FOREIGN AID
He was branded a traitor, a turncoat, a defector. And that was by the people who revered him.
Others thought Luis Hernandez was merely a ringer coming to cash in on the almighty dollar while moving soccer into the U.S. mainstream.
Everyone, it seemed, had an opinion as to why “El Matador” would leave his native Mexico at the height of his career to play a seemingly inferior brand of futbol with Major League Soccer, which paid an unprecedented $4 million for his rights.
But when Hernandez, who came to MLS in mid-May as Mexico’s co-leader in international goals scored, struggled with the Galaxy and didn’t score a goal until his ninth game, the Mexican icon was seen by all as an embarrassment. The Mexican media lambasted him, and he was called “the $4-million flop” by Colorado Rapid assistant coach Rene Miramontes.
It wasn’t the first time a Mexican soccer star had struggled in MLS.
Reasons range from cultural differences to differences in the way the game is played to the short acclimation period Mexican players have when they join their respective MLS teams.
That’s not even taking into account numerous personal issues that can cloud a player’s mind. For example, Hernandez’s wife, Nancy, was seven months pregnant with the couple’s third child when he came to Los Angeles, Nancy remaining in Mexico until the birth.
Some have even suggested the heretical notion that it’s a combination of the Mexican leagues not being as good on a world scale as they believe themselves to be and MLS not being as bad as the world thinks.
“Guys with all the talent who play at a higher level [in Mexico] are playing in more competitive leagues there,” said Hernandez, who emerged from his MLS funk a bit and finished with 14 points, four goals and six assists in 16 games.
“Not that this isn’t one of those leagues. This league is just growing, and I think a lot of those players with the skill are just waiting to see what happens here.”
The Galaxy, meanwhile, is waiting to see if the steep price paid for Hernandez was worth it as it opens the MLS playoffs Thursday at Tampa Bay. The fifth-seeded Galaxy (14-10-8, 50 points) faces the fourth-seeded Mutiny (16-12-4, 52 points) in one of four best-of-three first-round series in the playoffs that culminate with MLS Cup 2000 on Oct. 15 in Washington.
Tapping the Market?
It’s no secret that soccer is the national sport--some say the national obsession--of Mexico. So it seemed only natural for a fledgling league to tap into the resources of a soccer-mad neighboring nation of 100 million.
But since the league’s inception in 1996, only 10 Mexican players have ventured north of the border to play in MLS, three with the Galaxy--goalkeeper Jorge Campos in 1996-97, forward Carlos Hermosillo in 1998-99 and Hernandez this year. The other seven Mexicans to have played in MLS are Hugo Sanchez (with the Dallas Burn in 1996), Missael Espinoza (San Jose Clash, 1996) Tote Castaneda and David Patino (Colorado Rapids, 1997), Damian (Burn, 1997, and New England Revolution, 1998) and Daniel Guzman and Francisco Uribe (Clash, 1997, and 1998, respectively).
Only Hernandez, 31, has signed while in the prime of his career.
Rapid assistant Miramontes, who was born in Los Angeles but raised in Guadalajara, was U.S. Soccer’s national Hispanic coaching coordinator from 1995-97. He said there is a stigma in Mexico about playing soccer in the U.S.
“Even though players may not readily admit that, there is that impression,” he said.
Even with Hernandez’s big-money acquisition, Miramontes said economics is the biggest reason there have not been more Mexicans in MLS.
“In terms of budget, we are still far behind the Mexican Leagues,” he said. “It’s been reported that Atlante [a Mexican first-division club] spent $20 million this year. Compare that to the $1.7 million per team we get, without acquisition fees, and you see the difference. Plus, their bonuses and incentives are much more than we can offer.
“It’s a matter of economics, but it’s also a question of why would they leave their own environment, their own homes where they’re comfortable and can communicate,” he said. “They’re gods there. So why would they want to leave that to come and play in relative obscurity, if you will?”
Picture Gary Sheffield leaving the Dodgers next week to play for the Tokyo Giants or Shaquille O’Neal shunning the Lakers for a trapezoid-laned European league or Kurt Warner leaving the St. Louis Rams for the Canadian Football League.
That’s essentially what Hernandez did when he bolted Tigres of Monterrey for the Galaxy.
Miramontes said that the Rapids have scouted Mexico for talent with the intent of finding solid complementary players rather than stars. Yet even most bench players were too expensive.
“We found that it would have been $200,000 to $250,000 for a 12th or 13th player,” he said.
Still, MLS recognizes the need to promote itself in markets with particularly high Mexican fan bases, such as Los Angeles.
Ivan Gazidis, MLS Executive vice president of player relations and operations, attends the Mexican draft every year and scouts the country for talent.
“The Mexican player is an important element of the color of our league, meaning it is a very multiethnic, diverse melting pot, a real cross-section of America that no other sport can duplicate,” he said.
“There is a very large Mexican-American population that follows the game. We have to earn their respect and prove ourselves.
“One way to do that is to present players they know, respect and love, although I don’t believe they only come to see Mexican players. They come to see good quality football. So while we try to bring Mexican heroes to the league, we are also hoping to make some new heroes for the Mexican-American fans.”
Maybe, but added pressure for Hernandez came in the form of talk that his immense popularity with Latinos would guarantee home crowds at the Rose Bowl in excess of 40,000. And while 40,303 turned out for Hernandez’s debut on May 20, the Galaxy averaged 21,332 in the eight home matches in which he played. Not including the July 4 match at the Rose Bowl, which traditionally draws a larger crowd (58,844 this season) for the postgame fireworks show, the average is 16,688.
Struggling Out of the Chute
It would be misleading to say that Mexican players hit the ground running when they arrive in MLS. It would be more accurate to say that they hit the ground, roll around in the dirt for a bit, dust themselves off and then break off into a sprint, trying to catch up.
After all, Mexican players generally arrive a good month or two into the season, without the benefit of preseason training. Not only are they in an unfamiliar land, they are learning their new teammates’ on-field tendencies as well as their new teammates’ names.
“On the field, it was just a matter of learning my teammates and understanding them better as well as them understanding me better,” said Hernandez, who joined the Galaxy 10 games into its season, when it had the second-best record in MLS (5-0-5, 20 points).
“I’m penetrating better now, and my teammates are learning more about me too.”
The long-awaited Hernandez signing cost the Galaxy dearly. It was forced to part with three starters--forward Clint Mathis, midfielder Roy Meyers and defender Joe Franchino--leading to acrimony in the Galaxy locker room. Reports in Mexico that he received a Ferrari as a bonus, later proved false, did not help matters. Plus, there was the huge target on Hernandez’s back for opponents.
Galaxy defender Paul Caligiuri said the perception of Mexican players having immediate MLS success is unfair, as well as unlikely.
“You hear that he’s going to just come in and light it up, tear it up, that he’s going to be the Jordan of soccer in the United States,” Caligiuri said. “You’ve got to realize that all these [MLS] players, 200 players, they either want to play with him or against him.
“It takes a while to reach the standard they’re used to performing at in the Mexican leagues or on the national team. It’s just a matter of adjusting and understanding the players. Those things just don’t happen overnight.”
Said Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid: “The reality is that there’s very few players, from any country, that go to another country to play and tear it up from Day 1. I think if they did do that, that would be the exception to the rule.”
Couple a player’s adjustment period with the belief that MLS is a step below Mexican soccer and it’s a no-win situation for the player.
If they dominate right away, they were supposed to do that. If they struggle, as has been the case, then something’s wrong.
Mexico, ranked No. 13 in the latest FIFA world poll (the U.S. is No. 19), never has advanced past the quarterfinals of the World Cup. On the two occasions Los Tricolores made it that far, in 1970 and 1986, Mexico was the host country. And until going 1-1-2 in France in 1998, when Hernandez scored four goals, Mexico had been winless (0-7-2) in World Cup matches played on European soil.
The fact that very few Mexicans leave Mexico to play professionally in another country may have something to do with that.
Sanchez, however, was the exception, as he thrived in Spain well before joining MLS for its inaugural season when he was 37. Sanchez, with his trademark forward somersault after scoring goals, was recently named CONCACAF’s player of the century. His base salary of $134,000 with the Burn paled in comparison to the $1.5 million to $3 million top players in Spain were making when he was there.
Different Styles
In its fifth season, the MLS game has evolved into a more physical version of the game played in Mexico.
MLS defenders are larger than those in Mexico, making it easier to mark and nudge the likes of forwards Hernandez and Hermosillo, who also talked of the pushing and grabbing here.
“It’s definitely a different brand of soccer here,” Hermosillo said toward the end of his Galaxy stint last fall. “It’s been very hard learning a new game. I’ve endured many kicks, many blows and lots of pulls. I’ve put in a lot of work to learn the new game. This league is very easy, but my production, with this defense, has been very bad.”
Miramontes said it’s because Mexico plays a more refined game.
“Contrary to what a lot of players think, the game here is more physical and more demanding,” he said. “They’re not surrounded by as many technical players.”
Hernandez agreed.
“It’s a more tactical game in Mexico,” he said. “Here, players learn the game while in universities and schools, and in Mexico we learn the game growing up, in clubs.”
Schmid said Hernandez approached him recently regarding the differences in disposition of the players in MLS and Mexico.
“The U.S. and European temperament is more vocal,” Schmid said. “So he had to realize that a lot of the things being said on the field were not personal.
“Now you’re dealing with cultures and nationalities. L.A. should be an easier place for a Mexican player because of the big Latin population.”
It took Hermosillo, who was tied with Hernandez for the Mexican national team scoring mark with 35 goals, 11 games to score a goal with the Galaxy. And though he scored clutch goals during the Galaxy’s run to MLS Cup ‘99, he was overwhelmed by the speed and physicality of MLS and never truly found his comfort zone.
Hernandez’s frustrations reached a boiling point at Kansas City on June 24. He was fined $2,500 by MLS for confrontational behavior after allegedly spitting on an opposing player in the aftermath of the Galaxy’s 2-0 loss.
But he began to adapt to the MLS style, even though he missed four of the Galaxy’s last 10 regular-season MLS matches because of World Cup qualifying commitments with Mexico. Plus, he had to sit out the season finale at Colorado because of yellow card accumulation points.
Until being shut out on Aug. 16, Hernandez had a points streak of five consecutive games.
“We’re just starting to understand Luis now, how he wants the ball, where he wants it,” Caligiuri said. “MLS has had the four best Mexican players of all time if you look at Hugo Sanchez when he was with Dallas, Carlos Hermosillo, Jorge Campos and now Luis Hernandez. I think now the importance is not only just getting great players from Mexico to come play in our league, but to continue to build a relationship and have the Galaxy or other teams play against teams in Mexico so we continue to build the credibility of this league.”
Hernandez agreed.
“The sport is still growing here,” he said. “I think that anything new should start slowly. It’s just the beginning and every beginning has a price.”
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
MLS
Major League Soccer
Playoffs
The Galaxy will play Tampa Bay in a first-round, best-of-three series, based on points:
* GAME 1: Thursday: Galaxy at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
* GAME 2: Wednesday, Tampa Bay at Galaxy, 7:30 p.m.
* GAME 3: Saturday, Galaxy at Tampa Bay, TBA, if necessary.
Semifinals, best of three, based on points.
MLS Cup 2000, one-game championship playoff.
Oct. 15 at RFK Stadium, Washington.
Note: Three points for a win and one point for a tie. The winner in the quarterfinals and semifinals will be the first team to reach or exceed five points within the three games.
A CLOSER LOOK
Since Major League Soccer’s inception in 1996, 144 foreign-born players representing 46 countries have played in the league. Following are the countries that have sent at least four players to MLS.
Colombia: 12
Argentina: 10
Brazil: 10
Mexico: 10
Bolivia: 8
Trinidad and Tobago: 7
Canada: 6
Poland: 6
Costa Rica: 5
Ecuador: 5
El Salvador: 5
Italy: 4
Jamaica: 4
Nigeria: 4
* COMPLETE PLAYOFF SCHEDULE, Page 10
*
GAME 1
GALAXY
at TAMPA BAY
Thursday, 5 p.m.
ESPN2
