More than 700 soccer dreamers came to to the Glendale Sports Complex on Saturday for a chance to achieve one thing: Their Sueño.
Sueño MLS, Major League Soccer’s version of American Idol, is back in LA this weekend and more than the expected 400 showed up to tryout.
“There should be about 400 total, but I would say about more than 700 showed,” Sueño MLS program director Alma Angeles said.
After holding tryouts in Chicago and Houston, Angeles said the registration process was open to anyone between the ages of 14 – 18, via Univision’s Republica Deportiva’s website. Those slots, about 400, filled up in less than 24 hours.
Those that unable to register were still able to to register via the program’s “walk-up” registration, which gives a chance to someone who may have heard about the event in the days leading up to today’s tryout and the opportunity to play in front of the watchful eyes of LA Galaxy Assistant Coach and Director of Youth Player Development Trevor James, as well as former Galaxy Assistant and current University of Redland coach Ralph Perez and Galaxy Under-16 Assitant Coach Eddie Soto, who’s also an assistant on the UCLA Men’s Soccer Program.
The tryouts, designed to find the future starts of MLS, attracted players from as far away as Ciudad Obregon in Sonora, Mexico.
For Ari Quiñones, 14, getting to LA was easy— Getting to Glendale was a different story.
“We lost about five hours, stopping in all sorts of places to ask for direction. Even though we got to LA at 2, we didn’t get to the hotel until 8 p.m.,” said Quiñones, whose parents work for AeroMexico.
Of those that got a chance to try out, 30 will return on Sunday. Only 10 will advance to the next round and get a chance to train with the LA Galaxy Youth Academy this upcoming week. Five will then advance to the Sueño MLS, which will be held at The Home Depot Center from May 5-9.