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By Esteban Mikkelsen Jensen
BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Football is the most popular sport in Argentina. But, beyond being a passion for millions in the country, it is also used to teach values to children and help them see that winning is not everything.
One example of this teamwork-focused approach is Diego Cappelletti, 41, a youth football coach who runs a free football school in Buenos Aires.
"The idea is to get back to the essence of sport, to have the kids come and train for free," he told Xinhua.
Cappelletti created an NGO named "Growing with football," which seeks to train people in certain values that go beyond just being good athletes.
"This project was born because I have been a football coach for kids all my life. When I saw certain values being lost, that the kids did not come to train due to insecurity, the idea was to encourage the kids to return (to the pitch) and practice this sport on a larger scale."
However, Cappelletti's idea was not to train just football skills, but also to include regular scholastic assignments, and offer access to a nutritionist and physical coaches.
The municipal of government of Buenos Aires clearly saw potential in the project, and dedicated a space for the children in Houssay square, in the neighborhood of Recoleda, where kids aged 4 to 14 come to play on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Cappelletti has maintained the service free of charge saying "sometimes, we think something free is not as good as something we pay for."
This idea plays into Argentina's almost spiritual love of football, with players seen practicing on squares or green spaces daily.
The country is also poised for a classic match on Dec. 11 between River Plate and Boca Juniors, the two most popular clubs in the league, with the country set to drop everything to watch the match.
This is all the more exciting as Boca Juniors are just two points off the top of the championship at the moment, behind Estudiantes de La Plata.
Internationally, Argentina has lived through a number of disappointments, and despite its talisman Lionel Messi, the country lost in the finals of the 2014 World Cup, along with the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals.
However, Cappelletti sees these frustrations, along with the insults yelled at opposing fans and players in stadiums, as being the opposite of the kind of football he envisions for young fans.
