at Tarancón’s move from The Maldives, and explore how he is settling into his new life in the fishing village of Toftir. “I was playing for Club Eagles. After our last match of the season, my agent informed me B68 Toftir offered a contract. So I researched the Faroe Islands on Google and YouTube. My first impression was how cold it was. However, I was sold by B68’s history and squad’s strong desire to wear their badge with pride.”
B68’s chairman (Niclas Davidsen) came to greet Tarancón at Vargar airport, and drove him all the way to his home for a family meal. “On the way, I stared out of the passenger window as the chairman spoke about B68’s history and aspiration. The next day, Andre Olsen (our club captain) took me for a tour around Toftir. The place was picturesque like a Christmas card, though it was far far colder than I could imagine”.
If Tarancón was unprepared for the cold, then he was certainly shocked on his first pre-season training. “We had 10cm of snow under-foot. I thought really? We’re going to train in that? I put more and more clothes on without feeling warmer. I’d never played in the snow before”.
The pre-season snow has melted away, and the welcoming fires turn to embers. So what of life in Toftir now? “I meet friends for a coffee, go round peoples’ houses, and watch DVD’s with Carlos (my Spanish team-mate) in our home. It’s particularly hard when family come up to visit; then leave. We speak on Skype, yet I’m an experienced professional and seasoned with this aspect of my job”.
Tarancón seems to be experiencing the welcoming camaraderie of a soldier in his new barracks, rather than the loneliness of a travelling salesmen. However, it looks like he has a long, hard season ahead.
After 9 games, B68 languish at the bottom of the table having not won a league fixture. Tarancón is under no illusions of the struggle ahead. “We are angry with ourselves, but the next day we have to stand-up and start again. We have to fight in every game and learn from our mistakes”.
Tarancón’s journey has a steep hill ahead.
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No Grass Pitches: Football in the Faroe Islands 