'El Pescado' Ruiz gives his position on football players who have reached the National Team but were not born in Guatemala
UNITED STATES - Former Guatemalan football player and current sports commentator, Carlos 'el Pescadito' Ruiz, gave his position on the phenomenon presented by the Guatemalan National Team currently with players who were not born in the country but have Guatemalan ancestry and are wearing the 'Blue and White' jersey.
Cases like those of Aaron Herrera, Nathaniel Méndez, Rubio Rubín, and Arquimides Ordóñez himself, who have developed their entire sports career abroad and have decided to play for the Guatemalan National Team under the technical direction of Luis Fernando Tena.
That is why Carlos Ruiz gave an interview to 'Gol Cincinnati', where he addressed the issue and expressed his opinion about it.
"It is important to remember that the upbringing of a Guatemalan or a descendant of Guatemalan parents in the United States is completely different from the upbringing in Guatemala. Not only in terms of culture, education, but also in terms of the food they have in the United States," were the first impressions of the top scorer in the National Team with 68 goals in 133 matches.
According to Carlos Ruiz, all players who join the National Team must be born in Guatemala, because of the sense of identification it generates. "When you don't have the human resources, you have to go out and look abroad. I believe that the Guatemalan who represents the country has to be born in Guatemala because you feel the colors and the passion in a different way. But, if you don't have them and it's the current thinking of the Guatemalan coaching staff, you have to go out and see who can be convinced," he said.
"This is about convincing, not about wanting to be Guatemalan, it's because there are no other options. You are born in the United States but you don't have the option to play because you won't be called up, neither for the other national team. The only option is the Guatemalan National Team. Basically, it's because you have no other option but to represent Guatemala," Carlos Ruiz said.
Finally, he pointed out that teams in Guatemala do not invest in player development because they consider it an expense for the institution. "In Guatemala, it is difficult for a professional team to provide that development because teams see it as an expense. They don't see that the money they will invest in the kids will be a profitable investment because they don't have the certainty that they will be able to make an impact. In the United States and other more developed countries, they do invest because out of 100 players, one or two will come out and that's when you see the results of the investment. That doesn't exist in Guatemala," Ruiz concluded.