EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Socca USA, a 6-on-6 national soccer team comprised entirely of El Pasoans, represented the U.S. in an international tournament in Cancun, Mexico last month.
In early January of this year, Brazilian Leandro Carrijo, a former professional soccer player for FC Juarez and El Paso Locomotive, was tasked with assembling the Socca USA national squad with only a month to prepare for the first Socca America Cup.
Founded in 2017 and with its roots in European and Asian soccer, the International Socca Federation operates amateur small-team soccer competitions that feature five, six, and eight-sided teams for both national and club teams.
Having made El Paso his home after retiring from his professional soccer career, Carrijo has played in local soccer leagues across the city, where he recruited the talent for Socca USA, a mix of former professional soccer players and non-professional players.
Socca USA midfielder Luis Sifuentes, who never played professionally, described the moment Carrijo recruited him after facing him in a local soccer match.
“It was just a regular soccer game and look what it came out to. I did my best and Profe Carrijo came to me and told me, ‘You know what, let’s give it a shot. I want you to play in the team,’ and honestly it’s a pleasure to be here,” Sifuentes said.
David Lopez Molinar, Socca USA’s team captain, retired from…
