I interviewed Claudio Suarez about Chivas Guadalajara's policy of fielding only Mexican-born players. After he talked about how many fans have an emotional connection to the club because it has only Mexican players, I joked, "So Chivas is more Mexican than the Mexican national team?"
He smiled. "Well, in some ways, it's easier to be a part of the national team, because a player can be naturalized and join, but Chivas doesn't accept nationalized players."
Gerardo Mascareno played for Chivas in the early to mid 90's and was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Mexican parents. His family returned to Mexico when he was young and he eventually obtained a Mexican passport and represented Mexico in the 1992 Olympics.
ReplyDeleteBut Mascareno's signing with Guadalajara was not without controversy as some ultra nationalists did not consider him "Mexican enough" to represent Chivas!