CUBANS COMING TO CHIVAS USA MLS team sets up trial for defectors
By Andrea Canales, LASoccerNews.com Associate Editor
Osvaldo Alonso and Lester Moré, two Cuban players who defected while in the U.S. for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, have been invited to train with Chivas USA, the Los Angeles based Major League Soccer team that is already home to Maykel Galindo, a player who defected in the 2005 edition of the tournament.
Galindo is now Chivas USA’s top forward, having scored six goals this season.
Javier Leon, CEO of Chivas USA, had followed the story of the Cuban players in the papers. He asked Galindo about his former teammates, and was convinced enough by his favorable description to offer both players a trial.
When Galindo walked out of a team hotel in 2005 to pursue freedom and opportunity as a professional player, he did not start immediately with MLS. Instead, he played for the Seattle Sounders, a United Soccer Leagues Division one team.
However, Galindo’s eventual impact in MLS was so strong that it may have paved the way for his countrymen to start careers at the top level of U.S. soccer.
Alonso is a young midfield prospect, while Moré is an experienced striker, who was one of the top forwards for the Cuban national team.
