At first sight, it was all warmth and smiles during Sepp Blatter’s visit to Cuba, but certain very transcendent issues for football in the country have fallen behind the scenes.

Without a doubt, a curious fruit that is named cocoa everywhere, absolutely delicious in its purest form, which, mind you, not the remotest resemblance to the chocolate.

Speaking of thrashings in Cuban soccer is almost as referring to huge beatings against Cuba´s national team. However, a different picture is emerging because the U20 Cuban national team hammered (3-0) its counterpart of Nicaragua in the CONCACAF WC Qualifying Championship, which grants four tickets to the universal tourney Turkey 2013.

Photo: Ricardo López Hevia After almost forty years, we ask ourselves if Forestales team would have finished in the 12th spot during its debut in Cuban Baseball Series if they had retained in its roster a lanky and skeletal boy, but clearly a potential star in the world of balls and strikes.