LJ b soccer: International flavor

By Ed Piper, Jr.


It sounds trite for a story on Southern California soccer, but truly La Jolla's boys soccer team lends a fresh whiff of international aroma to the sport of futebol this fall.


I was intrigued, but a little surprised, when I heard some German words called out from the stands during the Vikings' 3-1 victory at Mission Bay last week. We are accustomed in el Sur de California to hear Spanish at soccer games, but this was a little different.


It turns out Thomas Goehler, Luis's dad, was the culprit, encouraging his son in the first half of the nonleague match.


The Vikings host a menagerie of cultures on the team, which is not too surprising, considering soccer is very much a part of the Anglo fabric--drawing Brits and Scots to these shores to play and coach--as well as Latino culture.


Also, La Jolla, the jewel, is a magnet for the wealthy, famous, entrepreneurs, and internationals. I've interviewed and met students and staff at both Country Day and Bishop's that have expanded my horizons considerably: the child of an influential lawyer, a youth who grew up in Switzerland, a coach from the British Isles, and so forth.


So, it's natural that their kids are going to attend La Jolla High, as well.


Marco Furlanis, one of two team captains selected by head coach Marcos Gonzales, is representative of more than one culture. Jack Barone, who was shagging practice kicks with his fellow co-captain Furlanis before La Jolla's game against the Buccaneers, told me one of his grandfathers is "100 percent Sicilian". (That warms the heart of my wife Dianna, who is half Sicilian, half Italian.)


Meanwhile, assistant coach Victor Zendejas is full of personality and full-throated from the sidelines during games, though he was absent from the Mission Bay game. He has nicknames in Spanish he uses for some of his Spanish-speaking players. Jose Bello is a straight "Bello"--even teammates call him that--though with Spanish pronunciation, it would be "bay-yo".


Pablo Jativa, accent over the first "a" in his last name, reigns from Spain. He is very friendly, just a nice, outgoing guy, as is Goehler, who's got that disarming smile that transcends words.


Interestingly, Gonzales doesn't employ Spanish words with his players, while Zendejas goes Spanglish. "He's funny," one player told me about the latter with a smile before the game.