Juan Carlos Osorio and the Mexican national team players face a tough road towards winning the FIFA World Cup this summer in Russia. However, here in Chicago, several Mexican players will take home the same cup.
Some of them are gardeners, others work in construction or some traditional Midwestern industry. None of them were called up by Osorio, but many of them could very soon say they lifted the World Cup.
At the Sherman Park fields, the “5 de Mayo” league will reward their champions this year with a replica of the World Cup trophy. And this novel idea has precedent. The champions of the winter league took the same trophy after the most recent indoor tournament at Chicago Indoor Sports.
“We are in World Cup times and as always it’s the biggest attraction in soccer. We wanted to establish the replica of the World Cup, which is very interesting because it’s almost original, almost handcrafted,” said Antonio Chavarria, president of the league.
“Everything we do is under the World Cup theme. The medals also have a three-color ribbon (Mexico’s colors) for the players and the credentials come with the World Cup logo this season. They’re small details and every player gets a medal. All of this is with the idea of giving it the World Cup ambiance.”
In past World Cups, the league has used World-Cup-themed designs. For this season, the league will have 30 cups in total, with a special plaque for the champions, but each participating team will take a trophy. During the winter tournament, the league gave 100 replica trophies. The trophies are manufactured in Mexico City and Canada, arriving in the United States by mail.
The league always tries to add details from professional soccer. The current summer tournament is being played with balls provided by each team. The winter tournament, however, was played with Voit balls, the official match ball of the Mexican league, at Chicago Indoor Sports.
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The league is World-Cup-themed for the 2018 season not only for its trophies. For example, the Italy and France jersey can be seen at the Sherman Park fields every Sunday. Deportivo Jeruco uses the Italy jersey despite the team being a mix of Mexican and Mexican-American players.
“We were born there, in Jeruco, in Michoacan, Morelia, or born here, but everyone is from families from Jeruco,” said coach Roberto Ojeda, who added that “it feels good having the trophy and your hands” when taking photos with the World Cup trophy.
Another international team in the league is Artilleros Brasil, who have used Brazil’s jersey but will play with France’s jersey this year.
“Our name was created by one of the founders years ago. It’s a mix of “Artilleros” (goalscorers) and the Brasil name,” said Rafael Alcantar, a player born in Mexico City.
“We are from Mexico, but some players are also from Honduras and Guatemala.”
As is the case more and more in Chicago leagues, other international jerseys are used as team uniforms. El Nacional plays with one of Barcelona’s road jerseys and Cruz Azul Morelos uses Borussia Dortmund’s alternative colors.
Other “European” leagues play in the league, like Inter FC or Juventus, mostly made up of Mexican players. The league features Deportivo Morelia, San Luis, Orizaba, Deportivo Maya, Deportivo Morelos, Deportivo Yuriria, Guanajuato, Puebla, Chupicuaro, Cuitzeo and Deportivo Hidalgo.
La Bamba, a powerful team with a successful tradition in local soccer, is one of the candidates to win the tournament. Genaro Corral, owner of La Bamba restaurants at Madison and Halsted as well as downtown Chicago, as always is the team manager. The team has won tournaments played on bigger fields like the Midway league and other on indoor fields, like Chitown.
“The usuals are playing, like left-footed Fernando Padilla and Hugo Godoy, who play in CLASA for Chupicuaro and Victory “El Chicles” Trujillo, who also plays in CLASA,” said Corral about the three players who have won titles with different teams in several local leagues.
24 teams play in the league, competing in a round robin system before being divided into two categories of 12 teams each. Each division has its own playoffs, with the champions being crowned in September.
At that moment, many Mexican players from the local scene will lift the World Cup, something that may not occur in Russia with the guys coached by Osorio.
5 de Mayo league
Open-field and indoor soccer-Sundays at Sherman Park (1301 W. 52nd St, Chicago)-Fridays at Chicago Indoor Sports (3900 S. Ashland Ave, Chicago)
Information at 773-501-04649