Iona College men’s soccer junior defender Charlie Butte has always dreamed of playing soccer professionally in Europe.

“Europe for me has always represented the peak of the professional game. I grew up watching games from England, Spain and Germany, and I wanted to be like them,” said Butte, who is now in his third year with the Gaels.

This past summer, Butte’s dream of playing professionally came closer to becoming a reality after completing trials with German clubs Fortuna Köln, Rot-Weiss Essen and Waldhof-Mannheim.

After this semester, Butte will return to Germany and attempt to sign for Rot-Weiss Essen.

Butte has completed several trials in Germany over the past few years.

After high school, he went to Spain to play for C D Colmenar Viejo in the sixth division of Spanish soccer before coming to Iona in 2011.

Playing in Spain was a distinctive time in Butte’s life. He said, “It was a special experience because it was the first time I was able to play in an open age group, against 30 year old grown men, as an 18 year old boy.”

“The experience of playing in Spain really increased my desire to play there tenfold; it gave me the belief that with enough hard work I could play there as well,” he said.

“It may be harder than trying to start here [Europe] as a pro, and the competition is definitely much higher, but my personality dictates that I have to go for it at all times, and I know I’d regret not trying to go to Europe.”

After spending two years at Iona, Butte returned to Europe. There he met with Joshua Grenier, a family friend, who used to play in the German second division with TuS Koblenz.

Once in Germany, Butte found himself in an unfamiliar position.He was playing in one of the most competitive fourth divisions.

“To have some confirmation that you’re good enough is extremely gratifying,” Butte said. “Additionally, there are a ton of scouts at all these games from big clubs, the sense of opportunity is massive.”

The experience had additional meaning for the defender, aside from just playing with strong competition. It allowed Butte to understand what it takes to play professionally.

From this experience in Germany, Butte felt that playing in Germany has made him better. In his opinion, playing in Germany,gave him the confidence to overcome having a bad day on the field.

“If I continue to work as hard as I have been, the sky would literally be the limit,” he said.