After five amazing years with South Georgia Tormenta FC, club legend Jad Arslan announced his retirement this past Sunday. Arslan was the last player left from Tormenta FC’s inaugural 2016 roster and has scored in every season of the club’s existence. In this Q&A, the dynamic midfielder looks back on five years of play and his first professional season in 2019.
“Tormenta Nation, I can’t thank you guys enough for welcoming me with open arms five years ago,” Arslan said. “We’ve been through highs and lows, and I’ve come out a better person and player because of them. I’m going to miss everything about this place, and it will always have a special place in my heart.”
The end of the 2020 season marks a pivotal milestone for South Georgia Tormenta FC – five years completed as a club. Five years of thrilling home matches, title-winning seasons and Twitter-breaking goals. Looking back, there is so much to celebrate, and we plan to highlight these victories and achievements, big and small, over the course of this offseason as we prepare for 2021.
I chose Tormenta FC because of their vision. I always knew that Tormenta FC was going places because of the dream that Darin and Netra had for the club. From the start, they envisioned the club being one of the top teams in USL League Two. They also envisioned the club becoming a professional one at some point, so it was something I was very excited about and wanted to be a part of. I stayed because of the culture and the family feel around Tormenta FC as it is unlike any other club I have been a part of.
The top tier training environment at Tormenta FC made the jump from USL League Two to a professional League One side relatively easy. Obviously, there are differences in the speed of play and the overall quality, but training every day in the summer with some of the top players in the nation with the League Two side made it much easier to transition. Everyone is treated like a professional, and we are expected to behave as such, so the jump was much easier to manage.
In 2015, I wanted to be a pro. I think that playing here over the summers made me realize that even more than ever. I was able to develop routines and schedules that kept my mind focused and helped me both physically and mentally to reach the professional level. Because of Tormenta FC, I have grown not only as a soccer player but as a person as well because of the things we do on and off the pitch.
Tormenta FC has evolved tremendously. The first couple of years, we were an average side, but over the last 3-4 years, we’ve become a side that people around the nation and many internationally know. We’ve evolved by catering more to the players to help them feel at home, we’ve evolved by upgrading facilities, and we’ve evolved by creating a name for ourselves on and off the pitch. We’ve become helpers in the community and entertainers on the field. We’ve evolved by becoming something that Statesboro is proud of and wants to see more of.
My favorite memory from the 2019 season is playing in the first professional match in Statesboro and the first match for USL League One. There was so much buzz around the stadium and in the locker room that day, and the team was just ready to go out there and execute, which we did against Greenville and won 1-0.
My most memorable match from 2019 was the final game against Greenville, in which I had 2 goals. It was most memorable for me because those were my first and second professional goals, and we had won 3-1, a great end to the season.
The atmosphere for home matches in 2019 was a fun and exciting one. There is no better feeling than to walk out onto the pitch and hear screaming fans in every direction. Opponents know that Tormenta FC is a tough place to play because of the hostile environment that our fans bring. It’s great to know that no matter the result, the fans backed us and were prepared to come out the next home game to watch us battle again.
