Parkland Shooting Survivor Anthony Borges' 'Amazing Journey To Barcelona'
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Anthony Borges dreamed of playing soccer for FC Barcelona, then the Parkland shooting devastated his school and his life.
A new film, which debuted Monday on the Bleacher Report website, follows Borges' recovery from his multiple gunshot wounds to his return to the soccer field.
Before the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, which left 17 people dead and 17 others injured, including himself, he was on a career path to becoming a professional soccer player. He played for the FC Barcelona Academy in South Florida. He and his family say he'd been invited to move to Spain to begin to train to be a professional soccer player.
However, that dream stalled when Borges was shot five times after a gunman entered his school on Feb. 14, 2018 and opened fire. Borges saved more than a dozen students that tragic day for using his body to block the door of a classroom on the third floor of the Freshman building and was hailed a hero.
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He was shot in the lung, abdomen and legs. He was hospitalized for weeks during his recovery and lost 45 pounds.
The film, titled 'Anthony Borges: Parkland Hero's Amazing Journey to Barcelona' chronicles his emotional and painful recovery in the hospital.
However, the 10-minute film also shows how one of his dreams came true when he and his family were invited to Spain by the Bleacher Report and FC Barcelona to meet his favorite soccer team and tour FC Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium and watch a game.
The film spotlights Borges talking about his love of soccer, his recovery and his recent trip to Spain to meet his sports heroes.
"I like to play soccer every day. (I) try hard to do my best," says the 16-year-old in the film, which shows him kicking a soccer ball on the film.
In addition to Borges, the film includes interviews with his parents Royer Borges and Emily Delfin, the teenager's Coral Springs soccer coach Robert Viera and CBS4's Carey Codd.
