In honor of Hispanic Heritage month, which runs from September 15-October 15, FCDallas.com will be running a weekly series over the next five weeks featuring FC Dallas players from five different countries who are proud to celebrate their Hispanic Heritage. Our fourth story in the series features defender Jair Benitez and midfielder Daniel Cruz discussing their upbringing in Colombia.
Read the previous Hispanic Heritage feature: Luna, Leyva and Top talk Mexico
FRISCO, Texas - Since arriving as head coach four years ago, Schellas Hyndman has molded the FC Dallas roster into a healthy mix of American and Latin talent.
One of the most represented countries in that mix of Latin players comes from the coffee capital of the world, Colombia.
The country of more than 45 million people is well represented with the 2010 MLS Cup finalists, including MLS MVP David Ferreira, Jair Benitez, Fabian Castillo and Daniel Cruz.
Benitez offered his take on the growing influx of Colombian players who rank as the most represented foreign country in MLS outside of North America.
“(Coming here) is a great opportunity for Colombians,” said the 32-year-old. “Things have gone very well for Colombians in this league and because of that many players are coming here to play, doing well, and the league is improving a lot.”
Benitez began playing soccer shortly after he began walking and learned the game in his neighborhood located in Jamundi, Colombia.
“I began playing there and they (neighbors) invited me to play for the best team in the neighborhood,” he said. “And well, we always played and thanks to God for bringing me here to where I am today.”
The speedy fullback added that many of the best players in Colombia come from similar backgrounds.
“To me it seems like the best players came from streets and neighborhoods,” Benitez said.
PHOTOS: FC Dallas players from Colombia
While Benitez – whose favorite player is Brazilian left back Roberto Carlos – began playing the game at a young age, one specific memory sticks out.
“The 1990 World Cup,” he recalled. “They were playing against (West) Germany (in Italy) and there I began to like soccer even more.”
West Germany would go on to win the World Cup that year, but Colombia reached its highest ever FIFA world ranking – fourth – during the early 1990’s when Benitez and countryman Daniel Cruz were being influenced by the world’s game.
Colombia has since struggled to qualify for the World Cup in the always-competitive CONMEBOL, but with a new squad of young players, Benitez and Cruz feel confident that Colombia will reach soccer’s biggest stage for the first time since 1998.
“The national team has grown a lot and there are many young players now on the national team that come from the neighborhoods of Colombia,” said Benitez of Los Cafeteros.
“I think that Colombia has a great chance to qualify,” added veteran midfielder Cruz. “We have very good players and very good individuals. Right now, we lack the ability to work as a team but we have very good players.”
For Cruz, his path to professional soccer was quite different from Benitez.
His father, Jose Luis Cruz, was a professional soccer player for the famed Club Atlético River Plate and later America de Cali, (Cruz’s favorite club) and the elder Cruz taught his son the game.
“When I was three or four, I always liked soccer,” Cruz said of his early years. “My dad was a soccer player and he taught me how to play.”
Cruz recalled practicing all week after school but especially looking forward to Saturdays.
“The weekends came and we had games, so I was always waiting for the week to end so I could play soccer,” he said.
Whether it was in the streets of his neighborhood like Benitez or in the house, parks, and soccer fields, Cruz was always playing – and always carrying a soccer ball with him.
It’s this passion for the sport that symbolizes the Latin American following of soccer so fervently displayed during the Copa Sudamericana, the World Cup, and the Copa Libertadores.
“South American players and Colombians always from a young age like to play soccer when they’re growing up,” Benitez said. “And I believe that South Americans and Colombians also have soccer in their blood.”
With soccer in their veins and years of practice in their neighborhoods, Benitez, Cruz, and Co. provide a passion for the game that can only help its growth in the United States.