EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Socca USA, a 6-on-6 national soccer team comprised entirely of El Pasoans, represented the U.S. in an international tournament in Cancun, Mexico last month.
Photo courtesy of International Socca Federation
In early January of this year, Brazilian Leandro Carrijo, a former professional soccer player for FC Juarez and El Paso Locomotive, was tasked with assembling the Socca USA national squad with only a month to prepare for the first Socca America Cup.
Founded in 2017 and with its roots in European and Asian soccer, the International Socca Federation operates amateur small-team soccer competitions that feature five, six, and eight-sided teams for both national and club teams.
Having made El Paso his home after retiring from his professional soccer career, Carrijo has played in local soccer leagues across the city, where he recruited the talent for Socca USA, a mix of former professional soccer players and non-professional players.
Socca USA midfielder Luis Sifuentes, who never played professionally, described the moment Carrijo recruited him after facing him in a local soccer match.
“It was just a regular soccer game and look what it came out to. I did my best and Profe Carrijo came to me and told me, ‘You know what, let’s give it a shot. I want you to play in the team,’ and honestly it’s a pleasure to be here,” Sifuentes said.
David Lopez Molinar, Socca USA’s team captain, retired from professional soccer just a few years ago, but jumped at the opportunity to represent the Stars and Stripes.
“The opportunity was brought up to me to play and represent the US. I didn’t even think about it. I was excited,” Lopez Molina saidr.
Carrijo said that when they offered him to lead the Socca USA project, he was uneasy because he wasn’t too familiar with Socca and their specific rules.
With just a month to prepare for the tournament, Carrijo explained that adapting to the rules of the game remained the biggest challenge for him and his team.
“I tried to find a way to explain to the players how we can play the Socca game. We know it’s football, but there’s different rules for what we have on the 11 against 11 and seven against seven,” Carrijo said.
But as the tournament took place, Carrijo said the team continuously progressed.
“The first game they were a little bit nervous, but the second game a little bit more relaxed, and the third game we won, and the guys sighed in relief, ‘I know what the Socca game is now,'” Carrijo said.
Defying expectations and having to face more experienced squads like Belgium, they qualified to the knockout round as the leader of their group with a win and two ties.
They were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Hungary in a tie-breaking shootout. Hungary wound up making it to the final and losing to Mexico.
Photos courtesy of International Socca Federation
“Full stadiums with people from different countries, in the end, even though it’s not considered professional, you have the same passion,” said Lopez Molinar. “When we got there, we saw the intensity that the other teams played with in this tournament. So that’s when we realized that we have to do our best to represent the country.”
Having had the opportunity of a lifetime, Sifuentes describes the message he communicates to his youth soccer team and to any El Pasoan with a soccer dream.
“I always tell them that you never know who’s watching you, so you always have to play at your best, all the time,” said Sifuentes.
Socca USA is just in its infancy and has the goal to expand in the country.
The project remains focused in El Paso for this year, and in November this same group of players will represent the stars and stripes at the 2024 Socca World Cup in Oman.
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