Chivas USA shoring up team with Cubans
Club cuts back on Mexican emphasis
Chivas USA was conceived as an offshoot of Mexico's most popular club, CD Guadalajara. "Las Chivas" ("The Goats") are considered an expression of Mexican identity since they exclusively contract domestic players.
Since Los Angeles has one of the largest populations of Spanish speakers in the world, it seemed like a natural place for Chivas USA to set up operations.
But Chivas USA, the Revolution's opponent tomorrow night, abandoned the pro-Mexican approach after a disastrous debut in 2005 and has been looking in different directions. The latest horizon is Cuba, which produces many more professional baseball players than soccer players.
Maykel Galindo, who defected from Cuba during the Gold Cup two years ago, is Chivas USA's leading scorer with six goals. Two more Cubans are on the way: Osvaldo Alonso, 21, and Lester More, 28, who left the national team during its Gold Cup stop in New York recently.
The Revolution have been victimized by a Cuban previously -- they surrendered a goal to Alberto Perez Delgado in a 1-0 loss at Colorado July 4, 2004. That would be the only MLS goal scored by Perez Delgado, a 2002 Gold Cup defector who is now performing for the Puerto Rico Islanders.
Before and after its revolution, Cuba had periods of successful soccer, defeating Romania in the 1938 World Cup in France and qualifying for the 1976 and '80 Olympic Games. A Cuban forward, Pito Villanon, was among the top scorers in United States leagues in the 1940s and '50s, performing for New York-area teams. But Cuban soccer declined, and even if players emerged, there was no market for them.
There was an attempt to revive Cuba's national team in the 1990s by bringing the players en masse to Bonn to play for Bonner SC in the lower divisions of the German league. The experiment lasted a short time and Cuba has since concentrated on competing against regional foes. Cuba has advanced to five of the last six Gold Cup tournaments, winning once in 13 games.
Galindo appears to be the best of the current Cubans. He was listed as Maikel Galindo Castaneda during the 2003 Gold Cup, playing twice for Cuba at Gillette Stadium. Two years later, Galindo failed to board the team flight from Seattle to Boston. After the Cubans lost to Costa Rica (3-1) July 9, 2005, Galindo said he caught a bus and called a Cuba team liaison, who arranged a meeting with immigration officials .
Four months later, Galindo was granted political asylum. Galindo reacquainted with Yuniesky Betancourt, a boyhood friend from Santa Clara, who was playing shortstop for the Seattle Mariners. Galindo played a season with the Seattle Sounders, surviving a broken cheekbone after a collision with former New Hampshire College goalkeeper Preston Burpo, now a teammate, in a preseason exhibition.
Galindo joined Chivas USA this year, his soccer instincts and speed making him an effective complement to Ante Razov. Galindo has scored six goals.
When the Revolution visit Rochester for a US Open Cup match July 10, they will be facing another Cuban, Rey Angel Martinez, a Rhinos midfielder who defected along with Delgado and played for the Colorado Rapids.
Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com. 