Tico arrives in U.S. after stints in England and Guatemala

Mauricio Solis’ mind is in two places these days. Off the field, the San Jose midfielder is attending to his wife Katia, who is about to have twins. On the field, he is still adapting to his new team, which is struggling to stay in playoff contention in the Western Conference. The Clash acquired the Costa Rican last June after months of negotiations with Guatemalan club Comunicaciones. He had played in the English Premier League with Derby County and led Comunicaciones to the 1998-99 First Division championship, convincing Renato Capobianco, the Clash director of soccer, and head coach Brian Quinnthat they may have finally found the creative playmaker who would give San Jose more possibilities in midfield. So far, Solis hasn’t had that kind of impact. Indeed, he isn’t a true playmaker. But he is working hard to demonstrate his ability. “I am not the team’s life saver,” says Solis, who impressed as a two-way midfielder in World Cup qualifying matches against the United States in 1997. “I don’t make brilliant plays, but I am doing my best to help my teammates. I work hard everyday to adapt to the league, which has surprised me with a higher soccer level than I expected.” His consistency in training is starting to get results. San Jose fans noticed a nice improvement in his play when the Clash beat New England, 2-1, at Spartan Stadium on Aug. 21. He hadn’t played the previous week because his wife was experiencing contractions and he received permission to stay at home with her instead of traveling with the team to New England. “I didn’t want to leave her alone,” says Solis. “It would had been different if we were in our home country. Although we have friends here, I want to be with her when she has our first babies.” Solis and his wife have the support of compatriots Mauricio Wright and Alejandro Sequeira and their families. Wright, who plays alongside Solis with the Costa Rican national team, was his teammate in Comunicaciones. When MLS officials signed Wright on loan this spring, they tried to acquire Solis, but negotiations dragged on into the summer. It was Wright who received Solis when he arrived in San Jose. “Mauricio [Wright] and I are old friends,” says Solis. “He helped me a lot. He used his influence to get me here and always said good things about me to the coach. When he was about to come here, the MLS talked to me, but Comunicaciones wanted to sell me. They didn’t want to loan me as they did with Mauricio. In the end, I signed for one year with a four-year option.” Sequeira was the third Tico to arrive in San Jose this season. He came in the mid-season trade that sent Salvadoran striker Raul Diaz Arce to Tampa Bay.

An English experience

Culture shock hasn’t been as strong for Solis, 26, as it is for some of the other foreign players in MLS. He has already lived in another English-speaking country. He traveled to England, together with Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope, to play for Derby County at the end of the 1996-97 season. Their performance during France ’98 qualifying had drawn attention from the Premier League, and their Costa Rican club, Herediano, sold them as a package. “I learned a lot of things as a person and as a player,” says Solis. “It was a country with a totally different culture, more direct, and that helps you mature as a person. As a player, I had experiences I will never forget, such as playing against Manchester United. I also had to adapt to the style of play. It was hard in the beginning because they played stronger and faster, and midfielders don’t get as many balls as they get in Costa Rica.” Solis started out in Costa Rica at Saprissa’s summer camps, where his dad took him as a child. Eventually he became part of the Herediano youth team, where he started working his up way to the First Division. Whenever he got free tickets for a Herediano match, he was the first one in the stands to see them play. He finally turned pro in 1991 with Herediano and won the First Division championship the following season. Solis returned home after the 1997-98 English season. He was about to sign with Saprissa when Comunicaciones entered the picture. There’s extensive movement by Central American players between countries. Comunicaciones is loaded with Ticos, so Solis packed again and moved to Guatemala City. His wife, as always, followed him. “Katia has always been close to me,” says Solis. “She is my support and always helps me in difficult times.” Now, Solis is settled down in the United States and anxious for the birth of his first two children, girl and boy. Although he left Comunicaciones, the top team in the Guatemalan league, for the Clash, struggling to make the playoffs for the first time since 1996, he is happy to be playing in MLS. “I like the soccer level, its speediness and physical contact are a challenge for me,” says Solis. “Besides that, the league gives a financial security, which is very important for me because I have to think about my family’s future.” by Soccer America associate editor Amparo Sim=n