Arriving shortly after dawn, nearly 400 soccer players from 17 U.S. states came to Charles D. Jones Junior High School in the city of Baldwin Park to participate in Sunday's "Sangre Nueva" tryouts for Club Deportivo Chivas USA.
The players were observed by Chivas USA Head Coach Thomas Rongen and Director of Soccer Dennis te Kloese, accompanied by five special guests from Club Deportivo Guadalajara: Salvador "Chava" Reyes, Chivas' all- time leading goalscorer; Arturo "el Cura" Chaires, captain of Chivas during the 1960's, Salvador Gamero, Guadalajara's youth team coach; Elías Vásquez, head of the team's goalkeeping school, and Hans Westerhoff, Director of Soccer.
Among the 396 players who participated Sunday, a select group will be invited back to a second training session in mid-November (date and location to be announced). The coaching staff of Chivas USA will contact these players by telephone this week.
