Colombian midfielder Vincenzo Candela went from trying out as a prospect in the Charleston Battery’s open tryouts this past February to finding a starting spot in Coach Mike Anhaeuser’s starting XI.

With an Italian father and a Colombian mother, Vincenzo has played in Belgium, Germany and recently in his native Colombia. He has made ten USL appearances this season, starting in nine of them, and has put up some impressive numbers in his first season with the Battery: 337 passes, 78.3 percent pass accuracy, 10 clearances, 23 interceptions, 22 tackles and one assist.

Soccer ‘n’ Sweet Tea was able to talk with Candela during the Battery’s recent four-game road trip and asked him some questions about this year’s World Cup.

First off, Vincenzo, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to talk with us. What are your earliest/best memories of watching the World Cup?

My earliest memory is watching the 2002 World Cup and watching Italy play (Vincenzo’s dad is Italian). They were disgracefully robbed in the round of 16 versus South Korea by the ref Byron Moreno. Every Italian knows who he is. My best memory though was four years later when Italy won the World Cup in Germany… beating Germany and France made it sooooo much sweeter!!

Where are you going to watch the matches this year? Who will you watch with?

Most of the matches are early, so I might not be able to watch some. Battery practices occur in the morning. But I will probably watch those that I can in my apartment with my teammates at Sweetwater.

Like the US, Italy didn’t qualify this season. With Colombia not qualifying between 2002–2010, and then finishing 5th in 2014, how do you think La Tricolor will do this year?

I expect Colombia to at least get to the quarterfinals again this World Cup, and depending how the bracket is for the knockout stages… Maybe they could squeeze into the semis or heck even WIN IT!!

Is there a player on the Colombian national team (past/present) that you look up to/try to model your game after?

I try to get a couple of things from different players like James’ (James Rodríguez) creativity and “La Roca” Sanchez’s (Carlos Sánchez Moreno) aggressiveness in the middle. But when Colombia plays, the one thing you always notice is how much heart they put out for their country, and it always reminds me to do the same when I play.

Given that you have played in Portugal, Germany, Belgium and Columbia (all of whom have qualified), who are you going to be cheering to lift the trophy?

Even though it may be a long shot, I really hope Colombia can pull it off and win the World Cup for a beautiful country that is going through a very rough political season right now.

Thanks again, Vincenzo, and good luck to Colombia in the World Cup!

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