Out of the ashes of his tumultuous homeland, a country tattered beyond belief, rises Steeven Saba.

The Haitian-born, Weston FC-starring midfielder continues to ascend to levels that belie his age and humble beginnings.

In the latest development of his ever rising career, the newly turned 17-year-old Saba has been invited on a 14-day trial with the Blackburn Rovers of the English Premier League.

He is to leave for England on March 2 where he will compete against other prospects from the club, and depending on how he fares, get a look with the first team.

“I never thought I would get this far so soon,” Saba said. “It feels great to be invited. I’ve been told that the players are bigger and faster so I have to play faster.”

This will mark the first trip to England for Saba, who has competed in many parts of the world. While playing for Haitian club Shana at a tournament in the Cayman Islands, Saba was spotted by Weston FC coach Alvin James eventually leading to his taking residence in Miami last year.

And before he become a fixture of U.S. National Team camps where he’s shined alongside Samuel Adjei, Ryan Zinkhan, William Trapp, Miguel Lopez and Matt Ingram, Saba spent time in camp with Real Madrid and toured through other parts of Europe.

But at a time like this, it’s hard to imagine his thoughts venturing far from Haiti, still in massive discord following last month’s devastating earthquake. Saba’s parents still split their time there in two-week intervals with one parent always remaining in Miami to be with Steeven. The Saba’s have lost family members and friends; seen irreparable destruction and father Gregory Saba chafes at what he describes as a misuse of charitable funds in his home country.      

But even with the world disharmonious around them, Gregory is making sure that Steeven keeps a healthy insouciance of youth. The father is making certain that son literally keeps his eye on the ball.

“He is lucky to have soccer. That is what he is focusing on. He cannot waste this opportunity now.”

Adds Steeven about the troubles back home: “What I’ve seen has been terrible. It’s scary. Anything that I can do to help Haiti right now, I will do.”

And so Steeven moves forward, his potential beginning to merge with his realized achievement.

His game is unique with an international twist and it’s easy to imagine how he caught the eye of the Blackburn Rovers scouts.

“He came highly recommended,” said Blackburn Rovers F.C. North American Scout Jamie Byers. “It’s a good opportunity to see how he can relate to the other players there. The club will make a determination on how he meets the standard and how it works is a player can be sent to maybe a French or Belgian first division team and eventually bring the kid in to assimilate.

“This does not happen often (where a U.S. player is invited to England for trial). If he does well it can open up the floodgates for other kids from the U.S.”

Or bring a tiny measure of triumph to a country badly in need of a victory.