[Mods, I sure hope it's legal to post my own paraphrase/translation...] http://www.laopinion.com/golazo/?rkey=00030801184510653622 It began as a utopian dream and grew for several months as speculation. Yesterday, it concluded with the announcement of impresario Jorge Vergara that beginning in 2004 there will be a Chivas franchise in MLS. The businessman will see a new dream realized, to complete the arrival of a representative of the "sacred flock" to the American soccer circuit at the start of the next season. "We are only separated by minor legal details, which are more complicated than they are in Mexico, but I'm already burning to get started," explained the impresario. Questions were showered upon Vergara, who participated in the final press conference before the MLS All-Star Game. Meanwhile, he let loose with his good sense of humor and clarified some of the details about his next team, along with Guadalajara and Costa Rican team Saprissa. "We still haven't defined the location because we Mexicans are like humidity, we're everywhere. If they ask me which city I like, I'd say all of them, since they're all nice and there are Mexicans in every one. Nevertheless, the clearest option is San Diego, although Vergara did not rule out Los Angeles, which is still busy trying to build a sports club. "In the city of angels, I don't think the Galaxy create an impediment, the only thing is that they'd never get to be champions any more. We want to create the concept of Chivas being for Mexicans and Latinos, even though legalities prevent us from being exclusively 'Aztecas.' We need to form a team that people feel is theirs, that's majority Latino." He added, "There could be players of Mexican ancestry, and we'd have reinforcements from Chivas and Saprissa." Vergara didn't miss the chance to make fun of his Club America rivals, who also approached the league with the idea of expanding. "I don't know if they're looking to expand, but if they come, we'll beat them here, too. We can't be similar teams because we aren't equals. They don't have our level of quality, and they're simply not Chivas," he joked. "We're beginning with a project of new blood this year, and that will allow us to have a team ready for the start of next season." Vergara is making a big bet, and he isn't troubled by the disadvantages of his project. --- Q: Isn't it a risk to form a Chivas for Latinos, when it is a Mexican icon? A: There will always be risks. You've got to cross the street somewhere. We're convinced that we can make a good mixture of sports and business. Everything is a risk, Chivas, Saprissa, Atletico Madrid, and all the projects we manage. We wouldn't be here if we didn't have faith. We still need to talk with commissioner Don Garber about the traditions we want to maintain in our team. We're still developing our project for soccer academies in various regions of the country. The league manages the players, and we want to maintain our structure. These are little things that we need to agree upon." --- C.D. Guadalajara was founded in 1906 by a group of Belgian and French students. It was originally named "Club de Futbol Union." Its professional soccer debut was in 1943, and it has never allowed non-Mexican players. It has won ten league titles. In 2002, it changed its business status, with the arrival of current owner Jorge Vergara. Vergara also bought Costa Rican team Saprissa and is in negotiations to buy Spanish team Atletico Madrid.
Excluding players do to national origin or race would be impossible here -- I would assume. I hope the new team finds its own name, since "Chivas" is identical in meaning with the team that sports only Mexican players. How about Camino Real San Diego? The famous highway begind in San Diego, does it not?
Yeah, it's a real bogus league that allows a foreign gazillionaire to just come in and take over a team. We don't want any of 'their' kind around.