Antonio Bustamante

Photography by: Nicolas Polo.

“I must have gotten my first ball when I was four. Since then, I always had a ball at my feet.”

Antonio Bustamante was born to Bolivian and American parents in Fairfax, VA, and over the past few years, he’s been able to forge a career that’s seen him play against the world’s best – from Neymar to Messi.

Still, when he got his first ball at four years old, little could he have known that this object would draw him unexpectedly closer to his Bolivian heritage and ultimately give him a globetrotting career.

“I started out playing for a team called the Gray Sharks,” he remembers with a laugh. “It wasn’t anything serious, but my dad and my grandfather were so passionate about it. They’re both from Bolivia, and my grandfather, especially, is a die-hard soccer fan. He taught me all about the game,” he says.

Antonio was quickly setting himself apart from the other kids at the local fields, and at home, his grandfather would watch games with him religiously.

“We would always sit down to watch games together. I like Barça, and he’s a huge Real Madrid fan, so there are even old photos of him trying to get me to wear a little Real Madrid jacket. That’s how passionate he was. Those moments with him just made me want to play even more, and at seven years old, I already knew I wanted to be a professional player.”

The soccer connection with his dad and grandfather didn’t stop there. As many Latino players can understand, Antonio’s family always made themselves heard at his games.

“My grandfather and my dad were always the loudest people there,” he recalls. “It’d make me nervous sometimes, so I even stepped away from playing for like a year. But I just loved it too much and came back. After that, they would still come to watch me play, but they would hide in the corner of the field behind a pole or something. I would act like I couldn’t see them, but they were still always there supporting me.”

With a clear talent for the game and strong support from his family, Antonio continued to climb through many local clubs in the DMV. By the age of 13, he was playing for McLean Pre Academy -- one of the top teams in the area --, and after strong performances in a string of matches against the DC United Academy, Antonio would end up joining the youth ranks of this storied MLS side.

“I remember they had some really good players, and I was happy that they noticed me. I ended up going to the DC United Academy, and that was pretty much where I developed into the player I am today.”

At the DC United Academy, Antonio polished his natural technical ability, refined his dribbling, and mastered tactics in a way he’d never explored before. His success at the academy level would soon catch the attention of multiple scouts and college coaches at the time.

“If you’re in an academy team, you always get more eyes on you. We would have college showcases, and there would be like eighty coaches sitting around the field watching you play. I did well in one of those showcases, and I started receiving a lot of emails from different colleges. That’s when I knew it was starting to get real.”

Antonio committed to William & Mary, where he enjoyed a fruitful four years at the college level. His performances didn’t go unnoticed by DC United, who’d regularly kept tabs on his improvement throughout his collegiate career. In his last semester at school, he received a professional contract offer from the club. It was not only a golden chance to represent his hometown MLS club, but it was a door to a world he’d wished to enter his whole life.

“There was no way I could say no,” he reflects. “It took me a minute to process because it had been my dream since I was a little kid. I was itching to get started.”

Antonio joined the DC United pre-season squad in early 2019, and he had the chance to train with Wayne Rooney as he established his footing in the professional world.

“That was my first ‘Woah’ moment. He’s a legend of the game, and it was eye-opening to see how he carried himself. Being around other professionals and seeing their routines was an awakening for me. That’s when I realized that this is a job at the end of the day, and you have to stay committed in all areas of your life.”

At the end of the team’s pre-season in Florida, Antonio was loaned out to Loudoun United – DC United’s USL affiliate. It was Loudoun’s first-ever season as a club, and Antonio was an integral part of that inaugural season. He played in the club’s historic first game, and he ended up making 26 appearances for Loudoun in 2019. Throughout that year, Antonio also made a pair of appearances for DC United in the US Open Cup. That season proved to be pivotal for Antonio as he settled into the reality of being a professional soccer player.

“The first few games with Loudoun were a rude awakening, but I ended up getting comfortable and thrived, to be honest. I did play two games with DC United, and my first game was against New York City FC. I remember walking into the locker room and seeing the team sheet. I saw my name there, and my heart started racing. I remember getting ready to walk out into the tunnel, and I must have been visibly nervous because Wayne [Rooney] looked at me and walked up to talk to me. He just told me, ‘don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Do your thing and go from there.’ It was short, but I felt so much better after that. I ended up playing pretty well, and we ended up winning, which was awesome for that to happen in my debut.”

Despite advancing to the next round of the US Open Cup with DC United, the club would ultimately fall to the Philadelphia Union in their search for the trophy. As for Loudoun United, Antonio and the team rallied in a solid second half of the season, but the slow start to 2019 prevented them from reaching the playoffs. Although the final results with DC and Loudoun weren’t ideal on the pitch, his first year as a professional was extra meaningful.

“Playing that season for Loudoun and DC United was something special, since I was representing my hometown club,” he says. “It gave me that extra motivation because I understood that somewhere in the crowd, someone I knew would be watching me. It was the perfect way to start my career,” he says.

With a great individual showing during that season, Antonio would receive an unexpected call by the Bolivian national team at the start of 2020.

“I had left DC United and gone to Bolivia,” he recounts, “and that’s when I got invited to the U-23 camp ahead of the pre-Olympic tournament to be held in Colombia. As soon as I got there, one of the members of the staff told me they were inviting me to play but that they already had their set players for the tournament. He was just basically letting me know that my chances were very, very slim.”

Antonio grabbed that small chance and ran with it. “I ended up killing it,” he says with a smile. “I made the whole roster.”

From there, he had the chance to measure up against other U-23 teams in the region, like Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay. While Bolivia did not qualify for the Olympics, Antonio’s good showings with the U-23 squad earned him a contract with Bolivian side Blooming. More importantly, it would earn him a senior call-up for the World Cup Qualifiers.

“COVID had hit, and I had asked my club to let me return to the US to train since restrictions were a bit less strict. That’s when I got the call from the national team head coach telling me that I was going to be part of the group that would face Brazil and Argentina in the next round of World Cup Qualifiers.”

During the long COVID months ahead of those crucial matches, Antonio would continue to train in local fields near his home in Virginia to prepare for – arguably – the most important games of his career.

“There’s one pitch that I went to a lot during that time, and it’s one I grew up playing in. It’s down a hill, so you can’t really see it unless you’re actually on the field. It’s therapeutic because it’s just you, the ball, and the goalposts. Even in college, I still used to return there and kick a ball around or train by myself. I just always felt at peace on that field, so it made sense to train there ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers too.”

In the last month ahead of those matches, Antonio flew to Bolivia to meet up with the rest of the squad. Because of COVID-19, Antonio had missed out on crucial time to train in altitude and get used to the tough environment of La Paz.

“I was lucky that I got to play with so many experienced players. It just made it easy to gel with the team. The only rough part was the altitude in La Paz. I don’t think many people understand how real that is. In my first training session, everyone was staring at me, and I couldn’t understand why. I asked my friend on the team what that was about, and he just told me they all thought I was gonna die. I didn’t give it much thought, but after getting through the warmup, it already felt like I had played for 90 minutes. It smacked me in the face.”

After acclimatizing to the La Paz altitude and effectively integrating into the team, Antonio traveled to Brazil with the rest of the squad, ready to face the South American giants.

“Two days before the game, the coach sat me down and told me I was gonna be starting. I couldn’t sleep for the next couple of nights. That’s when I really processed that I was actually going to be representing my country and my family at the highest level possible. That’s when it all hit me, and those strong emotions only grew as the match approached.”  

The day of the game is one Antonio will never forget.

“I remember walking into the Corinthians stadium and being taken aback by how beautiful it was. The grass was so thin and super slick because of the rain. The ball would just skid perfectly. Then, when I was lining up to walk out to the field, I just remember casually seeing Neymar right next to me. I had to try my best to stay serious and focused. It was a crazy experience. I was starstruck for the first five minutes, but then I had a good play where I dribbled Coutinho and passed it out wide, and that’s when I started to really get into my groove.”

In the second half, Antonio moved up to play at the 10, and he now had to face Casemiro. “He’s the best defensive mid I’ve ever played against, that’s for sure,” he laughs. “I had one or two good dribbles against him, and the third time he came and almost broke my leg. I just sat there smirking because I’d seen him do this on TV every weekend. Now he was doing it against me.”

Despite a valiant effort by Antonio and the Bolivian national team, they were unable to walk out of Brazil with any points. Still, the experience was unforgettable for Antonio. For his family back in the US, it might’ve meant even more.

“My family sent me a couple of videos of my dad and my grandfather watching me play against Brazil. It was dead silent, though, because my grandfather had already cursed everyone out during my U-23 games for making noise and distracting him. I got to speak to my dad and my grandfather after the match, and they were crying on the phone. We’d lost pretty badly, but they were just telling me how proud they were. It meant a lot coming from them.”

While Antonio had just played against the most decorated national team in history, there would be no time to rest. Less than a week later, he was ready to face off against Argentina in La Paz.

“I remember seeing Messi come in during warmups, while we were doing rondos. I turned my entire body when he came out of the tunnel, and I remember I completely missed a ball from my teammate. I couldn’t help it -- it just felt surreal to be on the same field. But for that match, we really jumped on them early and went 1-1 into halftime. Lautaro Martinez looked like he was about to pass out going into the locker room, so, we liked our chances. Of course, the best guy on the field had other plans, and he made us pay for the one mistake we made in the second half.”

 The match against Argentina would, unfortunately, end in defeat, too. Still, those initial caps were not only a source of pride for Antonio and his family, but they also helped further his club career.  

A few weeks after the match with Brazil, Clube Nautico Capibaribe of the Brazil Serie B signed Antonio to a one-year contract. At the end of 2021, Antonio was then able to make the jump to Europe and sign for Thisted FC of the Danish 2nd Division. The unexpected call-up to the Bolivian national team ultimately paved the way for a chance to live his dream abroad.

 “I’ve been lucky to represent my country in World Cup Qualifiers. Not many people can say that. Playing for Bolivia gave me a chance to then go on and experience different cultures and see different styles of futbol that I wouldn’t have really been able to embrace in the US. I think that’s helped me a lot, and I want to continue down that road. If I can combine everything I’ve learned from these different places and experiences, who knows where the ball can take me in the future.”

Photography by: Nicolas Polo.