PLN 30

I just read "Midfielder Deco reveals Chelsea summer exit plan" in the BBC News sports edition. This story is about how Chelsea's Portuguese international Deco plans to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer to go back to his native Brazil to help run a school he has founded. The 32-year-old Brazil-born midfielder earlier said that he will quit the international game after the World Cup this summer. Deco joined Chelsea from Barcelona in 2008 and told the Sunday Times he would be "nostalgic" when he left the club. Deco was born in the Brazilian city of Sao Bernardo do Campo and moved to Portugal at the age of 19, becoming a Portuguese citizen in 2002. He said it had always been his intention to go back to Brazil to work with the poor, but he gave no hint about whether he planned to play for a Brazilian club once back there.

This matters to the soccer world because Deco is a world class footballer and will be missed a lot by the Chelsea supporters, the Portuguese supporters, and football enthusiasts around the world alike. At least he is leaving the game to go help the poor and to run a school and not just because he is tired or something like that. He is leaving before people start saying that he can't play like he used to. This matters to me because I am a big fan of Deco and I will miss seeing him play on the pitch, no matter what team he is with. This also matters to me because I would like to play professionally someday. Any professional athlete must always have in the back of their minds: What do I want to do, or what can I do when I can no longer play? Many players don't have a "Plan B". I am still working on "Plan A" right now!