Destiny might be the only way to explain the journey of
Destinee Manzo and where she ended up in early 2020.
"If somebody told me I'd be going to the World Cup after having all my knee surgeries, I'd probably think they were crazy."
Manzo was on a path to play for the Mexican National Team from an early age. With dual Mexican citizenship, she initially tried out for the team at age 14 and played in the Olimpiada Nacional which is their version of the youth Olympics. As a member of Instituto de Los Mexicanos en el Exterior, she guided the squad to a Gold medal in 2014 and Bronze in 2015. She became a player to watch staying in contact with the federation and earning an invite back at 16.
A month later, she was sidelined. Knee surgery to repair a dislocation meant constant rehab. Slow progression back to 100 percent meant she could not attend the next camp. Another two surgeries dropped her off the radar and had her college prospects low. "After having my second surgery, going to participate with the Mexican National Team seemed like that was the end and I wouldn't be doing it ever again."
Manzo earned a shot at the University of Portland for her freshman season, but not having clearance to play meant a redshirt year and another year without soccer. Her time as a Pilot lasted just the one year, and she would seek a transfer which brought her back closer to home at UC Irvine.
Over two years since she was even allowed on a soccer pitch, she finally got back to training in early 2019 for the Anteaters, and playing in matches by the Fall. Manzo started the season opener, played in every match starting all but one, recorded over 1,000 minutes in the midfield, and contributed with a pair of assists and 12 shots. Her strength, skill, and play-making abilities had returned as had the attention of the Mexican National Team.
"I got pretty lucky," Manzo notes earning another training camp invite this past December. "I attended the camp before the CONCACAF trial camp. They were looking for players in my position, so that got me an invite to the camp that was a pool of 24 players getting cut down to 20 to go to this event."
The event was the CONCACAF u20 Championships that were approaching in early February in which the squad had won last time in 2018. A top-2 finish would put Mexico back in the under-20 World Cup over the Summer. Manzo passed the first test and would return in January before finding out her fate for the CONCACAF Championship.
"Having the chance to do it after all the stuff that I've been through is really humbling and worth all the work that I had to put in - rehab, transferring, training - this was a little gift."
The gift had some strings attached. She arrived in Mexico on January 28 to train and play four matches against Mexican club teams all with cuts looming. Though there were no NCAA matches to conflict with, Manzo was still trying to take and pass her class remotely back at UCI.
Â
"We had training every day. There was not one day we didn't train, which was pretty hard. We trained in the morning until lunch. After lunch, we would rest, and instead of me falling asleep, I would try to get as much homework in as I could. And then we would have practice from 4 to 6 until dinner."
The focus was all soccer for the Mexican staff. Players were even required to turn in their phones and computers at 9 p.m. every night. "They were really understanding. There were a couple American girls on the team so we were trying to figure out how we were supposed to do our homework. So they gave us an hour extra with our computers because of that."
A pair of Anteaters, Janelly Farias and
Kiana Palacios, were also nearby training for the senior national team and texting all the while helping Manzo and the newest squad members get up to speed.
The cuts came in on February 11. Manzo made it. Six days until her and 19 other Mexican players would leave for the Dominican.
Â
Part of that group were players colleges all over the U.S. - Alabama, Saint Mary's, Arizona State, UCLA, Princeton, Eastern Kentucky - all trying to keep pace with school work back home while training for one of the biggest events in their soccer lives. One teammate, Nayeli Diaz of Saint Mary's, followed the same regimen as Manzo as each of them would push the other to stay on track and finish their schoolwork before resting.
"The main thing for me was trying to spread everything out throughout the week. That way, I could do something every single day instead of leaving it to the end of the week because my time was so limited. We're a very disciplined team with very high expectations. We left the hotel once to the city for an hour walk to some vendors. We got time each night in the lobby with our parents. I feel like it was good for our team to keep focused, keeping our mindset on the games and practices was good for us. We still had the same limitations with computers in the DR, but it was worse being four hours ahead so my assignments were due earlier. There was a lot more down time, lots of rest after training to allow me to do more classwork."
Manzo's support system never wavered. Anteater coaches checking in with her, teammates in classes back home helping push her through the quarter and not fall behind. The time limits were to her advantage once in the Dominican Republic. One training a day until the matches started and never training the day of. One big advantage for the Mexican team came from their training back home setting them a step ahead of the rest of the competition.
"The Dominican Republic is very pretty and super, duper humid and hot. Coming from Mexico isn't much of a change, but the elevation of camp in Mexico is really high, and the Dominican was at sea level so that helped us. Even though both were really hot, the elevation drop was a relief especially running."
Then, the first match was finally here, February 23 against Puerto Rico. Manzo wasn't part of it however, not a starter or a sub. She would have to wait her turn until the 25th vs. Nicaragua.
"It was a little weird not playing the first game and then starting the next. It's like 'oh shoot, I gotta start from the beginning' and go at 110%. Starting the second game helped me a lot mentally. I think I played pretty well in the Nicaragua game."
Pretty well considering she had three assists in a 4-0 victory and played a full 90' for the first time since her club days. She rode that momentum into the final group stage match against Guyana with two wins under their belt so far for the squad that was at the top of their game after entering the tournament a little overconfident.
"The assist I had vs. Guyana was really big for me. I felt like after starting the Nicaragua game, I was really hoping to start vs. Guyana, but I came in in the second half while the game was still 0-0 and I assisted the first goal and was huge, I felt like the game changer and turned that game around."
Manzo's contribution propelled the squad forward to a 3-0 victory and on top of the group and into the knockout rounds. Another full 90' against Grenada in a 12-1 shellacking. Manzo was credited with two assists however one was a goal that was headed in by an opposing defender. Next up was Trinidad and Tobago and Manzo began the match on the bench. She subbed in in the 68th minute and by the 71st minute was punching in her first goal of the tournament. Another victory, 4-0, and now one step away from a World Cup berth.
Â
She was again on the bench to start the semifinal against Haiti before entering in the 80th minute of a 1-1 match.
"Our starter wasn't playing aggressive, but she was super fast. As the game went on, the game got more physical, and everyone was getting more and more tired. Everyone on Haiti was so fast, so me coming in providing fresh legs was a big help. I felt like I contributed a lot defensively that game against the speed of Haiti"
With a spot in the final and in the World Cup on the line, the match spilled over into penalty kicks. Manzo felt confident in her side which had practice kicks in every one of their training matches leading up to the tournament while Haiti looked inexperienced. Destinee would have stepped up had they needed a seventh kicker, but her teammates wrapped things up with a 4-2 advantage sending the squad to the World Cup.
Â
Before all was said and done, there was still a tournament crown to award. The final match on March 8 pitted Mexico against the United States.
"That game was a real eye-opener and we realized what we're up against if we're going to play in the World Cup. We need to be better than we played. They were physically stronger than us. I really wanted more minutes because I contributed so much once I got in, going to goal, crossing. If I had been put in earlier, the game would have been different."
Manzo came on in the 68th minute again, but by that time the U.S. had figured things out and taken a 3-1 lead after trailing in the early minutes and knotted, 1-1, at the half.
"It was really cool playing against Jenna Nighswonger," Manzo's teammate from LAFC Slammers and member of LA Galaxy OC and Florida State. "When she was on my team, I felt like she pushed me a lot to be a better player."
So no CONCACAF crown, a silver medal would be Mexico's prize, but the main goal of reaching the World Cup had been attained. Manzo and the team returned home on March 9, right before finals week. She attended one class before COVID-19 pushed finals and everything else to be taken remotely.
"I think having to take online classes last quarter while I was in Mexico and then in the Dominican made online classes this quarter not so hard for me. I kind of like it. A lot of people don't do very well the first time they have to take online classes."
She and the rest of the Anteaters are home for the foreseeable future taking classes online, attending weekly Zoom meetings with coaches and professors, running on the treadmill, and getting regular nutrition and workouts to stay active. The Mexican staff is also keeping tabs with nutrition and workouts of their own.
The immediate future for Destiny is uncertain. The under-20 World Cup scheduled for August in Costa Rica and Panama has been postponed. It could be reset for the Fall during the 'Eaters 2020 season or potential postseason. It could happen at some other point in the future when she is no longer "under-20".
It's tough to know what she is destined for next, but she is sure of one thing.
"This was a life-changing experience for me and I'm so grateful it happened and I had the opportunity to do it while representing Mexico."
