Where are the Latin players?

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by Badattitude, Jul 19, 2006.

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  1. Badattitude

    Badattitude New Member

    May 31, 2003
    Considering the size of the US Latin/Spanish speaking population - you'd think we'd have a lot more challenging for a National Team Spot...but hell there aren't that many in the MLS to begin with.
    Why do you figure this is?
     
  2. bunge

    bunge BigSoccer Supporter

    Oct 24, 2000
    Racism. Racism and sexism.
     
  3. Raider Power

    Raider Power Member

    Feb 23, 2006
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The assumption being made is that the American born latino has a natural inclination to play the game. That assumption is wrong.
     
  4. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    Most of the Latinos in the US are of Caribbean/Mexican/Central American ancestry. South America produces the exceptional Latino ballers.

    Mastroeni
    Tab Ramos
    Claudio Reyna
    Benny Feilhaber
     
  5. Jamooky

    Jamooky Member+

    Mar 24, 2006
    Cleveland, OH USA
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You're including Feilhaber (who isnt Latino), but not mentioning Clavijo, Llamosa, Hugo Perez, ?

    I'm in a knit-picking mood :p
     
  6. West Coast

    West Coast Member

    Feb 4, 2006
    California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Isn't Reyna a gringo?
     
  7. Badattitude

    Badattitude New Member

    May 31, 2003
    How about Latin people who become US citizens?
     
  8. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    Feilhaber's parents are from Brasil. I forgot whether or not he was born there but he's definately Latino.

    And I'm referring mostly to players making a relatively recent impact in the more competitive US soccer environment.
     
  9. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    At least one of his parents is from Argentina and like Feilhaber he spent time South America learning the game.

    I'm referring to recent ancestry.
     
  10. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    Feilhaber was born in Brazil which, last I checked, was part of Latin America. Ergo, I think it's fair to call him Latino.

    I think the criticism of the US not having enough Latino players is valid, but I also think progress is being made, at least at the youth national team level.

    Our last U20 team had Feilhaber, Sammy Ochoa and Arturo Alvarez, all of whom played in qualifying or the WYC for US.

    In the current cycle, Thomas Rongen has called in 48 players to the three camps he's had so far and of those, 13 are Hispanic: Bryan Arguez, David Arvizu, Eric Avila, Anthony Beltran, Carlos “Chico” Borja , Carlos Diaz, Genaro Fernandez, Omar Gonzales, Sonny Guadarrama, Daniel Lopez, Rodrigo Lopez, Estuardo Sanchez and Nicolas Torres.

    And that doesn’t even include Jonathan Villanueva, who is currently on trial at Ajax and, inexplicably, hasn’t been called up for this U20 team, or college stars Diego Barerra and Rodrigo Hidalgo, who are rehabbing injuries but otherwise would be in the pool.

    At the recent ESP camp for top rising HS sophomores and juniors, there was a large representation of Hispanic kids and the Golden Boot winner was Jose Gonzalez and 11 of the 38 all-stars picked were Latino: AUstin Guerrero, Steven Amaya, Edgar Barajas, Daniel Barerra, Gregory Garza, Christian Camacho, Vincent Ocampo, Victor Yanez, Jesse Paredes, Victor Cortez and GOnzalez.

    In Bradenton with the U17 team, 5 of the 28 90/91s who were in residency this spring are Latino: Danny Barerra, Bryan Dominguez, Temi Molinar, Jesse Paredes and Andres Suazo. (I actually think that number is lower than it should be, but it's pretty close to where Latinos are in the US, percentage wise.)

    You'll not a little but if duplication from the residency list and ESP, though that is not just with the Latino kids.

    Is it as good as it could be? No. Could it be better? Yes, Hell yes. Does the USSF need to do a better job scouting areas where kids aren't in the mainstream of American youth soccer? Absolutely. Do these increased numbers say more about the assimilation into middle and upper class of Latinos as it does about American soccer reaching out? Probably.

    But, slowly we are starting to see more Hispanic players and things are getting a little better on that front. So there is hope, even though there is still a lot of room for improvement.
     
  11. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    Feilhaber is an Austran Jew on his father's side (that ended up in Brazil).

    I am not sure about his mom.
     
  12. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    But he was still BORN IN LATIN AMERICA, thus making him LATINO.
     
  13. Klay

    Klay Member

    Feb 28, 2005
    VA
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I could ask him...he's my facebook friend. :)
     
  14. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    His mother is Portugese. I believe he plays under an EU passport. His father was a soccer player in Argentina. His uncle or granduncle is a legendary coach in Argentina, but I think wheverevr I read about his uncle got hyped up.
     
  15. Calexico77

    Calexico77 Member

    Sep 19, 2003
    Mid-City LA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    this is already turning into the best thread ever.

    Does anyone know how many seasons MLS has been around? :p
     
  16. Jamooky

    Jamooky Member+

    Mar 24, 2006
    Cleveland, OH USA
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Brazil's not LATIN America

    Brasilians aren't Latino, most Argentine's arent either, neither are suranamese, or french guyanens, or jamaicans, or falkland islanders

    symantics, symantics, symantics

    Look: I dont wanna get into a thing here, because thats not the point of this thread. I just dont consider Brazil to be part of Latin America. yes I know Portuguese is a romance language, but so it french, is quebec latin america? its my opinion, if you disagree I understand why.

    Lets all be friends
     
  17. Davids26

    Davids26 Member

    May 31, 2000
    Ditto that.
     
  18. DaPrince84

    DaPrince84 Member+

    Aug 22, 2001
    MD
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    lol @ Brazil being apart of Latin America...

    LMFAO @ Benny Feilhaber being Latin America because he may have been born in a Latin country and spent his first 3 years there (even tho his parents arent of ancestry from that nation)... some of the people on this board... smh
     
  19. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
    I disagree, but only because your definition of Latin America is not the generally accepted one in the US. Brazilians (and Argentinians, etc.) undoubtedly have their own definitions.

    Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. The 20 republics are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The term Latin America is also used to include Puerto Rico, the French West Indies, and other islands of the West Indies where a Romance tongue is spoken. Occasionally the term is used to include Belize, Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname.

    A couple of issues are are common. One is the confusing (and improper) interchanging of Latino and Hispanic, which means 'of Spain/Spanish descent.' Brazilians (to us) are Latinos but not Hispanics. More importantly, Brazilians themselves apparently exclude Brazil from their definition of Latin America.

    Definitions for what comprises Latin America vary. From a sociopolitical perspective, Latin America generally includes territories in the Americas where Spanish or Portuguese prevail: Mexico; most of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Territories where other Romance languages such as French (e.g., Quebec in Canada) or derivatives like Papiamento or Kreyol predominate are frequently not reckoned as parts of Latin America, despite French origins of the concept. Sometimes, particularly in the United States, the term "Latin America" is used to refer to all of the Americas south of the U.S., including countries such as Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and Suriname where non-Romance languages prevail. Conversely, it is often used in Brazil to designate their Spanish-speaking counterparts within this area.

    Geopolitically, Latin America is divided into 20 independent countries and several dependent territories. Brazil is by far the largest country of Latin America, both in area and in population. Its official language, Portuguese, sets it apart from other Latin American countries which predominately use Spanish as their official language.

    http://www.answers.com/topic/latin-america

    Compiles definitions etc. from many sources - if anyone is interested.
     
  20. JohnR

    JohnR Member+

    Jun 23, 2000
    Chicago, IL
    Let's rephrase the question. We have plenty of representation in USMNT for the 30% of U.S. Latinos who are not of Mexican descent.

    The Mexican-Americans, on the other hand, account for more than twice as much U.S. youth population as all those other guys put together, and they are MIA.
     
  21. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
    I'm not a Feilhaber expert, but I would be interested to learn about his early development. Reyna was born in NJ but obviously developed important parts of his game in Argentina. I think Mastroeni was born in Argentina but came here at a pretty young age (4?). I'm not sure if he ever went back there to train. Adu's not Latino, of course, but he developed key elements of his game long before he ever arrived here.

    I'd like to hear about 'Feilhaber - the early years.' Anyone? It would be interesting to know if just three or four years of early, intensive exposure to the game paid off so substantially later on.
     
  22. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
    I think we do have to work with some basic divisions to understand (and address) the specific issues we are talking about.

    1) Mexican descent vs. non-Mexican descent? Or perhaps Mexican, Central American or South American origin?

    2) Born here or born elsewhere? If elsewhere, how old were they when they arrived? Did they simply stay here or did they go back and forth?

    I would also have a particular interest in players, Latino or not, who spent all/part of their formative years in Latin America. Reyna was born here but spent a decent amount of time growing up in Argentina, developing/honing his game. For many reasons, his situation was special.
     
  23. rey arturo

    rey arturo New Member

    Jul 1, 2006
    Now that's just crazy talk. Not surprising coming from an Argentine. And yes, French Canada should be considered part of Latin America.

    And it is not symantics, it's semantics.
     
  24. Fulham9

    Fulham9 Member

    Mar 14, 2002
    Houston, Texas, USA
    Mexico is the most underachieving nation in world soccer. It has a huge population. Soccer is by far the most popular sport. It is relatively wealthy. It has the richest domestic league in the Western hemisphere. But, how many great players have they produced? How many great teams have they produced? Compare Mexico to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, each of which have produced dozens of great players and many great teams. For all its advantages, Mexico has not and is not punching its weight in the world of soccer.

    I guess what I'm saying is that if Mexico can't produce great soccer players out of its Mexican population, we shouldn't expect the United States to produce great soccer players out of its Mexican-Americans population.

    The other thing to keep in mind is that for a lot of Mexican-Americans, especially third generation and above, soccer is just another sport, and not part of their cultural heritage.
     
  25. Jamooky

    Jamooky Member+

    Mar 24, 2006
    Cleveland, OH USA
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I apologise for my ignorance. I never knew Mario Lemuiex was a Latino. I'm sure he'd be shcoked to find out he wasn't Quebecois. In fact there are an awful lot of Latinos in the NHL, and hockey hall of fame!

    I guess everyone of Rumanian descent who lives in the Southwest or south Florida are also Latinos.

    Are the indeginous tribes of central & south america Latino? How about the Welsh population in Patagonia? or German speakers in Brasil?
     

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