Or rather, Jose Manuel Miranda,Yenier Bermudez and Yordany Alvarez, the Cuban defectors on trial with the Galaxy, all rode a bus from Miami to Los Angeles, a four-day trip.
Why a bus? Was the club that splashed out money for David Beckham too cheap to cover their airfare? Do MLS rules prevent teams from spending money on players to come in for trials? No and no.
Turns out, the Cubans couldn't fly because they don't have the identification papers necessary to do so. No driver's license or passport, for example. They didn't want to pass up the opportunity to have a tryout with the Galaxy, so they hopped on a bus.
"What did you do during the trip?" I asked them today, wondering what they thought of the country they traveled through.
Bermudez gave me an incredulous look. "What can you do on a bus? We just sat there. It took a long time."
While the players are on trial, the Galaxy administration puts them up in a hotel and pays them a per diem that I suppose covers their meals.
I'm writing a full article on them later. One thing that stood out is how big a hero Chivas USA star Maykel Galindo is to all of them. I asked if they'd seen him since they arrived in LA. They said no, that they'd love to see him and talk with him, but that they figure he's been busy.
2 comments:
thanks for that info !
alltough a cross country travel can be nice (with enough time and leg space, clima control) I was puzzled why they didn't fly.
looking forward to the article and I hope for them the trial works out aswell as them meeting their hero.
Ben
anyone ever hear of a taking the train?
Oh wait, I've taken the train from Boston and Chicago, and if it was anything like that horrid experience, these Cubans will want to swim back to Cuba.
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