In a brief, online assessment, the Second Division 鈥楤鈥� Spanish football club Coruxo describes Vancouver鈥檚 Ben Fisk as 鈥渄esborde y gol.鈥�
For Anglophones in Fisk鈥檚 home town, the meaning of 鈥済ol鈥� should be obvious. It鈥檚 also literal and applicable to a natural goal-scorer like the 21-year-old winger who came of age in the Whitecaps Residency Program and signed his first professional contract with last summer.
鈥淒esborde,鈥� on the other hand, slides into the language of sport metaphor. It describes a river bursting its banks, overflowing and uncontainable. For a play-making shooter, it鈥檚 one who overwhelms the back line to push ahead.
鈥淚 would love to score so many goals that they were overflowing,鈥� said Fisk, who netted his one goal for the club in a 1-0 Federation Cup win in September to advance to the Galician final.
Known as 鈥渆l canadiense鈥� and the only English speaker on a team of Spaniards and an Argentinian, Fisk is taking Spanish lessons and, at first, wasn鈥檛 certain how his scouting report translated. He consulted a teammate and said, 鈥淚t would be similar to saying, 鈥楬e burst past his defender.鈥欌��
The rest of the concise write-up describes the quick-footed Fisk as having explosive power suited to the wings. But the young international is slightly put out that he hasn鈥檛 burst the banks of his potential, not yet anyway.
鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to work hard in training and earn more playing time, then when I do get my chances I have to perform,鈥� he said Monday on the phone from Vigo, a city in the northeastern region of Galicia that he said has beautiful beaches, good transportation and an attractive downtown.
鈥淚鈥檝e been playing primarily as a winger and I set up a few more goals than I score but should be able to put in a few more this season,鈥� he said.
In a few more than three words, the Coruxo club president said in a newspaper that they see Fisk as 鈥渁 player who has to power to make things happen.鈥� He praised Fisk鈥檚 strength and versatility on attack plus his ability to work his skills in tight spaces.
Fisk appreciates the master tacticians of Spanish tiki-taka since he鈥檚 recognized for his skilled footwork and visionary passing.聽
鈥淎 lot of people regard Spain as one of the best countries in the world for young players to develop. I think I鈥檒l come out a better player,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ere the game is a lot more tactical. I鈥檝e always been a player who plays on instinct, and playing here, I鈥檝e had to fit into the tactics more than I was used to. To go along with that, in training, a lot of the work we do is tactical. That鈥檚 been a big learning curve for me and one that will benefit me.鈥�
Coruxo, a 鈥渟mall club with a big heart,鈥� according to Fisk, that seats roughly 2,500 at Campo do Vao, started the season on a tear but has since lost four of its last five games and tied the fifth, dropping to 11th out of 20 teams with a record of 7-6-7.
鈥淲e had a great start to the season and were up near the top for quite a few weeks and since then, we鈥檝e lost form a little bit. We鈥檙e trying to get out of the slump and pick up our game a little bit,鈥� said Fisk, who lives with two teammates in a large flat in the coastal city of nearly 300,000.
The goal he scored to advance Coruxo to the next round of the Federation Cup, a consolation trophy for teams eliminated from the Copa del Rey, developed out of nothing. At least, Fisk made something out of nothing by stripping a defender of the ball and breaking through for an unerring shot. 鈥淚t did feel really good,鈥� he said about the game鈥檚 lone goal.
Goal scoring in Spain is a career highlight for Fisk. On his first international tour with the Whitecaps residency team in 2009, the then-16-year-old midfielder slotted in both goals for a 2-0 win against the U18 side from Spanish and European champion Real Madrid. The scoring spree still ranks as Fisk鈥檚 most memorable.
鈥淭he last time I was here, I played pretty well. They鈥檙e very fond memories for me and definitely gave me a nice feeling when I was coming to Spain,鈥� he said, noting the Whitecaps Residency Program still holds the lead on other MLS clubs and runs more like the European clubs he鈥檚 becoming familiar with.聽
Players he faced off against nearly five years ago are now also competing in La Liga, in the same or higher divisions than Fisk. Knowing he鈥檚 keeping pace suggests a football giant like Real Madrid could be part of his future.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a pretty cool thing to see and know I might have the level to play there one day.鈥� If so, it will have started by busting though to overflow the net.聽
