Texas native stars for Morelia

Guadarrama, son of Mexican immigrants, dreams of a World Cup for one country or the other

By Casey Michel

The Portland Tribune, Jul 3, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Midfielder Sonny Guadarrama, who lived in Texas for 18 years, now plays for Morelia, a top Mexican team that will face the Portland Timbers on Thursday and Sunday in exhibition matches.

CASEY MICHEL / THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE

When the Portland Timbers face Morelia, a Mexican soccer club, in Thursday’s exhibition, it’s a safe assumption that many of their talented opponents will be from Mexico.

And they would be right, to a point.

Sonny Guadarrama, a Morelia midfielder, spent his first 18 years in Austin, Texas. Reared by parents who were Mexican immigrants, Guadarrama enjoyed his early years of soccer in and around Texas.

But by the time he reached adulthood, Guadarrama decided to move on, and he traveled to Torréon, Mexico, to play for Santos. With broken Spanish and a hazing-induced shaved head, Guadarrama quickly eased into a successful role with the team.

“My dad’s Mexican, so he taught me Mexican soccer, but I played here in the U.S., so I kind of got the best of both worlds,” Guadarrama says.

After three years with Santos, Guadarrama caught on with Morelia, one of Mexico’s elite soccer clubs. Although he is still coming off the bench, Guadarrama is young and has showed marked strides on the pitch.

“He’s dynamic and can kick the ball well,” Morelia coach Luis Fernando Tena says through a translator. “He’s got to learn how to defend, but it looks like he has a good future.”

The future seems a bit unclear for the 21-year-old. Since he owns dual citizenship in both Mexico and the U.S., Guadarrama is eligible for both countries’ national squads. He says he won’t be traveling to the Olympics as part of the U.S. under-23 squad – at only 21, he would be one of the youngest players on the field – but the 2010 World Cup is looming.

“It’s kind of hard whenever they ask me what country you want to play for,” Guadarrama says. “Whoever gives me a chance to go to the World Cup is who I am going to go to.”

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit