AFC Totton
DIEGO RAMOS SANTARELLI is poised to take up a three-year scholarship in the United States of America, after having come through the AFC Totton Academy and impressed during his first season in senior men’s football playing for Totton & Eling.
The 18-year-old was born in the Carabobo State capital of Valencia, Venezuela, and moved to the UK with his family when he was 13. He was educated at Cantell School in Bassett, and was a member of the AFC Totton Academy team that won the Tactics T1 South title under Brett Williams and Ade Olumuyiwa in the 2021/22 season. A skilful winger who can play on either flank, Diego contributed 14 goals to that title-winning success and, in the process, earned himself the recognition of Stags boss Jimmy Ball who took him into the AFC Totton first team squad for the subsequent pre-season campaign, together with another fresh-faced South American prospect, Brenno Narezzi.
It was an incisive pass from deep in the midfield by Brenno that unlocked the defence and allowed Diego to skip around the Tytherington Rocks goalkeeper to register The Stags’ first goal of the pre-season campaign. Both players would go on to become regular features of Ben Hillman’s Totton & Eling side that put a nightmarish 2021/22 campaign behind them by achieving a respectable mid-table Wessex League Division One position in 2022/23. They both made their Millers debuts in the 3-1 away win at Romsey Town on the opening day of the season back in August. Diego scored from the penalty spot that day, and ended the season with a total of 34 appearances, including four as substitute, scoring five goals.
YOUNG GUN: Diego Ramos Santarelli in action for AFC Totton's Academy team on the Snows Stadium pitch late in the 2021/22 season.
Determined to make his living from the game, Diego has throughout the season been compiling a video showreel with which to showcase his footballing talents to colleges in the United States, via an agency here in the UK. After several discussions with potential suitors, the teenager has opted to take up the offer made by Blinn College in the east-central Texas city of Brenham. The college was established in 1884 – making it two years older than AFC Totton – and carries a student capacity of approximately 19,000 across its main site and additional campuses in the Texas cities of Bryan in Brazos County, Schulenberg in Fayette County, and Sealy in Austin County.
Diego will be based at the college’s main campus in Brenham, which – according to the its website – offers its 2,000 student residents a traditional college experience combining renowned music, theatre, agriculture and athletic programmes, as well as a variety of activities and organisations that are designed to help students explore, learn and meet new friends outside the classroom. Nicknamed The Buccaneers, the college’s soccer team (as opposed to its NFL-style football team) competes in the highly-regarded Region 14 Division One, playing home matches at Intramural Field which a map on the website reveals is centrally located on the Brenham campus, with a baseball stadium on one side and the gridiron pitch just the other side of the Bob Bullock Center for Business and Computer Science, where Diego will be studying for a Degree in Business and Management.
The move will represent the first time that Diego has ever travelled abroad without his family, who will remain in the UK. But he is excited about the opportunity that lays ahead and grateful to all those who have made it possible for him to pursue his dream of one day making his way in the professional game.
“My experiences with AFC Totton and Totton & Eling have been great. Working in the Academy with Brett and Ade, and then with Scott Rendell has taught me so much and, together with playing my first full season in men’s football under Ben Hillman, have definitely made me a better player,” admits the young winger.
“My decision-making on the ball is much better than it used to be, and all of the coaches have always made it clear how important it is to work hard in every match and train hard in every session if you want to get the most out of your ability. I have also played alongside some very good players during my whole time here, so I’ve been very lucky to have these experiences with these great guys.”
Although any football club would be keen to keep a player of Diego’s skill and potential within its own ranks, establishing a clear pathway for talented youngsters to move away from the club in order to make their way in the game is central to the ethos of the AFC Totton Academy, so the response from those within the club to Diego’s imminent departure has been extremely positive, as articulated by the club’s CEO, Steve Brookwell:
“This is a fantastic demonstration of what we’re trying to achieve with our Academy. Diego has been a first-class student and member of the Academy, and has worked very hard to constantly improve his footballing ability under the guidance of the coaches and managers that we have brought in to make a positive difference. We have all admired his skills on the ball and been lucky enough to witness his continued improvement on the field of play over the course of the last 18 months, and now Diego has the chance to go out into the world and really make something of himself.
“Of course, we want to retain exciting, talented players, but we will never stand in the way of somebody who has the chance to go and better themselves. Diego is a lovely lad and I’m delighted he has been given this opportunity. I’m also very proud of the part we as a football club have played in helping him to get to this point. I’m sure he will make the most of it and I look forward to following his future career with great interest – and I know that I speak for everyone at the club when I wish him every success.”
MEDIA SAVVY: Diego Ramos Santarelli speaks to AFC Totton's Matchday Programme Editor Ben Rochey-Adams after a pre-season training session on Totton & Eling's pitch.
The player himself, who speaks fluently in both English and Spanish, says that a future playing career in either England or Spain would be ideal, as would playing in Major League Soccer (MLS) in America. Before he leaves for the new academic term, though, Diego will be training with Totton & Eling and he may feature in a couple of pre-season matches. But, by the time the 2022/23 season kicks-off, he will be Stateside and ready to begin his new adventure.
Stags boss Jimmy Ball echoed Steve Brookwell’s sentiments:
“This is a great opportunity for Diego. The club has supported him all the way and it shows how we can open up these pathways for young lads to go and make a name for themselves, and I couldn’t be more pleased for him to be taking this important step. I wish him the very best of luck and I look forward to following his progress with great interest.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
