I once asked men’s soccer coach George Tarantini what adjustments he was going to make in order to create more opportunities to score on offense.
His reply?
“I think I’m going to have myself an Argentine barbecue.”
Tarantini then shook my shoulders, thanked me for coming and walked away. This is not the typical answer one would expect to receive from a head coach, but responses like this are what make Tarantini, a native of Argentina, the most exciting coach at N.C. State.
Tarantini has been the face of the soccer program for 21 seasons and counting. He is the winningest coach in program history, currently one victory short of 200 wins, and he has done so playing at one of the worst facilities in the ACC.
The dump where Tarantini coaches home contests is probably better known as Method Road Soccer Stadium. Grass sparsely covers the field. Members of the media get the privilege of sitting in an over-sized tool shed, announcing the game through crackling speakers. The bathrooms are glorified Porta Johns at best.
There are no locker rooms. Players must change at the Weisiger-Brown facility on the other side of campus, then board vans to the stadium.
There is no practice field. While the women’s team practices at Method Road, the men must pay a hefty fee to rent out a field at SAS Soccer Complex in Cary.
And most importantly, there are no lights.
“You look at the calendar, OK, in Division I — who plays every game 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon in the ACC?” Tarantini said. “I’m proud of my team. These are not excuses. I never use excuses. Facilities — it’s a fact. You go to Duke, Carolina, they start at 7:00 at night. We play between 2:00 and 3:00 in 90-degree weather every single game. That takes tremendous resources away from you.”
Tarantini has never been one to make excuses, and he shouldn’t have to. It is embarrassing for the athletes and for the fans to have the worst facilities in the ACC when they are located at the epicenter of one of the most talented conferences.
The facilities will come, next season, in the form of the new field on Paul Derr Track. But they have been long awaited and are past overdue, and for that, this University has no excuse.
Yet Tarantini continues to intrigue spectators and lead his team despite the current circumstance — all while maintaining a unique sense of style.
His typical wardrobe consists of flip-flops, basketball shorts, a State T-shirt and aviator shades. The occasional sweat towel will make a guest appearance every now and then — most often on a humid day or during a particularly exhausting match.
Every game a lone chair is placed 10 feet away from State’s bench, right in front of a banner that reads “Men’s Soccer ACC Champions, 1991”. The banner has taken a beating over the years, as the chair slams into it every time Tarantini leaps out of his seat to harass referees and players in both English and Spanish.
But Tarantini can abuse the banner all he wants.
He earned it, after all.