Soccer fan Luis Sinchi has his Friday morning perfectly planned to mark the beginning of the World Cup and the opening match for the team from his native Ecuador.
Sinchi will wake up 6 a.m. and go for a jog in a park near his Albany Park home, kicking a soccer ball as he runs. Then, it’s off to a nearby Ecuadorian salon for a special World Cup hairdo–red, yellow and blue stripes to match the Ecuadorian flag. Next, he’ll put on his brand-new Equador jersey and medals he won playing soccer. He’ll grab a whistle (to blow when opponent Poland makes fouls) and his homemade red and yellow cards and head to Portage Park. There, he’ll gather with fellow fans at La Pena, the Ecuadorian restaurant showing the game on four big-screen TVs.
“Friday is going to be a special moment,” said Sinchi, 29, who predicts he’ll cry when his team takes the field. “That will be a day I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Chicago is about to go World Cup crazy.
In a sports city that typically revolves around baseball, Bears and Bulls, soccer is about to make its presence known. Neighborhoods of Mexicans, Ghanaians, Croatians, Koreans, Serbs, Poles, Ukrainians and others represented in the World Cup will put their ethnic pride on display and tune their TVs to the tournament.
Raul Botello, a youth organizer in Albany Park, plans to take off work to watch the matches. Botello, who was born in Mexico, is rooting for both Mexico and the U.S., though he’s leaning toward the Americans.
“Maybe I’m a fair-weather fan, because the U.S. is better,” he said. In Albany Park, one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods, soccer is huge, Botello said. He plays in an adult league every Sunday, and most of the young people in the neighborhood play. In August, the Albany Park Neighborhood Council will hold a soccer tournament modeled after the World Cup for teenagers and young adults.
For Korean soccer fans living in Chicago, following the South Korea team in the World Cup provides a way for older and younger generations to reconnect with their roots and identity, said Jin Lee, a leader in the city’s Korean American community. For South Korea’s first game, a group created to support the national team has rented out Medieval Times, the faux castle and jousting center in Schaumburg, to show the match on a giant screen. About 3,000 people are expected for the 8 a.m. match, said Lee, who works with the Korean American Sports Council of Chicago.
“It’s like a wild, crazy event to wish Korea to be successful,” Lee said.
Ghanaian John Henry Assabill isn’t able to take off from his job as a manager at Gold Coast Taxi to watch Ghana play its matches, so he plans to watch the matches online and on TV while he works.
“I have to know every team. I have to know how they’re playing,” Assabill said. “I don’t want to miss anything.”
He’ll also keep the Ghanaians driving cabs in Chicago up to date on World Cup play by announcing scores for all the matches over the company’s radio system. Meanwhile, Croatians will cheer on their team from the Croatian Cultural Center in West Ridge.
“It gets pretty crazy, especially when you put 150 Croatians in a room,” said Mate Mulac Jr., a 25-year-old Croatian who lives with his family in Lakeview. “People live and die with every second of the game.”
To Mulac, whose parents came to America a few years before he was born, the World Cup is about more than a game.
“Those players are wearing the flag on their chest, over their heart,” Mulac said. “They’re playing for our country.”
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Five reasons the U.S. WILL advance out of Group E
COACHING
If anyone can get them past the Czech Republic, Ghana and Italy, it’s Bruce Arena, who’s known for getting the most out of his players.
FITNESS
By going full-speed for 90 minutes, the U.S. can pressure offenses into coughing up the ball.
EDDIE JOHNSON
He’s scored seven goals in the first six qualifying matches and can erase U.S.’s reputation as a team that can be taken lightly.
QUICKNESS
Use DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan’s speed to get to the ball faster than Italy and the Czech Republic.
DONOVAN’S VENDETTA
They told him he’s not good enough to play in the German league. Where better to prove his critics wrong?
Five reasons the U.S. WILL NOT advance out of Group E
GOALKEEPERS
With Italy and the Czech Republic lining up world-class keepers, the U.S. is in the one group where it doesn’t have the advantage.
SIZE MATTERS
Besides Clint Dempsey, U.S. doesn’t have a midfielder over 5 foot 10 to compete with the height Ghana and the Czechs bring.
EDDIE JOHNSON
His recent scoring drought means the U.S. is missing a consistent option alongside Brian McBride.
TALENT INFERIORITY
The U.S. lacks the skill players that make up much of the Czech and Italian lineups.
EUROPEAN TROUBLES
Only two wins in Europe in recent years, and both of those came against Poland, not in their group.
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kmasterson@tribune.com
