Miguel Ponce was born in Sacramento, raised in Tijuana and learned his soccer in San Ysidro, near San Diego, so he is as much American as Mexican, meaninghe’ll have a difficult choice picking which country he’ll represent at the international level.
At 21, he’s won the left-back job at Guadalajara, which adds a further complication becauseof its policy of only using Mexicans. Ponce studied in San Ysidro on the American side of the border but moved to Chivas’ youth academy at the age of 14. He broke into the Chivas lineup last springwhen its national team players were absent due to World Cup preparations. Over the summer, he started for Guadalajara in both legs of the Libertadores Cup final it lost to Universidad de Chile.
“If the U.S. is interested, then I haven’t noticed,” Ponce says, “but Chivas de Guadalajara is a Mexican team and Mexicans have to play there. If I was to play for the U.S., then Ican’t play for Chivas, so if they call me, then I would need to really think about what to do.”
Miguel–don’t even consider playing for the USMNT, because you will just sit on the bench. Bob and Bruce’s National team isn’t interested in skillful Latin play. Play for el Tri and play real futbal.
Miguel–don’t even consider playing for the USMNT, because you will just sit on the bench. Bob and Bruce’s National team isn’t interested in skillful Latin play. Play for el Tri and play real futbal.