The latest edition of the FIFA PlayOn podcast delves deep into the lives of two of Venezuela’s greatest talents: Soccer star Deyna Castellanos and hit singer Lele Pons talk about personal experiences, challenges, successes and goals.
With the help of a multi-layered playlist with six songs, Castellanos reveals why she moved to Atlético Madrid Femenino in Spain after three years at Florida State University in the USA to make her dream come true and become a better player and a better person.
In a global episode, the Venezuelan tells the two hosts, chart topper Liam Payne of the Universal Music Group and sports presenter Jaydee Dyer, how she learned to appreciate the culture and joie de vivre at Atlético within just two days.
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“My goals keep me motivated every day. I wanted to go to a club where I could gain experience, like Atlético,” she said.
Long before she turned pro in 2020, Castellanos was considered a super talent. The striker was nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award in 2017 and one of the three finalists for “The Best – FIFA World Player”. Thanks to her success, “Deyna” is now one of the most popular girls’ names in her homeland, Venezuela.
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Castellanos associates the selected songs with unique experiences such as the one-of-a-kind FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2014 ™, in which she won the goalscorers’ ranking and consequently the adidas Golden Shoe, or her move to Spain, with which one Lifelong dream fulfilled.
“Music is very important to us in football,” she said. “When we prepare for a game or a tournament, we always listen to music.”
Pons also takes the audience on an international journey that shaped her meteoric rise, such as Italy’s triumph at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany ™.
Pons talks openly about how she was kidnapped with her mother at the age of five, then moved to Miami, and made her international breakthrough a few years later.
Castellanos and Pons talk casually about a wide variety of topics such as mental health, language barriers and growing up in the global spotlight and tell how music and football shaped their lives and gave them stability during the pandemic.
click here to check out the latest FIFA PlayOn podcast listen.
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