LYNN — What started as a dream is now a reality for Lynn’s Jack Mancaniello, who recently signed to play professional soccer in Greece for Aiolikos F.C.
Mancaniello, who recently played semi-professionally for Mass United was born and raised in Lynn. The Lynn Classical graduate spent his first two years at Lynn English.
“For me, at 18, I never wanted to go to college to play. I always wanted to go the professional route. So when this came up, I couldn’t let it pass,” Mancaniello said. “The owner of Mass United is the owner of Aiolikos, so I just went through the system and, thankfully, it wasn’t too complicated.”
Last summer, Mancaniello played for Aiolikos’ under-19 team in a tournament. It must’ve been some performance, as he was eventually offered a contract to play with its first team.
“I played for their under-19s team in a tournament,” said Mancaniello, who’s been to Greece twice over the last 16 months. “That’s when they offered me the contract and then this past February I went over there to sign the contract and handle all the logistics. I got to play with the first team over there and get to know my teammates.”
With Mancaniello leaving for Greece later this week, he said he hopes to settle in quickly.
“There are two parts of settling into a team abroad. There’s the soccer part and then there’s the rest of your day aspect,” Mancaniello said. “I’m not nervous about the soccer part because it’s the same game. It doesn’t change. On the other hand, living in a new place with new people will be different. Thankfully, I’ve been twice. It’s a beautiful place and once I get used to it, I’ll be ready to go.”
“Of course I’m a little apprehensive, it’s going to be a big change. Overall, I’m excited because I’m going over there to do something that I do every single day,” Mancaniello said.
Mancaniello believes the quicker he gets acclimated to the team and the area, the better his mind will be, which will help him perform to the best of his ability.
“Getting acclimated to a new place is one of the bigger challenges I’ll have to face when I get out there,” Mancaniello said. “I can’t speak for everyone, but for me and those who I know, if you’re not having a good time off the field, you’re not going to have a good time on the field. It’s all connected. You need to be comfortable on and off the field to have your mind right.”
Mancaniello pointed to the soccer culture in Greece as something he’s looking forward to.
“The culture of the game will be great over there. The game is growing here, but over there the fans and the atmosphere is different,” Mancaniello said. “Even at a club like mine, we’re not the biggest club but every single week we fill out the stadium. It’s only like a 5,000-seat stadium but the fans make the atmosphere seem a lot bigger than it is.”
Over the years, Mancaniello turned down private school offers to stay in Lynn.
“I enjoyed my time at both English and Classical,” Mancaniello said. “I had offers to play at different private schools, but I elected to stay because of the things Lynn and these schools can teach me here that I wouldn’t learn elsewhere.”
Mancaniello said Lynn “massively” molded him into the player and man he is today.
“Lynn has taught me a lot of lessons that I keep with me on the field and off the field. I’ve learned lessons here where people in other areas will probably never learn,” Mancaniello said. “Some things you can’t really teach like toughness and work ethic are things I grew up around. You can’t teach those things. It’s either you have it or you don’t.”
“Lynn has given me a lot,” Mancaniello said.
Mancaniello hopes that people in Lynn keep fighting for their dreams, especially in soccer, where he said the city holds a lot of talent.
“I’m really hoping my story gets out there. There’s a lot of kids in Lynn who are talented and don’t get the opportunity,” Mancaniello said. “Maybe it’s not as popular, for financial reasons, whatever it might be. There are great players who just didn’t get an opportunity and I”m hoping through myself and players like myself who reached their goals, people can reach their goals too. It just takes time and effort.”
