Brothers and Sisters

Missed this when it first came out a few days ago. Mexican-Americans Jesus and Carmen Padilla had a little family reunion in Juarez.

Translation: Both chose a path in soccer, Jesús as well as Carmen Padilla, and now they’re together again in Juarez to kick a ball for their causes. Jesus “Gringo” Padilla plays against the Indian of Juarez with Tapatio in Division A, and for her part, Carmen plays with the Mexican women’s team in Olympic qualifying.

It was an emotional meeting as the siblings Padilla spoke of what it means to play soccer. Carmen, the only daughter in the Padilla family (actually, the article has this backwards – Jesus is the only son in the family, while the rest are girls) testifies: “My brother inspired me to play soccer and now it’s the activity that means everything to me. I admire Jesus a lot, how he’s grown bit by bit with Chivas.”

In the morning, both will have important matches, and they are supporting each other to achieve a positive result. “It’s a small world and this weekend the two of us are in Juarez and we’re going to root each other on. I believe in him a lot and hope he wins.”

For his part, the Red-and-White forward expressed pride in what his sister has accomplished. “Since she was little, she played soccer. I am very proud of her, because this tournament is very important for Mexico and I’m sure she and the entire team are going to earn their way to the Olympics in Beijing.

This weekend on the field, the siblings Padilla will try to leave everything on the field in search of one objective – triumph for their respective teams.