For Andrea Rodrigues, donning the Portugal national team uniform this summer was a surreal moment in her life.
Rodrigues, a redshirt sophomore midfielder for U. Central Florida, was called up to the women’s national team for two World Cup qualifying matches as Portugal fights for a spot in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.
Rodrigues felt let down after not seeing any action in Portugal’s 4-1 loss against Finland on June 19, but head coach Mónica Jorge told her to not get discouraged and that there was still another match left.
After listening to Jorge, Rodrigues earned her first international cap — an appearance for the national team — four days later in a 1-0 victory against Slovenia on the road. Rodrigues entered the match in the 58th minute, and she played the last 32 minutes of the win.
“It was something that I always dreamed about,” Rodrigues said of the first time she put on the Portugal uniform. “That’s why I play soccer. That’s why I went to college to play. Everyone wants to get to that professional level and represent their country.
“I felt like I deserved it. I’ve been playing since I was 4 years old, and finally my dream came true, in a sense.”
A local soccer player from St. Petersburg, Rodrigues signed to play for UCF in 2008.
Rodrigues said she didn’t visit may other schools and had a feeling that playing at UCF was the best choice for her.
“The way Amanda [Cromwell] and Colby [Hale] handled their players, their playing style, they really appreciated me as a player, and I’ve never regretted it,” Rodrigues said.
In her freshman season, Rodrigues played in 13 games, scoring one goal and adding two assists.
Hale, the associate head coach said she is a technical player and her ability to utilize her left foot sold him on her as a player.
“She was one of the first recruits we got really young,” Hale said. “She played on a very good club team. Any time you get a left-sided player like that, that can play a left-footed ball, they’re always a weapon.”
Last season, she tore her quadriceps, an injury that limited Rodrigues to three games. Rodrigues was able to receive a medical redshirt.
“It was very frustrating,” Rodrigues said of being injured. “I’ve never had any injuries at all before that. It was so hard to recover from something that you can’t have surgery.
“There is no definite time with a muscle injury. For me to sit and watch and not even practice, it was overbearing emotionally and physically.”
Rodrigues said that as difficult as it was to watch the games from the bench, she knew that she had to cheer on her team.
UCF finished the 2009 season with a 17-5-1 record. The Knights won the Conference USA regular season championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Following her recovery, Rodrigues spent two weeks earlier in the summer at Brazil’s Under-20 National Team Camp from May 25 through June 6.
Although she played in a couple of friendlies, none were considered FIFA-official, allowing her to join the Portugal squad. This was the second consecutive summer she participated in Brazil’s camp.
Fellow UCF teammate Aline Reis, a redshirt junior goalkeeper, also spent time in the Brazil National Team camp last year.
In Rodrigues’ first visit to Portugal, she had trouble early on with the language.
Rodrigues said that the Portuguese spoken in Brazil is more slang and the accent is different. She eventually got used to the native language and was thrilled to see the European nation for the first time.
“It was surreal to get to go to a country and actually see what I have heard all about,” she said. “That was crazy. I’ve been to Brazil before, but I’ve never been to Portugal. It was nice to speak the language and be a part of that environment.”
Because Rodrigues has passports from the United States, Brazil and Portugal, she had the option to join any of the three national teams.
Hale said playing for a national side is a great opportunity for players.
“Obviously, it’s a great honor for those kids who have done that,” Hale said. “It’s a different perspective. International games are different. Especially for someone like A-Rod, who’s playing for Portugal, the style is very different for Portugal than it is for us. It’s good to go and get a different perspective.”
Rodrigues said that although she was born in the U.S., she’s always grown up in a different culture.
“My dad’s family is from Portugal, but he was born in Brazil,” Rodrigues said. “I was born in a Portuguese-Brazilian culture.”
The idea of playing soccer was not a farfetched one for Rodrigues or her younger sister, who plays at Florida.
Being raised in a Brazilian household, the sport is in your blood, Rodrigues said.
Brazil is the most successful country, with the men’s side having won the World Cup five times.
“Every Brazilian grows up loving, living and watching the sport of soccer,” Rodrigues said.
“For [my dad], it was, ‘My daughter has to play.’ They gave me my choices when I was younger, but I fell in love with it. It is a bond that my dad and I have.”
Not used to being injured, Rodrigues has since gone on to represent Portugal at the highest level and looks forward to helping UCF for the 2010 season.