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 first story features midfielder Marvin Chavez, who takes great pride in every opportunity he gets to represent his native country of Honduras on the international level.
FRISCO, Texas- Growing up along the beautiful tourist beach city of La Ceiba, Honduras,
Marvin Chavez
breathed soccer every day as a young boy.
Like the popular depiction of young children playing in the streets of Latin American countries, so was the way that Chavez learned the game in Honduras.
And while his mother told him to study and focus on school, Chavez would take to the streets of La Ceiba to polish his skills as a soccer player during school hours.
“I left classes in school to go and play football,” the speedy Honduran admitted after a recent training session. “That was my dream and thanks to God that I have accomplished my dream.”
PHOTOS: Marvin Chavez gallery
Surprisingly, in a soccer-mad country like Honduras that just participated in its second-ever World Cup – the 2010 tournament in South Africa – Chavez’s parents didn’t play the game.
Chavez says his uncle played enough soccer to be noteworthy, but the real lessons he learned began at the tender age of five from street soccer games that populate the La Ceiba roads.
“I learned in the streets of Honduras on a floor like this,” he said pointing towards the Pizza Hut Park stage concrete. “I always fell and scratched up my face and legs chasing after the ball. I think that the good footballers come from the streets.”
Chavez added that if one were to travel to Honduras, they would see lots of children playing soccer in the streets as a result of the sport constantly playing through their TV sets.
“When they see it on the TV, they always think, ‘I want to be like that person,’” continued Chavez. “And I think that desiring and wishing to accomplish their goals is the objective.”
For the 27-year-old FC Dallas midfielder, there was one particular ‘ah-hah’ moment when he realized he wanted to play football for as long as he possibly could.
He was watching the famous Honduran striker Tyson Nunez on TV –something that he did frequently as a child – and remembers telling his mom of his professional soccer aspirations at the time.
“I was telling my mom, ‘I want to be there, I want to be there, I want to be a player,’” said the current Honduran national teamer. “I was always leaving classes and not studying because I wanted to play football.”
And Chavez has made his dreams come true. In his third season with FC Dallas, he is second on the team in scoring in 2011 with five goals and tied for second in assists with four.
With the Honduran national team, Chavez has accumulated 22 caps to go with his two goals and most recently participated in their friendly against Paraguay before injuring his ankle on a hard tackle.
Regardless of the injury, Chavez’s time with the national team is a feeling unparalleled to any other soccer experience he’s had to date.
“It’s a great feeling to represent a country that I have loved so much,” Chavez said. “When they give me the opportunity to play with the national team, I want to demonstrate my abilities and leave it all on the field for Honduras. We have a great national team and it brings me a lot of satisfaction to wear the jersey of my country.”
Representing the Honduran national team also means having a large contingency of fans back home. The former CD Marathon player said, “I have a lot of fans in Honduras. I think that’s one of the motives and I think that the support keeps me working hard.”
Since moving to the United States in 2009, Chavez has come to feel quite at home in Dallas with all the local support. With his family, he frequently plays soccer with his 7-year-old son and he also connects well with close friends on the team
Jair Benitez
,
David Ferreira
and
Fabian Castillo
.
However, he can always feel the soccer pulse back in La Ceiba calling him home for offseason vacation.
“Football lives there (La Ceiba). You feel it and the whole world is passionate about football. It’s a very successful city known for producing footballers and we are very happy to be a part of La Ceiba.”
Check back on FCDallas.com every Thursday during Hispanic Heritage month to learn more about what Hispanic Heritage means to all of your favorite FC Dallas players.
