Bachelors of Starts
There’s the Heartbreaker, Isaac Romo.
And the Kid, Francisco Mendoza.
The Banker, Armando Begines, completes what seems to be the odd trio.
But in a gated community in Harbor City, the three Chivas USA players share more than their Mexican nationality. They also split the $2,000 monthly rent on a sparsely decorated three-bedroom, 2 1/2 -bath, two-floor apartment.
“It’s home,†Romo said with a smile and a shrug, his voice echoing off the barren living room walls and hardwood floors, “for now.â€
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Traditionally, Mexicans do not travel abroad to play professional futbol. The hermit-like existence of Mexico’s top players and a lack of exposure to other systems and styles across the globe is beginning to hurt Mexico’s quality of play, former Mexican national team coach Javier Aguirre said recently.
Aguirre had brought his new club, Osasuna of Spain, to the Home Depot Center for an exhibition against Chivas USA, and the implication was not lost on the seven Mexicans sent to the MLS expansion franchise by Chivas de Guadalajara.
They were trailblazers, of sorts, even if they were heading to MLS, which is not much respected in Mexico.
Being strangers in a strange land and not speaking the language would seem tough enough. Yet they were not reluctant to come. Romo is comfortable enough with his English that he has done a few U.S. television interviews. Begines and Mendoza understand but are still too shy to speak it.
“It’s a good experience, a new opportunity,†Mendoza said in Spanish of leaving La Piedad, the equivalent of Chivas’ triple-A affiliate, for Chivas USA. “It’s a different path for me and good for my career.â€
Still, outside defender Begines, left winger Mendoza and center-forward Romo had another hurdle: the youngest of the hired guns were the only bachelors sent to Chivas USA in what was billed as a grand project in Guadalajara.
The built-in support system afforded Ramon Ramirez, Martin Zuniga, Alfonso Loera and Hector Cuadros, who are all married and brought their families with them, escaped the three youngsters.
So it seemed natural that they get together. Romo, 22, three days older than Begines, whom he has known since they were 12. Mendoza, who turned 20 on April 29, made their acquaintance about five years ago. They all have two-year MLS contracts.
“We looked at 20 different houses,†Romo said. “Torrance, Cerritos, Downey, Long Beach, San Pedro. We wanted to live at the beach but too expensive, the beach.â€
Pro athletes unable to afford the sand and surf and accompanying lifestyle? Because they had not established credit, they had to pay cash for the used cars they drive. Their big shopping spree was at IKEA, where they picked up their bedroom furniture.
Doesn’t matter much anyway, not with the trio spending hardly any time in their apartment.
“We wake up, eat, go to training, come home, maybe take a nap,†Mendoza said. “It’s different here than in Mexico. I don’t go anywhere; I don’t have the time.â€
Said Romo: “It’s pretty aburrido.†Boring.
They keep to themselves and don’t even know their neighbors, whose front door is about 10 feet from theirs.
Wild parties? Dorm-room high jinks? Not likely.
Still, they are enjoying their American tour. Begines has relatives in Oxnard; his uncle’s truck came in handy at IKEA. Mendoza has family in Santa Ana; they took him to Disneyland. The biggest surprise for Romo has been “how many Mexicans there are here in Los Angeles.†The three are adjusting and finding the experience more palatable, but only recently did the mood turn.
Before the season, before road trips and hotel stays and group meals and the unity-building team sequestering that occurs the night before a home match, during the long stretch of two-a-day training sessions, the pang of solidad, loneliness, hit -- hard.
Especially for Begines, who suffered a broken collarbone in a scrimmage against the U.S. national team March 2.
“You think you know what being lonely is until you get hurt and there’s no family to take care of you,†said Begines. Mendoza helped him get dressed. “Just to take my shirt off or put it back on, he had to help me. He had to do every little thing for me, like open the door.
“The pain was so much I couldn’t sleep. I was like a child.â€
It seemed as though the three were continually on their cellphones, talking with family and friends back home, or using instant messaging on the computer in Romo’s room to keep up with their girlfriends.
“The first month was the most difficult,†Mendoza said. “We’re getting used to it.â€
Romo was content to stay in his room, with scarves of world soccer powers Arsenal, Ajax, Real Madrid and Manchester United along with one of Chivas USA adorning the walls. He watched the 55-inch, flat screen plasma television at the foot of the bed, the lone hint of excess in the apartment.
“I study English with ‘Friends,’ †he said, and sure enough, there were the fifth, sixth and ninth seasons of the series on DVD.
The cultural differences the three face daily may not approach what a malnourished baseball player from a Dominican Republic barrio may encounter in his first year off the island.
Besides, soccer players are quasi-celebrities to futbol-mad fans in Mexico. And, as Begines found out, to transplanted Mexicans here as well.
“When we were in Boston, they came up to the bus window, wearing the Chivas jerseys and singing, all the way in Boston,†Begines said.
Another time, on a day off, Begines and his girlfriend drove to Palm Springs. As they entered the city, traffic crawled to a stop and the driver behind Begines pounded on his horn.
“He just kept hitting it, ‘Honk, honk, honk,’ †Begines said. “We couldn’t get out of his way and he kept at it.â€
Then, when traffic cleared, the horn-happy driver pulled up alongside. He wasn’t angry. He had simply recognized Begines as a product of the Chivas system.
“He yelled, ‘Arriba, Chivas. Viva Mexico!’ †Begines said with a grin.
Things have gotten easier for the trio lately, especially with Begines recovering from his injury and reclaiming a starting position and Mendoza getting his first start against Real Salt Lake on May 7. Romo, who made a splash in the preseason by saying he wanted to lead the league in scoring, finally cracked the starting lineup last week.
And while he has two goals, it would seem he has more pressing personal matters, like figuring out how and when to ask his girlfriend to marry him. Hence the “Heartbreaker†nickname of “Rompecorazones†afforded the team’s resident heartthrob by Spanish-language radio broadcasters.
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It’s a Friday afternoon before a Saturday night home game. Mendoza and Romo are hurriedly making their beds and packing their bags to get to the Home Depot Center on time for practice -- they don’t want to risk the $10 fine that comes with being late -- and because the team will check into a hotel immediately after training, they will not see their digs again until after the match.
Begines, with his banker-like precision, is long gone.
Romo makes one last round, past the seldom-used table and four chairs in the eating area and a much-used George Foreman grill in the kitchen. Then, he’s out the door, passing a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe, standing sentry at the base of the stairs, a rosary and an open Bible on a ledge just below.
The Bible is open to Isaiah 65, which speaks of judgment and salvation, of punishment of the rebellious.
No wonder the youngsters did not question authority when told they would leave behind loved ones to join Chivas USA.
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TONIGHT
Chivas USA vs. Galaxy, 7,
FSNW, Fox Soccer Channel, HDNet,
Fox Sports World
Site -- Home Depot Center.
Radio -- 1540 (English), 830 (Spanish).
Records -- Chivas USA 1-7-1, Galaxy 5-2-1.
Record vs. Galaxy -- 0-1-0.
Update -- The Galaxy, already missing forward Landon Donovan to national team duty, learned Friday it will be without defender Chris Albright for at least six weeks after he was diagnosed with a left knee sprain, and without reserve forward Joseph Ngwenya, who underwent sports hernia surgery.... Chivas defender Alfonso Loera’s one-game suspension is over, which could allow Douglas Sequeira, who was burned several times in Chivas’ 5-2 loss to FC Dallas, to return to his natural position of defensive midfielder.... The Galaxy pounded Chivas, 3-1, in the teams’ first meeting, the Galaxy scoring three unanswered goals before the match was 33 minutes old.... Fans wearing Chivas’ red and white colors will receive a $10 ticket discount.
Tickets -- (877) 244-8271.
-- Paul Gutierrez
