Andrés Cantor is not like most public figures. He might stroll down the road or dine at a restaurant with out being instantly acknowledged. It’s not till he opens his mouth and speaks that his id is revealed: He’s the person who yells “goooooal!” throughout soccer matches.
Cantor is Telemundo’s lead soccer play-by-play announcer, overlaying main tournaments just like the World Cup, the Copa America, and even the Olympics.
However with 10 World Cups beneath his belt, Cantor is extra than simply the narrator of a match. He has develop into a staple for the Spanish-speaking soccer group.
“Typically they’ll flip round and say, ‘Wait, I heard your voice. You might be Andrés Cantor—you’re Mr. Purpose’,” Cantor tells Quick Firm, half-hour earlier than Spain and France have been set to play within the semifinals.
Though Cantor was not set to go on air for that recreation, he was nonetheless resting his voice as he readied for the Argentina versus England recreation the following day.
“It’s very flattering after they inform you that I’ve been the soundtrack of their lives as a result of they’ve been watching soccer for therefore a few years with my broadcasts,” he added.
To date, Cantor has referred to as 15 matches for the 2026 World Cup, touring over 20,000 miles from metropolis to metropolis to attend the video games scattered round North America.
For a lot of followers, a part of the World Cup expertise is to listen to Cantor’s play-by-play, a lot in order that the Spanish-speaking community has seen an inflow in reputation this 12 months.
Based on Miguel Lorenzo, a senior vice chairman at Telemundo Deportes, who spoke with NPR, this 12 months’s match has been probably the most watched within the Spanish language within the nation.
“Half of the nation of america is watching the World Cup in Spanish on Telemundo,” Lorenzo informed NPR. “We’re seeing audiences which are bilingual, which are Spanish dominant, that talk English having fun with World Cup protection.”
And for a lot of watchers, turning to Spanish isn’t just in regards to the language, however the emotion within the play-by-play.
“The English commentators actually sound like they’re narrating a nature documentary about grass rising,” a person said on X. One other added, “the South American commentators and their ‘gooooooooooooool’ are unmatched.”
Touchdown the job
Cantor’s dream was to succeed behind a byline, not a display. Born in Buenos Aires, he moved to California throughout his teenage years, ultimately attending the College of Southern California to check journalism.
“I completed my journalism curriculum with out taking one TV or radio class, as a result of I wished to jot down,” he explains.
And certainly, his first large break has writing for an Argentine newspaper, El Gráfico, serving as a correspondent for occasions just like the Oscars and Components 1.
However he ultimately landed on broadcast by likelihood, when a producer on the Spanish Worldwide Community (what would develop into Univision) invited him to audition to be a sports activities commentator in 1987.
“The very first time I auditioned, I yelled in my first play-by-play recreation—I by no means meant to yell,” Cantor says. “It got here out naturally as a result of that’s the way in which I grew up listening to soccer, each on tv and radio. So I didn’t know any higher.”
His name was not like many others that have been on broadcast on the time, however felt like house to many raised round a TV taking part in futbol—as an alternative of a easy “aim,” the decision turned a chronic “goaaaaaaaaaaal,” emotive sufficient to get any credible soccer fan up on their toes.
“After which all of the sudden, with out having set foot in a TV studio in my life,” he added. “I turned the lone play-by-play announcer for Univision for the following 14 years.”
The voice that turned a model
It’s uncommon for particular phrases to flee their ecosystem and develop into part of widespread tradition in a means that makes a single soundbite a personality in itself.
Take “stand away from the closing doorways, please” announcement for the New York Metropolis subway system, voiced by radio information anchor Charlie Pellett, or AOL’s “You’ve obtained mail!” greeting, voiced by Elwood Edwards.
With a long time on the air, Cantor has escaped the stadiums, together with his voice trickling down into popular culture, establishing his persona as greater than only a play-by-play announcer, however a recognizable function of soccer tradition.
He guest-starred as himself on The Simpsons, voiced a Spanish commentator for Phineas and Ferb, appeared on David Letterman’s talk show, and cameoed within the Muppets Most Wanted film.
You possibly can argue that taking a single phrase and turning it right into a model isn’t a recreation of luck, however one among perseverance and curation.
For Cantor, voicing soccer matches comes with painstaking preparation, from making ready notes on the groups and gamers, to exercising his voice.
As an illustration, Cantor—who has a voice coach—makes use of a steel straw and blows right into a glass of water to assist open his throat, in addition to massages his throat and stretch his face muscle mass earlier than a match.
Past the day by day rituals that put together him for the job, Cantor has relied on his agent to resolve what alternatives outdoors of the stadium make sense with the Mr. Purpose model—which Cantor defines as one that’s respectful and natural.
This 12 months’s endorsements embrace Coors—the place he’s featured in an advert calling “Cooooors,” a play on his well-known line—Lowe’s, and Visa.
“I did 5 campaigns on this World Cup, however I believe I used to be approached by in all probability one other 5 – 6 manufacturers, however we didn’t discover that their campaigns suited my persona and who I’m,” he added. “I don’t have as many as David Beckham however, for simply being a play-by-play announcer, it’s superb.”
