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International Soccer

Soccer Around the World: Is Mexico the Place to be Nowadays?

Tigres is the most decorated team in Liga MX Femenil (credit: Tigres).
Tigres is the most decorated team in Liga MX Femenil (credit: Tigres).

With NWSL turning 11 this year, nobody can deny the league has been through many growing pains. It has taken them several years to get where they are right now, with many sponsors investing their money in it and new teams interested to get into the league every year.

Back in 2013, the Federation of Mexican Football was part of the NWSL, but the lack of playing time given to national team players, among other reasons, ended up drawing Mexican players away. The FMF announced at the beginning of 2016 that they would stop allocating players to the American professional league.

By the end of the same year, Liga MX Femenil was announced, which kicked off in 2017 with the Copa MX Femenil. That cup was a few days long and only 12 teams competed in it—the ones that already had a roster ready to participate in the upcoming league.

Afterwards, the first official tournament began, and Chivas ended up being crowned champions in the inaugural season. Fast forward six years, and it’s incredible to see how much the league has grown.

Making connections

People say there’s strength in numbers, and the United States’ southern neighbors understood that from the beginning. Shortly after the league played its first few seasons, they decided to start making connections.

That’s how they found an ally on the Houston Dash.

It was 2018 and Rayadas de Monterrey decided to play a friendly against the Texan club. A year later, Tigres hosted the Dash. That would not be the last time those two would cross paths because two years later they played a rematch, this time in the Dash field. That was the first time a Mexican team would venture itself into American soil.

Belén Cruz vs Allysha Chapman at PNC Stadium (credit: Tigres)
Belén Cruz vs Allysha Chapman at PNC Stadium (credit: Tigres)

The Dash, with former coach James Clarkson at the helm, was back then the only NWSL club willing to compete with Mexican teams. A year after the second game against Tigres, they faced Pumas in the 2022 preseason.

By that year, more NWSL teams started to imitate Houston. After establishing records of attendance for a Panamerican league and the Regio teams—Monterrey and Tigres—showing great quality, Mexican clubs started to be included in the conversation. That’s how Rayadas ended up playing the Women’s International Champions Cup in 2022 and beating the Portland Thorns, making it to the highlights of the entire women’s soccer world.

By then, Angel City was playing its first NWSL season, and since the beginning, they’ve made efforts to make their Latino community feel included. In accordance with that, it was announced last May that Angel City and Tigres had signed a partnership for two years, which includes some friendlies among other collaborations.

What is more, Angel City couldn’t resist the appeal Club América has nowadays and invited them to play a friendly on the upcoming Women’s Day on March 8 at Banc of California Stadium.

European teams joining the fun

This year couldn’t have started in a better way for the league, especially for Tigres. Last January, they announced a partnership with one of the mightiest clubs in Germany: Bayern Munich. Said partnership was sealed with a friendly between the teams at the Universitario stadium, with the host getting the win.

In February, Club América announced an alliance with the eight-time Champions League winner Olympique Lyonnais and three-time NWSL Shield winner, OL Reign.

Club América, OL Reign and Olympique Lyonnais closed an historic partnership (credit: Club América)
Club América, OL Reign and Olympique Lyonnais closed a historic partnership (credit: Club América)

The partnership with those top teams is one anyone in the world would want. The clubs will share knowledge and skills, exchange information, and play friendlies between them. The deal involves both senior teams and the academies.

The partnership with the OL Group came only six months after America played against German club Bayer Leverkusen, the first European club they crossed paths with.

Tigres’ success and fame internationally are unquestionable, and more teams have been trying to seat with them at the adult table. It was 2020 when Club América assigned Claudia Carrión as sports director, and she has been working hard to put the women’s team on the map ever since. Carrión is responsible for many important player signings, among them club-favorite and former Chicago Red Star Sarah Luebbert.

But what about the other teams? Partnerships and friendlies are being established, little by little. The latest was North Carolina Courage with Rayadas de Monterrey. Both clubs announced they’re playing a couple of friendlies, with the first of them set for March on Mexican soil. Coach Eva Espejo’s team will travel to the United States later this year, at a date to be determined, to see if they can obtain their second victory against an NWSL team.

Giving players a choice

Historically, Mexican players drafted by NWSL teams have had little to no playing time in the league. Some even didn’t get offered a contract after being drafted, and that forced them to look for opportunities somewhere else. Spain was the desired destination for many, but some, like Tigres striker Stephany Mayor, went as far as Iceland to find a team where she would get minutes.

Another good example of this is Club América forward Kiana Palacios. She was drafted by Sky Blue in 2018. After not being offered a contract, she received an offer from the Spaniard club Real Sociedad. Three years later, she landed at Coapa and started, little by little, to become one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the league.

Kiana Palacios is, along with Charlyn Corral, one of the top goalscorers in the Liga MX Femenil (credit: Club América)
Kiana Palacios is one of the top goal-scorers in the Liga MX Femenil (credit: Club América)

Another americanista who put her name in the NWSL Draft was Scarlett Camberos. In her case, however, she wasn’t drafted by any club. She said last year that back then she did have offers to play in the United States, but after seeing Club América’s facilities, the fans, the training fields, and the Azteca Stadium, she decided to play in México. Camberos is now one of the best on the team and a fan favorite.

Maybe the most resounding case of a player from the United States going to Mexico was forward Mia Fishel. In 2022, she was drafted fifth overall by the Orlando Pride, where her former college coach was. So it was a big slap in the face to the club when it was announced that she was going to play for Tigres instead.

“What I did was historic,” said Fishel back then, and rightly so. She became the first American player to choose to play in Mexico just because she could—and not because she wasn’t wanted in the NWSL. “The rate at which the league has been growing was also very appealing. They’ve only been here for five years or so, and the global media recognition, the passionate fans, playing in [large] stadiums, you just don’t get that in the U.S.,” she said.

Players going from the United States to play in Mexico were the norm until 2021. Last year was historic for the league transfer-wise. In January, Tigres announced they closed a deal with Angel City FC for the Brazilian player Stefany Ferrer. Almost a year later, they closed another deal; this time with Racing Louisville FC for the Nigerian player Uchenna Kanu. Days later, former Rayadas midfielder Bárbara Olivieri was announced as the new Houston Dash signing.

Previous examples show how much these and many other players just needed an opportunity to showcase their talent—and Mexico gave them that chance. Winger María Sanchez was drafted by Chicago Red Stars in 2019, but had only seven appearances in the entire season. The lack of minutes led her to go to Mexico, where she played for Chivas and a year later for Tigres. Once she had her opportunity to showcase her skills to the world, she picked the Dash interest, and they signed her on loan in 2021. A year later, Houston offered her a two-year contract.

Luebbert won the hearts of the fans when she went on loan to Club América, also searching for playing time. She would go back to Chicago in 2022, while Mexican fans would beg for her return. Their prayers were heard, and by the end of the same year, Chicago announced they transferred her permanently to the Coapa club.

The addition of Spanish international Jennifer Hermoso by Pachuca in 2022 left everybody shocked, but it was a great statement made by a club that has bet on their women’s team from the beginning. No wonder another Mexican star who had already left her mark in the Spanish league Spain, Charlyn Corral, decided to play in the same club as well.

As seasons go by, more and more internationals are interested in going to Mexico, and rightly so. The playing time, the quality many of the clubs enjoy, and the salaries are things many players don’t get in their home country leagues.

Still developing

Mexico still has a lot of work to do. Their national team not qualifying for the World Cup was a huge blow, not only to the program but to the self-esteem of the players that week-in and week-out put on great performances for their clubs.

Nonetheless, it seems like the federation has learned from this and started to rebuild its women’s program from the ashes, with a new women’s national team director position and a new coach.

And even though they’re not going to the World Cup this July, they’re not using this year to take a break. They’re using every international window to compete and learn, to test what works and does what not.

Most recently Mexico hosted the Revelations Cup, where they went against three national teams that have qualified for the World Cup in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Nigeria. In the end, Mexico had to battle against the always-tough Colombia and finished raising the Cup.

Another thing they should put their focus on is players’ safety. It has been known that in the past “fans” have been threatened players, stealing their identities, hacking their accounts, harrying and harassing them. And that keeps happening. Tigres center back Greta Espinoza went through this, and recently asked for action in support of América’s Scarlett Camberos, who’s unfortunately going through the same thing.

“The level of harassment I suffered was documented in over 100 slides with irrefutable evidence, and nothing was enough to stop this individual from stopping with the harassment,” Espinoza said on her social media channels. In the same message, she demanded laws to protect them.

Players’ safety should be Mexico soccer’s top priority—especially in a country known for, as Espinoza put it, a “delicate history of frequent harassment towards women and [where] the vast majority of these cases go unpunished.”

Mexico wants to be a powerhouse in women’s soccer, and they’re doing their utmost to reach their goal. That starts with their league, which is one of the most well-organized in the continent—you get the new season schedule two weeks after a tournament is over—and ends with their national team.

If they do things right, in four years they should qualify for the 2027 World Cup with flying colors. And their league will stand among some of the best leagues in the world.

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Soccer Timbers

Timbers Experimentation Yields Mixed Result in Draw Against Houston

Photo by Kris Lattimore
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Soccer Timbers

From Coast to Coast: The Story Behind Jeremy Ebobisse and Eryk Williamson’s Close Bond

Photos by Matthew Wolfe (left) and Kris Lattimore (right)

Portland midfielder Eryk Williamson’s downtown apartment is pretty simple. There’s furniture and standard appliances, but nothing out of the ordinary. In both appearance and purpose, it’s just a place for him to crash between team training sessions and games.

Just two canvases hang from the apartment’s beige walls. One is a classic world map. The other is a picture of Williamson and his close friend—and Timbers teammate—Jeremy Ebobisse.

The lack of pictures and wall art throughout the apartment gives more weight to what is hung up. That’s certainly true with the cropped picture of him and Ebobisse, which was taken during Portland’s 2019 media day. In it, Ebobisse is hanging onto Williamson’s back. Both are smiling.

“It’s one of the two canvases I have up in my place,” Williamson said. “It’s one that really speaks to our relationship. About how I have his back, and he has my back.”

Ebobisse and Williamson have built a rapport on the field, but their relationship didn’t start in Portland. They’ve known one another since they were teenagers playing youth soccer in the Washington, DC suburbs. When they grew older, they became teammates in the United States youth national team system and competed at the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea together.

Now, they’re both expected to play important roles for a Timbers team with MLS Cup aspirations. The photo from that 2019 media day serves as a humbling reminder of where both players started and how they’ve progressed in their careers. Most importantly, it’s a symbol of their close bond years in the making. 

“We’re always joking around, Ebobisse said. “They just so happened to capture that moment with a picture.”

It’s not uncommon to hear multiple languages at Portland’s training sessions. Those nearby are just as likely to witness coach Giovanni Savarese belting out instructions in Spanish as they are to hear players shout at each other in French or English during a heated drill.

Listen carefully and you also might also hear the word “sice.” It sounds natural in conversation, but like other regional jargon, it stands out.

The term is DC lingo used after a hyperbolic or exaggerated saying, commonly after jokes. Williamson gave the example of calling someone’s foot bigger than their head. Because that isn’t true, it’s often followed  “sice” or “I’m sicing you.” It’s a small thing, but speaks to a commonality Williamson and Ebobisse share from growing up just miles apart.

“That’s something that me and Jeremy have on a lot of guys,” Williamson said. “We have this lingo and can get around explaining it to them, or use it as our own little word that we use until they figure it out.”

Photo by Kris Lattimore

Williamson grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, just south of downtown DC, while Ebobisse grew up north of the city in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. Both were ‘97 kids who played a year up for their club teams—Williamson for the Annandale Firestorm and Ebobisse for the Olney Rangers.

The two first played against one another when they were 12 or 13 years old. Williamson said Ebobisse’s style immediately stood out, specifically the frosted tips the young forward sported. However, the hair—which Williamson later learned came from the chlorine in pools Ebobisse competitively swam in—paled in comparison to Ebobisse’s talent on the field.

Just five minutes into the game, Ebobisse took a shot 40 yards from goal, which rattled the crossbar and rebounded to Williamson in midfield. The Firestorm lost 6–1 that day.

As they grew older, the pair continued to compete against each other, Williamson in Virginia’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) system and Ebobisse for Maryland’s ODP.

Eventually, Williamson and Ebobisse became teammates on the United States U-20 youth national team, where they roomed together at international competitions. They often joked around and enjoyed each other’s company, but also spent plenty of time discussing their game on the field, providing one other with suggestions and constructive criticism.

The occasional deep conversations at night—whether about their personal lives or struggles on the field—helped their relationship blossom.

“We were really able to understand each other’s tendencies,” Ebobisse said. “The things that made us uncomfortable [and] the things that made us really click. By the end of our time there, it wasn’t one of those situations where we didn’t want to be around each other any more.”

The text popped up on Ebobisse’s phone out of the blue.

“RCTID…,” it read.

It consisted of just an acronym, but Ebobisse knew right away what Williamson meant. RCTID: Rose City ‘Til I Die, the Timbers’ recognizable social media hashtag. His close friend, who he grew up competing against and later roomed with, was about to become his teammate in Portland.

“I told him that he better not be messing with me,” Ebobisse said. “But it turns out that he had made the decision and what happened, happened. He was due to fly in 24 hours later and I was just excited.”

Ebobisse had spent a portion of that summer at his home in Maryland. He sometimes played pickup soccer at the nearby University of Maryland campus, where Williamson went to school. Right before Ebobisse returned to Portland for preseason, the two had an honest conversation about the young midfielder’s career goals.

At the time, Williamson was mulling over the decision to either stay in school and play collegiately for another season or to go pro. If he chose to go pro, Williamson told Ebobisse, he would probably end up at one of two different clubs, one being Portland. Still, Ebobisse never thought he would actually share the field with Williamson that very season.

Then the text arrived, sending Ebobisse scrambling to come up with a plan to welcome his friend to his adopted home. 

He first volunteered to pick Williamson up from the airport, but a team official had that covered. Instead, Ebobisse took Williamson out to dinner at one of his favorite sushi spots in Portland, Bamboo Sushi, later that night. In a way, Ebobisse wanted to give his friend—completely new to the west coast—something he didn’t have when he first arrived in Portland.

“The previous year, I didn’t have many close relationships on the team,” Ebobisse said. “As a young rookie in an older locker room with a lot of cultural experiences, I didn’t necessarily find my footing immediately. That was definitely a helping hand in my process as much as I helped him as well.”

Off the field, Williamson and Ebobisse played board games like Settlers of Catan and explored the city, often taking trips to local coffee shops. They also roomed together on road trips, where they continued the honest conversations they had while with the youth national teams. 

Photo by Nikita Taparia

In 2019, specifically, those discussions really helped Williamson, who struggled to earn minutes with the first team while Ebobisse began to break into the starting eleven. The midfielder asked his friend about what he needed to get out of training and how he could stand out. While nothing changed immediately, those exchanges, which stemmed from their close bond, proved pivotal. 

“When you spend that much time with someone, it’s not always going to be joking and laughter,” Ebobisse said. “Sometimes, it’s going to be about serious personal growth on both of our ends. We’ve both gone through a lot on the athletic front and then we’ve also had a lot of different experiences personally. They shaped the way that we do our jobs in the world and we trust each other to give and receive that advice.”

At the time, Ebobisse treaded lightly. He knew Williamson was working as hard as he could to earn time with the first team beyond US Open Cup games and heavily rotated midweek lineups. So, Ebobisse became his friend’s sounding board, having experienced similar early struggles prior to his breakthrough.

“I think he realized that he stepped in right when I think I needed it the most,” Williamson said. “There have been times, it may have been car rides either to or from an event or something along those lines, where it was reassuring. Although I’m not playing, people believe in me and want me to keep pushing.”

They’ve had those conversations more recently too, after neither received a call-up to the United States U-23s to take part in the 2020 Olympic qualifying tournament. Both Ebobisse and Williamson made the preliminary roster, but didn’t make the final cut for manager Jason Kreis’s 20-man team.

“I think we were both a little frustrated there, but we both know that this is a big year for us,” Williamson said. “We sat down and had that conversation. We can’t dwell on it and we have to keep moving forward. Ultimately we have each other and we will do it together.”

As the 2021 MLS season approaches, both are preparing to take another leap forward in their careers. Despite not making the Olympic qualifying roster, they are more confident than ever before, and a lot of that stems from those conversations and their close bond.

What began as a competitive relationship in the DC club soccer scene developed into a close bond built up during their time on youth national teams and now with the Timbers. So, regardless of what happens this season or in the future, the pair will always have one another.

It’s something Williamson is reminded of every day, thanks to the picture, in canvas form, that hangs from his apartment walls.