The recent trend of foreign clubs fielding teams in the lower division leagues in the United States is evidenced in this year’s U.S. Open Cup. Of the four clubs in this year’s tournament affiliated with foreign clubs, three are professional (CD Chivas USA, California Victory and Crystal Palace Baltimore). The fourth is El Paso Indios USA, an amateur club from the NPSL, who are affiliated with Indios de Ciudad Juarez of the Mexican Primera División A (second division).
While situated on the other side of El Paso, Indios USA have entered a territory long held by the USL’s Patriots, who have been around since 1989. Indios USA general manager Mitch Doblado sees the Patriots as both competitors and a club Indios USA can co-exist with in El Paso.
“I think having two soccer organizations only increases the awareness of soccer in El Paso, and the United States,” Doblado says. “However, we are both competing for the entertainment dollar, so we are in the same category as the El Paso Diablos (Double-A minor league baseball), and other family entertainment venues.” The team also attracts many fans of the parent club Ciudad Juarez, which is just over the border from El Paso.
While Indios USA’s parent club is in Mexico, they are nonetheless working hard to help the community in El Paso. The team has an agreement with Playground Connection, to help raise money to build a playground for children with disabilities, the first of it’s kind in El Paso.
Not just a nickname
The name Indios is comes from the Tarahumara Indian culture, which the logo symbolizes with a koyera around a soccer ball. The koyera is utilized by men, women and children born with honor in the community. Even the colors of the club’s logo have different meanings. The color red represents action, aggression, passion and danger. White represents purity, unity and wisdom, and black represents elegance and seriousness.
As far as the players who make up Indios roster, the roster is a mix of players from the Indios youth system, as well as local high school soccer programs. Two players have already appeared with the parent club in Juarez, forward Jose De Santiago, and Omar Tena, who is a high school senior from El Paso. Eugene Brooks, the team’s main scoring threat, is a native of El Paso and played at the college level in California. Finally, the team has a player with Open Cup experience. Ugljesa Vrbica, a native of Serbia & Montenegro, played with the 2006 Cup entrant Arizona Sahuaros last season.
Indios USA also features a youth program that ranges from U-6 through U-15, and their U-13 team is ranked in the top ten in the nation. Doblado says one advantage Indios has over the Patriots is the fact that their players have the opportunity to advance to their affiliated clubs, Ciudad Juarez and Pachuca.
Looking to make their mark
The team is off to a fast start in NPSL play, sitting in first place with a 4-0-1 record in the Southwest Conference. Indios USA also went unbeaten in the Region IV qualifying tournament, finishing 2-0-1 in group play. In the semifinals, they knocked off the Arizona Sahuaros 3-1 to qualify for the Open Cup. In the final, they defeated Banat Arsenal 3-2 for the right to represent Region IV in the USASA National Cup finals in Seattle later this summer, a feat the club takes a lot of pride in.
“To be able to represent the NPSL and Region IV in Seattle is something that we take very seriously,” Doblado said proudly. “It is important to have a good representation from a league and demographic standpoint.”
As far as facing the USL First Division’s Minnesota Thunder, Doblado is hopeful, yet realistic. “It will mean a lot to our young league and new program to be able to succeed to the next round. We know we are viewed as the underdogs but will give it all we have.”