Per Ardua ad Astra

Inked into central midfielder Benny Feilhaber's 22-year old left forearm, where his short-sleeved U.S. MNT jersey cannot conceal, is a personalized reminder, written skin-deep in black Latin calligraphy. It reads, “Per Ardua ad Astra,” which translates into English as “Through adversity to the stars.” It’s the perfect byline to Benny’s miraculous biography, one that began as a toddler in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, developed as a walk-on collegiate athlete in southern California, and continues to unfold as a professional in Hamburg, Germany.
So far, Benny’s found a way to hurdle every obstacle set in his path, including last month’s US MNT friendlies against Ecuador and Guatemala, hopefully the first of many caps with the full side. His performances in those two matches more than justified his call-in to Coach Bradley’s camp. For those of you who last heard the name “Feilhaber” in regards to the 2005 World Youth Championships, where he turned-heads as a leading member of the US U-20s, these past two friendlies served as a chance to catch up with the kid whose already seen Champions League action and recognize all the hard work and long hours he’s invested overseas with Hamburg SV of the Bundesliga. Benny’s come a long way in only four years and it looks as though the sky’s the limit. Scary to think that he’s shooting for the stars.

Benny’s lightening journey began in earnest as a midrange high school recruit from California. Though he had trained and competed with the Irvine Strikers Soccer Club, a proverbial factory of collegiate talent, he didn’t get any scholarship offers from the nation’s top soccer programs. Thankfully his grades earned him a chance to tryout for Tom Fitzgerald, then head coach for the local Bruins, one of the most successful programs in the nation.

“Looking back on it, I can’t imagine not playing soccer in college,” Benny said in a 365 Todays phone interview last week, “but my mindset back then was that if for some reason I couldn’t play, than it wouldn’t be like my world was over.”

Turns out his world was only about to begin. Not only did Benny make the team, but the next year as a sophomore he started nearly every game for the Bruins and performed well enough to pique the interest of Sigi Schmid, head coach of the U-20 MNT, who invited Benny to train in a pre-World Youth Championship camp.

“That was the first time I had ever trained with one of the national teams,” Benny admitted. “It was only two months before we started qualifying for the tournament. I didn’t get ahead of myself and thought I was a long shot to make the team being that there were guys who had been training with the team for two or three years already.”

Per usual, Benny made up for lost time and grabbed a roster spot alongside heralded teammates Freddy Adu, Eddie Gaven, Lee Nguyen and Jonathan Spector. The team went on to upset favorites Argentina and play impressively before bowing out to Italy in the round of 16. Benny took center stage at center midfield, and was recognized by scouts as one of the tournaments most intriguing talents.

“I joked around with my mom before the U-20s that I was going to do really well and go play in Europe,” Benny said. “She told me to stop dreaming so much. It’s good to dream, but you have to be realistic. I told her you never know, and look what happened, it all fell into place. I got the deal with Hamburg.”

And so on to Germany. Going from a comfortable college-life surrounded by friends and family to living alone as a professional American soccer player in Europe, as so many other American footballers with experience abroad can testify, is by no means an easy transition. Nor is it simple getting acclimated to the cutthroat competitive atmosphere of a top European club. To make the situation more trying still, Benny was deemed ineligible to compete with the first team because of a UEFA rule limiting the number of non-European Union players on any given roster to four. He made the best of a challenging situation, training with the second team, making friends in a multilingual environment, keeping in contact with his friends and family at home, in addition to proving and improving his stock on the field. The Californian also admitted to have slightly fallen victim to that ever so distinctive Euro fashion sense, but he’ll take the good with the bad.

“I’ve been a little bit lucky in my life to be used to moving around a lot,” Benny reflected. “I was born in Brazil, I’ve lived in New York, Texas, Connecticut, I’ve lived in California, and so I think the way I grew up really helped me over here. I can definitely understand why it would be so difficult for some people to live far away from home and the people that they love. I remember the first six months I was here I talked to my parents everyday almost. Calling my home friends every week, letting them know what’s goin’ on, not letting them forget about me! (laughs) You need to find a social life wherever you are and I think I did that reasonably well. Soccer wise, I think my qualities fit in pretty well to Bundesliga. Some of the weaknesses I had when I came into Germany I’ve worked hard to improve so that I can adapt to this style of soccer.”

As fortune would have it, some of the veterans at SV Hamburg were hit with the injury bug and Benny was called up to the first team to make his debut. Talk about a fate written in the stars. Next thing Benny knew, he was lining up in Champions League against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in London (he also saw action against Portuguese power FC Porto). Pretty good for a former walk-on.

What’s next for Benny? With a year remaining on his contract with SV Hamburg, he’ll need to help his club avoid relegation and find a way out of the funk they’re currently in. And though the last name might make local fans think he’s one of their own (part of Feilhaber’s heritage is, in fact, from Austria), another top priority is cementing his spot on the US MNT. Benny’s one of many up and coming Americans with their sights set on the 2010 Cup in South Africa (seems like it’s only a matter of time before this world traveler makes his rounds to a new continent). This summer’s Gold Cup and Copa America are two huge opportunities for him to keep the momentum building. Just like the days before the U-20 World Youth Championship, Benny continues to dream while keeping perspective.

“Soccer is a real funny sport, though One second you’re upset about one thing and the next you’re really happy about something else that’s going on. It can change from one minute to the next. My goal for next year to be playing consistently at a first division level, whether that at Hamburg or maybe on loan someplace else. I just want to get some games in, wherever that is.”

What does Benny attribute to all his unexpected success? To succeeding when others saw potential but not a sure thing? Simple: self-confidence.

“You need to go into it knowing what type of player you are, and if you’re going into that type of situation than you need to remember what you’ve done to allow you to get there,” Benny recommended. “You should have confidence in yourself already. The first day or week or however long you need to play a style of soccer that will allow you to grow in confidence every day. The first day with the national team I was definitely playing simpler than maybe I would in a different situation. I played simple passes, worked hard defensively. You might make some mistakes, but working hard can fix a lot of it up. I think everyday I spent with the national team I got a little bit better, and that has everything to do with my confidence. Then slowly you need to show what extra things you can do and what extra things you can bring to the team.”

“Per Ardua ad Astra,” easy as that. Remember the phrase, cause that tattoo’s already taken.

Check out some of Benny’s podcasts at USsoccer.com. Gold Cup 2007 starts June 7th. Will Benny be there? Keep updated with 365 Todays to find out.