GUADALAJARA, Mexico – US Under-20 international Juan Pablo Ocegueda will be playing for Chivas in 2013, MLSsoccer.com has learned. Whether you'll see him in Los Angeles or Guadalajara remains to be seen.
The young Southern Californian left back is on loan at the Chivas institution from Tigres UANL and is training in Guadalajara, but the Mexican club’s strict policy of only allowing players that represent the Mexican national team makes him staying south a potentially divisive issue.
“All I can really say is that I'm on loan to the Chivas institution,” Ocegueda wrote in an e-mail to MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. “Still figuring out whether [I'm going to Chivas USA or Guadalajara], but I’m preparing myself for whatever comes.”
There’s been no official word from Chivas Guadalajara, although MLSsoccer.com understands the club holds the player in high regard and is exploring several options regarding his future.
READ: American Exports: Torres still dreaming of USMNT spot
Chivas USA told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday that there has been no official word on Ocegueda but that “from our end, as with any club or player, everything is a possibility."
Ocegueda has played a key role in Tab Ramos’ US Under-20 team in the cycle leading to this year’s U-20 CONCACAF Championship and World Cup, and it would be a blow if the left back turns his back on the Stars and Stripes just two weeks before the CONCACAF qualifying tournament begins.
The 19-year-old has so far showed no signs he would swap national team allegiances and his Twitter account reads that he plays for Chivas de Guadalajara and the US U-20 national team. Ocegueda has previously turned down chances to represent Mexico in order to play for the US.
