My latest effort for SI.com was a bit of a callaborative effort between myself and Andrea. It should make some noise both here and in Mexico.
Jesus Padilla of Chivas de Guadalajara, we found out, was born in San Jose, Calif. How did we find that out? We got a copy of his birth certificate, which shows he was born here in the U.S.
Chivas thus has an American on their roster.
Padilla has played only for Tapatio (their second-division club) this year but he played for Chivas in Copa Libertadores on Tuesday. He's played in 11 games for Chivas and has played in SuperLiga, Sudamericana and now Libertadores as well.
We'll be discussing the story and its implications here in more detail I'm sure but for now I just wanted to pass the link and story along.
I pointed his nationality out earlier in your Americans abroad post. This is actually a repeat incident. In the 90s, a player born in Silver Springs of Mexican players, Gerardo Mascareño, signed for Guadalajara.
ReplyDeleteMascareño had been doing good things at the time. He became a regular with Atlas, which caught the eyes of some at Guadalajara's camp.
When news of his transfer broke out, all hell broke loose. Mascareño actually sat out the first 6 games. The people didn't want him on the team because he wasn't Mexican, the press harrassed Chivas in a way I'd not seen before and have not seen since.
Once the season was over, he was shipped off to Pachuca, where he spent two years and became a regular contributor, adding 6 goals to Pachuca's 1999 Championship run and starting in the final game.
Can you imagine the sh#t storm that would erupt if a US team banned Mexican players as a policy?
ReplyDeleteThese Mexicans have a peculiar and convenient defition of nationality.
ReplyDeleteShame on them!!
i love it...you guys are awesome. i'm laughing out loud right now about the chivas "mistake". i don't support the chivas simply because of this "true mexicans only" rule.
ReplyDeleteCould he have dual birth certificates? my sister and brother in law were born here, but were also "registered" in Guadalajara...thus giving them dual nationality....being born in both countries.
This practice is pretty common..especially years ago before computers took over.
Thank God for Chivas USA!!!
ReplyDeleteDamn. Great story, guys.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's an interesting bit of news eh? I gotta tell ya though Luis, I don't think this will have the impact you think it might. While certainly a touchy subject, I doubt he would ever be allowed to come near the first team if the "directivos" hadn't already done their homework and researched his birth/citizenship status. Apparently, De la Torre was already aware of this and still kept him on the team.
ReplyDeleteIt's still gonna raise hell amongst Chivas most fervent/nationalistic/culturally ignorant fans. The hardcore ones might care, the rest of the fans won't say a word if he turns out to be a good player.
Toodles
As a Chivas USA fan, I can honestly say tht this sucks. This player is obviously American though the mothership claims otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI hope that in the future, the USSF and the MLS will do a better job of recognizing talent that is not from the AYSO/Bradenton Academy/College category. Too many are falling through the cracks and winding up in Mexico, starting.
So do you two show up in Goal 3 to ruin it for Santiago? I'm really missing the point here. If it's showing Chivas as zenohpobic, they had to know he's got an American birth certificate. If it's about the player, you'rre basically just making his life harder. The value of the story is what exactly?
ReplyDeleteI'm a journalist, not a PR person. What happens to players/clubs/etc. as a result of one of my stories is inconsequential to me.
ReplyDeleteLuis,
ReplyDeleteA great piece of reporting. Excellent work.
Kartik
A Mexican born abroad is still a Mexican.... With the recent acceptance of the many naturalized Mexicans into national squads, I'm not so sure this piece will affect Padilla or Chivas any.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Edoardo Isella (someone you, Luis, pointed out to me and I wrote about here)? I know he was born in Mexico, but his father is Hondruan and from my research that was seen as controversial as well.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Damn good work, Luis. can you talk about it some more on CSRN American soccer show?
ReplyDeleteThere's got to be more to this