The Burn reaps rewards from the happy reunion of Trellez, Pareja and veteran Alvarez

John Jairo Trellez’s arrival in MLS wasn’t as much of a cultural shock as his experience in Saudi Arabia. Colombian compatriots Leonel Alvarez and Oscar Pareja welcomed him to the Dallas Burn this season and helped him to settle down. Trellez lives in the same condominium complex as Pareja and profits from his fellow Colombians’ advice during his new adventure ù one that is very different from his life in Saudi Arabia, where he played for club Al-Hilal in 1997. Then, Trellez lived in a hotel and, after some encounters with the religious police, barely left it. When he went out for lunch with an Arab friend and was recognized by children who asked for his autograph, the religious police arrived as he was signing and told him he should cut his hair, because their religion didn’t permit such long locks. Trellez answered that he respected their beliefs, but his “religion” didn’t allow him to have short hair. They told him to finish his lunch and disappear ù so he did. “It was a life in tension,” says Trellez. “Although it was a good soccer experience, I left the team because I was getting depressed.” After winning the Saudi Arabian championship he returned to Boca Juniors, which had been loaning him out. His fortunes with the Argentine club were lacking, so he negotiated his freedom and was trying out with Colombian teams when he got a call from the United States. It was Alvarez, who invited him to travel with the Dallas Burn for a preseason trip to France. Trellez packed again and soon signed with MLS. His arrival to Dallas brought up old memories for the three Colombians. Trellez and Alvarez won the 1989 Libertadores Cup with Nacional, the first Colombian team to win the South American champions’ cup. With Pareja, Trellez played on the youth national team that won the South American championship in 1987. And the trio played on the Colombian national team.


‘I want a little more disorder’

Trellez’s soccer career has also taken him to Switzerland ù where he started learning English while he was playing with FC Zurich ù and Brazil, where he played for Juventude. But his reception in Dallas was the warmest ù thanks to Alvarez and Pareja. “They are very supportive,” says Trellez. “They are always asking me if I need anything, but I am very independent and don’t want to bother them too much, so I try to discover all the new things by myself.” Alvarez, who arrived to MLS in 1996, knows how different life is in Dallas. He enjoys a quiet life in his new home ù unlike anything he could imagine to have in Colombia. He arrived after starring with Nacional, Independiente Medellin and America Cali and with more than 100 national-team appearances that spanned five Copa Americas and two World Cups. He also played for Spanish club Valladolid. He did miss the soccer fervor he had been used to. “It is very hard to adapt to such a different ambiance,” says Alvarez. “Here you have the soccer atmosphere on the field during the games but when the match is over and you are out of the stadium there isn’t any left, you go home and everything is very relaxed. It is a total different life, although tranquillity is also good.” Alvarez and his family are comfortable in Dallas, but their social life has changed radically. Friends made over lifetime in Colombia and relatives are far away, and relationships in the United States are different. In Colombia, Alvarez visited acquaintances without advance notice ù here he feels he has to make an appointment. And it’s changed his attitude. “If suddenly somebody appears and you are not ready for a visit you don’t like it because you’re getting accustomed to American way of life,” says Alvarez. “Here everything is different, for this interview the club called me first to ask for my permission, while in our countries, the phone just rings and you talk to the journalist. You are accustomed to the pressure and I like it, I want a little more disorder.” But Alvarez is happy to be back with the Burn after his year away with Mexican club Veracruz in 1996-97. He tried to help some young teammates who didn’t get paid if they didn’t perform well and, after he told one of the directors that the club should treat his teammates properly, he suffered reprisals. “He stopped me for eight months,” Alvarez says. “When some other teams called showing interest in me, there was nobody to talk with. I gave the best of myself, but sometimes you pay for being such a good teammate. I helped these players to pay their rent or buy food because I felt I had to do it. That situation with a team wouldn’t happen here.” When he returned to Dallas for the 1998 season, he had a pleasant surprise. The Burn sent Mexican forward Damian Alvarez to New England for midfielder Oscar Pareja, who joined the Burn after having played 13 games for the Revolution. They helped each other to adapt to life in Texas and are thinking about opening a Dallas soccer academy together. “I had a lot of expectations when I came here,” says Pareja. “I wanted my family and myself to take advantage of all the things the U.S. can offer them. Now, my wife, Sandra, and I are going to English school, and we want to continue studying.” The last year has changed Pareja. He now visits his homeland and feels he is a different person. “It is weird, maybe it’s just only the way I dress now, but I know I am a different person,” he says. “I see things from another perspective because social and cultural life here has affected you.” MLS is Pareja’s first experience abroad after an extensive career in Colombia, where he won the Colombian championship in 1995-96 with Deportivo Cali. The language barrier that separated him from teammates when he arrived is starting to break down. “Americans are more independent,” says Pareja. “Latino players are more colorful, they go out in group; but that is just a different way of life. I want to merge everything together.” Meanwhile, the Colombian trio has helped the Burn to its best start in four seasons. by Soccer America editor Amparo Sim=n