Chivas will try to avoid elimination in the Champions League quarterfinals against the Sounders on Wednesday night. The popular club from Guadalajara allows only Mexican players, a policy that is hurting its legacy on a competitive global soccer scale.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Ricardo Alvarado says he cheers for his hometown soccer squad the same way he would a national team.
And for many of this country’s fans, the historic Chivas side from Mexico’s second largest metropolitan area is indeed a de facto “national’’ squad. It’s one of only a handful of teams worldwide that doesn’t allow foreign players; a gift for ardent Mexican nationalists and at the same time a curse for a legacy side finding it increasingly difficult to compete in a global soccer universe.