More than 25 million Mexicans live in the United States, and many more were born north of the Rio Bravo but still have immediate family in the south. Nowhere is this more evident than Los Angeles, California, the city with the second largest Mexican population in the world.

But strangely enough, football is flying in the face of this phenomenon. The financial might of the Mexican League together with the excellent scouting networks run by its clubs has in recent years led to players with Mexican families born in the land of the stars and stripes to pursue their dreams in their country of parentage.

Edgar's story
One such case is that of Edgar Castillo. Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, he showed his skill from a very young age in local tournaments. As an extremely quick striker, he soon became the star of the Las Cruces Mayfield High School team, as well the local league side Strikers FC.

Great things were predicted for him at one of the national league youth teams in the United States, but his future laid elsewhere. Almost all the top flight Mexican clubs have academies and talent scouts in North American cities with a high Mexican population, which was how Santos Laguna unearthed the boy's prodigious talent.


Castillo was converted into a left-back and then began to work his way through the junior ranks of the Torreon-based club, until he was to become a permanent fixture in the first team which currently tops the Mexican league. The best was yet to come, with his sheer class paving the way for a recent maiden appearance for Mexico against Colombia - quite an achievement for someone just turned 21.

More of the same
But he is far from the only example. His younger brother Noel, a creative midfielder, was discovered at the same time as Edgar and is currently performing well in the country's third Division as he waits for a chance to make his first-team debut with Santos Laguna.

It is a similar story with Michael Orozco. Born in Orange, California, this battle-hardened and uncompromising central defender was also spotted by Santos Laguna, but was unable to break through into the first team. He moved to San Luis, where at just 21 he became regular first choice and integrated well into the Mexican way of life. He speaks fluent Spanish and it is quite a common occurrence to see him at games cheering on the local basketball side.

And there are countless others. Sonny Guadarrama followed a similar path, but with one major difference. While the Castillo brothers and Orozco have declared their interest in playing for the Tricolor, this attacking midfielder who was born in Austin, Texas, has still not decided whether he will represent his parents' country or his own country of birth.

Just 19, he was called up to the provisional youth squads of both national sides as part of their preparation for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007. In the end, he opted not to compete at the event, and so his difficult decision has been deferred for another day.

Guadarrama's situation highlights the sense of duality felt by the descendants of Mexicans living north of the border. And while we have cited the examples of those heading south, there are many others who have decided to remain in their country of birth and join the ranks of teams in Major League Soccer. Two obvious examples are those of Carlos Bocanegra, captain of English league side Fulham, and the versatile full-back Jonathan Bornstein, both of whom are key members of the US national team and who could have chosen to play for either of the two countries.

So there is no doubting the talent that exists in the Latin American communities of the United States, a fact not lost on USA coach Bob Bradley, who hopes that in future those players choose to wear the white shirt in preference to the green: "We spoke to [Edgar] Castillo, but by then it was too late, and all the more difficult given that he was at a First Division club in Mexico. I hope that we can be more proactive in the future and manage to hold on to the talent that is here."