SoccerAmerica - Yanks set to debut at new homes in Mexico 07/21/2011

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Mexico's Primera Division kicks off the 2011 Torneo Apertura this weekend. Ten Americans are vying for starting jobs, and several young players are on the verge of breaking into the first team. Herculez Gomez, Edgar Castillo and Adrian Ruelas joined new clubs, while DaMarcus Beasley makes his debut in Mexico after seven seasons in Europe. The most exciting young American may be 21-year-old Joe Benny Corona, who helped Tijuana win promotion to the top flight for the first time. For a look at the Americans ...

Day 1
Friday
Estudiantes Tecos (Gomez, Antunez) vs. Toluca
Saturday
Pachuca (Torres) vs. Santos
Club Tijuana (Corona) vs. Morelia
Tigres (Bornstein) vs. Cruz Azul
Atlas vs. Puebla (Beasley)
Atlante (Guadarrama) vs. Chivas
Sunday
UNAM vs. San Luis (Orozco)
Club America (Castillo) vs. Gallos Blancos
Jaguares (Ruelas) vs. Monterrey

(in parentheses are career Mexican First Division statistics)

Edgar Castillo, Club America (6 seasons, 135 games, 7 goals)
Still only 24, Castillo is beginning his seventh season in Mexico. The New Mexico product was signed by Club America in 2009 but after half a season was shipped off on loan, first to Tigres, then San Luis and Puebla. Back with America, this is a make-or-break season for Castillo. He started Saturday in the friendly against Manchester City in San Francisco.

Jose Francisco Torres, Pachuca (5 seasons, 111 games, 3 goals)
The Tuzos' worst season in a decade resulted in a major householding. Torres stayed, but Coach Efrain Flores has brought in seven new players in the attack and midfield. Torres, 23, played in 29 league games last season with a career-high 11 yellow cards. He has not played for the USA in 2011.

Michael Orozco, San Luis (4 seasons, 71 games, 3 goals)
After one season on loan to MLS's Philadelphia Union, Orozco returned to San Luis but didn't play in the 2011 Torneo Clausura. The 24-year-old defender has been starting for San Luis in preseason and hopes a strong Mexican campaign will earn him a recall to the U.S. national team.

Herculez Gomez, Estudiantes Tecos (2 seasons, 44 games, 15 goals)
Gomez burst on the scene in 2010, sharing the goal-scoring title with 10 goals at Puebla. After a season at Pachuca, where he scored just five goals in 29 games, he's moved to the modest Tecos, where he'll be reunited with Jose Luis Sanchez Sola, his coach at Puebla. He was hot in the pre-season with four goals.

Sonny Guadarrama, Atlante (3 seasons, 25 games)
After missing out on first-team soccer for two seasons, Guadarrama returned to the First Division with Atlante in 2010-11. The 24-year-old midfielder played 13 games for Atlante, more than he had in four seasons at Morelia.

Jonathan Bornstein, Tigres (1 season, 7 games)
In his first campaign since moving to Mexico, Bornstein had trouble breaking into the lineup at Tigres, which won the 2011 Clausura first-phase title and had the best defense in the league. With the backline returning intact -- it includes Mexico national team player Jorge Torres Nilo -- Bornstein's best chance for playing time will be in midfield.

Adrian Ruelas, Jaguares (1 season, 2 games)
After debuting for Santos in the 2011 Clausura, Ruelas figured to get more playing time this season but he returned from vacation to discover he had been loaned to Jaguares, based in Chiapas. At 20, Ruelas is considered the top young Mexican-American prospect besides the Vancouver Whitecaps' Omar Salgado.

Daniel Antunez, Estudiantes Tecos (1 season, 2 games)
The well-traveled Antunez, 25, arrived at Estudiantes Tecos from Finland in January. He isn't expected to be much of a factor for Tecos,

DaMarcus Beasley, Puebla (1st Mexican First Division season)
After seven seasons in Europe with PSV, Manchester City, Rangers and Hannover 96, the 29-year-old Beasley hopes to resurrect his career at Puebla. He scored the winning goal in his first game for Puebla, a preseason tournament game against 2011 Concacaf champion Monterrey. Beasley was one of 20 new players brought in during the offseason at Puebla, which hasn't won a Mexican league title since 1990.

Joe Benny Corona, Tijuana (1st Mexican First Division season)
The San Diego State product, born to a Mexican father and Salvadoran mother, was the hero of the Xoloitzcuintles' promotion battle with a goal and an assist in the decisive Liga de Ascenso game against Irapuato and should see action on the right wing.

Other Americans: Five young Americans -- Moises Orozco, Victor Garza, Juan Pablo Ocegueda, Uvaldo Luna and Daniel Navarro -- were invited to join Tigres' first team for pre-season training. Ernest Nungaray spent time in pre-season with the Morelia first team.

Note: American-born Isaac Acuna has returned to Club America after playing on loan to Queretaro and Miguel Ponce plays for Guadalajara. Both have played for Mexico's U-22 team.

0 comments

Gole goal

commented on: July 21, 2011 at 11:13 a.m.

Americans playing in Mexico's Primera Division that is great news. Better yet Latinos, Hispanics, and Chicanos playing there from the states thats great. Last I checked the Mexico's Primera Division is better than the MLS in level of play. So why is it that we see none of these players listed on the US National side? Wonder why? Shame to see that this past recent USMNT doesnt have any Latinos, Hispanics, or Chicanos on the side. What does that tell us?

Robert Lopez

commented on: July 21, 2011 at 12:55 p.m.

That Bob Bradley can't pick talent. Instead he would rather start Altidore over Gomez when Gomez tied for Golden Boot a few tournaments ago. RIGHT BEFORE WC 2010! IDIOT Bradley is.

Power Dive

commented on: July 21, 2011 at 5:54 p.m.

Not trying to defend Bradley's talent evaluation (I would love to see more of Torres, Gomez and probably others on the list above that I haven't seen yet), but I have a potential thought on why we don't see more latinos/etc on the national team. To play the beautiful game, it takes 11 players all on the same page. It's not so beautiful when there's no "2" in the potential beautiful "1, 2" pass that Torres just made. Essentially, if Torres doesn't have people in the right place at the right time to pass the ball to, he might potentially look rather pedestrian at times. In fact, he might look like a liability if he loses the ball in the midfield trying to play the beautiful game because he had nobody to pass the ball to. To really be able to see the talent of Torres, 6 to 8 Torres' need to be out there at the same time. Unfortunately, we only have one, at most.

Ric Fonseca

commented on: July 21, 2011 at 10:09 p.m.

WONDERFUL! Except for Beasley - with ALL due respect, it is enlightening to see so many US players of Hispanic/Latino/Chicanos playing in Mexico's primera! BUT.... to Gole Goal and Power Dive, if you need to ask why they can make the Mexican Primera, but they can't even be team managers for the USMNT, then all I can say and ask is: WHERE IN HECK HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN??? This topic has been dissected, turned inside out, debated, and discussed low and high, seemingly everyweek, and yet you need to ask? Like they say when shopping for a new item, if you need to ask you can't afford it. Hence, if you need to ask... well, wake up and smell the coffee, ok?

Gole goal

commented on: July 22, 2011 at 11:04 a.m.

Lets just be honest here in full. Soccer world wide is to promote the game no mater on color of skin or language that you speak. If you have talent and you are great at what you do, will than thats the type of player that is wanted. US Soccer as a whole from ODP, to the majority of College Soccer, and the National level is very basis, prejudice in its selection process when it comes to players. When I say basis and prejudice I do mean US Soccer is such in concerns to style of play and ethnicity or should I just say race. Yup race! Lets just be honest here. US Soccer is basis towards the brown player (Chicano, Hispanic). Yes it is very basis for one because of style of play and also because of race. The numbers don't lie look on the NCAA website concerning statistics of race in soccer on men's and womens side and also on coaches. Also, just look at the roster of the US senior side on both mens and womens. Shame that this is the case. I know for sure if Chicharito, Giovani de Santos, or Marta were born here in the states they wouldn't be on the National Level or even on a top 10 college program. For starters they play creative soccer,they are technically skilled, short, and they are brown. So the problem is this, the selectors at the ODP level, National level and the college level the majority of them are far from color blind. When is US Soccer going to learn? When is US soccer going to change?

Gole goal

commented on: July 22, 2011 at 11:27 a.m.

Lets just be honest here in full. Soccer world wide is to promote the game no mater on color of skin or language that you speak. If you have talent and you are great at what you do, will than thats the type of player that is wanted. US Soccer as a whole from ODP, to the majority of College Soccer, and the National level is very bias, prejudice in its selection process when it comes to players. When I say bias and prejudice I do mean US Soccer is such in concerns to style of play and ethnicity or should I just say race. Yup race! Lets just be honest here. US Soccer is bias towards the brown player (Chicano, Hispanic). Yes it is very bias for one because of style of play and also because of race. The numbers don't lie look on the NCAA website concerning statistics of race in soccer on men's and womens side and also on coaches. Also, just look at the roster of the US senior side on both mens and womens. Shame that this is the case. I know for sure if Chicharito, Giovani de Santos, or Marta were born here in the states they wouldn't be on the National Level or even on a top 10 college program. For starters they play creative soccer,they are technically skilled, short, and they are brown. So the problem is this, the selectors at the ODP level, National level and the college level the majority of them are far from color blind. When is US Soccer going to learn? When is US soccer going to change?

Power Dive

commented on: July 22, 2011 at 11:57 a.m.

Ric: I live in North Dakota and only watch college soccer and the NY Red Bulls. I actually only found out that hispanics played soccer last week ;-)

Robert Osoria

commented on: July 24, 2011 at 3:24 p.m.

That is why i will never route for the USA when playing against Mexico. But the USMNT is reaping what is sowing. And if we are not wanted here Mexico NT's will take our Americans of Mexican decent as proven by the U17's Sanchez.

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