Guillermo Barros Schelotto on MLS and American Life

Note: This is the third part of my American Soccer Road Trip, which will involve me traveling across the country, finding stories that exemplify the diversity that exists in American soccer. Check back soon for further updates.

When the Columbus Crew signed Guillermo Barros Schelotto earlier this season, many wondered why the Argentine forward had chosen to come to the US. He was leaving Boca Juniors, a club where he had spent ten years and achieved the exalted status of an Argentine ídolo, for a struggling team in a not terribly glamorous city in a country without the soccer pedigree of his homeland. About the only thing Boca Juniors and the Columbus Crew have in common is the yellow in their uniforms.

Boca Juniors president Mauricio Macri holds up a Crew jersey while Guillermo Barros Schelotto looks on (photo: AP/Natacha Pisarenko)

When I passed through Columbus yesterday, the Crew had just returned from a retreat in West Virginia. It was Schelotto’s first time in the Mountain State (somehow I just can’t envision him singing along to Take Me Home, Country Roads), and one example of how his life has changed in the past year. Schelotto took the time to speak with me about the differences between the United States and Argentina, both in terms of soccer and life.

Guillermo Barros Schelotto told me that the reasons he came to MLS were relatively simple. “At Boca, [coach Miguel Angel] Russo had decided I wouldn’t be a starter and so I preferred this option,” the forward told me.

Not being a starter may have pushed Schelotto out of the club where he had spent the last decade, but coming to the US wasn’t a random decision. His twin brother Gustavo had played for the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USL (the division below MLS) and told him about life up north. Guillermo had also played in the US many times with Boca Juniors and was excited by the possibility of signing for a team in this country.

Some might wonder how player of his renown would adjust to playing in a new and still developing league, but Schelotto has taken anything but a condescending view toward MLS. Since arriving, he has worked hard and transformed the struggling Crew into playoff contenders. His creativity and flair have proved exactly what the Crew (the self-styled “hardest working team in America”) needed.

Schelotto playing against the Kansas City Wizards (photo: Muy Boca)

While Schelotto has clearly taught the Crew a few things, he told me the MLS model can teach the Argentine league a thing or two. Schelotto is impressed with American stadiums, which stand in contrast to the crumbling, decades-old wrecks that host soccer games in his homeland (nothing beats Boca Juniors’ La Bombonera for atmosphere, but it is in desperate need of repair).

Schelotto also told me that he has been impressed by the overall level of organization in MLS. “Salaries are paid [in MLS],” he said, a notable fact to a player from a country in which players have been known to go months without being paid, and occasionally go on strike as a result.

I asked Schelotto what could MLS gain from Argentina. He told me that having a nationwide structure of leagues with relegation and promotion is very important.

“In Argentina, you have the First Division and also the lower divisions. Every year, teams from the whole country compete, and you end up with the best teams and players [in the top division]. Here, you don’t have that. MLS has to implement that so they have the best players and better quality overall.”

Schelotto may see the need for improvement on the field, but he is happy with his new life in the US. His life here is very quiet, the people are friendly, and his family is safe. In a country that often sees footballer’s family members kidnapped for profit, that last point is nothing to be sneezed at.

Schelotto also mentioned to me several times that he likes the orderliness of American life. “People follow the laws [here]. In Argentina, that is not very common,” he said. This statement is undoubtedly true, but also slightly ironic coming from a player with a well-earned reputation for remonstrating with referees who do not follow his interpretation of the laws of the game.

Overall, Schelotto appears to be enjoying his new life and career in the United States. But surely, I think, he must miss being an ídolo, as he was with Boca Juniors.

“No,” Guillermo Barros Schelloto told me. “I’m recognized less here. But I knew where I was coming to and I didn’t expect to be an ídolo here. I came to live comfortably with my family here in the US.”

Thanks to Chris Wilson at the Crew for his assistance in making this interview possible.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 11:41 am and is filed under American Soccer Road Trip, Latin America, North America. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.