The son of a gardener, Santiago lives with his father, Hernan, his grandmother, Mercedes, and his younger brother, Cesar.
He works as a busboy in a Chinese restaurant while also helping with his fathers gardening business for a living.
Due to his poverty and the fact that he plays solely for a club made up of Hispanics from a local car wash, he feels his chances of making it as a pro are slim, until one day, Santiago is noticed by Glen Foy, a former Newcastle United player.
Glen now works as a mechanic in England, but still maintains ties to his old team.
Gavin Harris Football Player Trial With Newcastle
Foy arranges to get Santiago a trial with Newcastle United, who have recently signed talented new player Gavin Harris.
Needing to get to England, Santiago begins to save his money in an old shoe, but his plans are brought to a stop after his father finds the money and uses it to buy a truck which would allow Santiago and him to start their own business, believing that Santiagos dreams of playing in England are hopeless.
With his dream seemingly over, Santiago returns to work for his father, until his grandmother gives him an envelope containing money and a plane ticket to London, telling him she sold her jewellery to pay for the ticket.
Santiago reluctantly accepts and soon departs for England before his father is able to find out, arriving in London the next day.
Santiago is not welcomed by the other players, particularly reserve player Hughie McGowan, who spends the whole trial roughly tackling him, leading to an unimpressive performance by Santiago, but Glen convinces the teams manager that Santiago needs a months trial to show his full potential.
The manager agrees, and Santiago is signed to a one-month contract.
Despite being bullied by teammate McGowan, Santiago becomes good friends with Jamie Drew, another player signed on a trial basis from Tranmere Rovers.
Santiago begins to adapt to the English game, and a reserve match at the end of the month will determine his signing on a full-time basis.
Before the game, as Santiago secretly tries to use his inhaler, McGowan knocks it out of his hands and destroys it, leading to an asthma flare-up during the game which prevents Santiago from playing at 100.
On his way to the airport, Santiago meets Gavin Harris, who himself is late for training with the reserves, a punishment for being late for training with the first team.
Harris finds out what has happened and makes Santiago explain it to the manager.
The manager allows Santiago to stay, provided he gets treatment for his asthma.
Umk3 genesis soundsSantiago gets a contract for the reserve team and moves in with Gavin, and despite their differences (Santiago a focused and determined player, Harris a playboy more focused on women than football), the two begin to form a friendship.
Gavin Harris Football Player Series Of Impressive
After a series of impressive performances in the reserves, he is brought into the first team as a substitute in a match against Fulham.
During the game, he wins a penalty, taken and scored by Gavin to win them the match.
Meanwhile, unknown to anyone else in his family, Santiagos father watches the match on TV in the US and leaves the bar a proud father.