Posted on January 24, 2012
In wake of the possible latest Cuban player defection to a North American country, here is a background story about the situation. Michael Lewis originally wrote this story about Cuban players defecting from the National Team on BigAppleSoccer.com on Sept. 3, 2008.
By Michael Lewis
TropiGol.com Editor
HAVANA — Whether officials want to address it or not, it is quite clear that there is a Cuban missing player crisis.
Over the past several years, Cuba has seen the nucleus of its National Team whittled away due to player defections.
It seems every time a Cuban soccer team plays in the United States, at least one player jumps ship. The Cubans have lost a dozen players to defections.
Yet, Cuban Soccer Federation president Luis Hernandez doesn’t think there are any problems. He said that the players should have stayed “to defend their country.”
“Of course, there is not any concern for us,” Hernandez said during an interview with American journalists Friday morning.
“The players who have left by themselves, it was their decision. They left the team when they were supposed to defend their country.”
Hernandez was talking on the eye of the World Cup qualifier between Cuba and the United States, which is playing in this Caribbean country for the first time in 61 years. The Americans are favored in the Saturday 8 p.m. ET match at Estadio Pedro Ma Stadium.
The return match between the two teams is set for RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Oct. 11.
Asked how much of a quality drain there was, Hernandez did not answer the question directly.
“What I can say, we have many talented players we have here ready to play for us in Cuba,” he said. “We have great young players.”
Hernandez noted that four players from the Cuba Under-20 team had been promoted to the full national side and that six players from the U-23 team that participated in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in Tampa in March also were on the team.
“They are very motivated and very enthusiastic to change the result, unfortunately, we had with Trinidad & Tobago.”
Trinidad defeated Cuba, 3-1, at Marrero Aug. 20.
“It was a match dominated by the Cuban team,” Hernandez said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t win.”
Chivas USA forward Maykel Galindo is probably the best known player to have defected, leaving during the CONCACAF Gold Cup after the U.S. recorded a 3-1 victory over Cuba in Seattle in 2005. Seven players left the Cuban Under-23 team during the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in Tampa in March. Those players were Jose Manuel Miranda, Erlys Garcia Baro, Yenier Bermudez, Yordany Alvarez, Loanni Prieto, Yendry Diaz and Eder Roldan.
In a recent e-mail interview he did prior to a journalist’s Friday sit down with Hernandez, Galindo countered the CSA president’s argument.
“I think it has hurt the Cuban National Team to have many of the players that left the team,” he said. “I am not just saying it because of myself but because of the young players from the U-23 who left the national team because they were talented and they were the better players.”
Galindo said that sometimes a chance to play professionally and raising one’s standard of living was more important that playing for one’s country.
“I don’t feel guilty for leaving my team,” he said. “I didn’t talk to anyone about it beforehand, and I decided it on my own.”
Like other Cubans who left their home country, Galindo said his was a desire to play professionally.
“They leave Cuba because they want to make something out of their lives,” he said. “They are in search of the dream of playing soccer at a professional level and they know that Cuba will not offer them that. They do it because they feel that their family will be proud of them if they make it to the professional level and many of those players have realized that they can achieve that goal. Thankfully, in my case, doors were being opened to me.”
Photo: Cuban Football Federation president Luis Hernandez. Photo by Michael Lewis
Categories: Canada, Caribbean, Cuba, Haiti, North America, Olympic Qualifying, Women
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