Four Who Have Helped Shape Local Soccer Scene

The following people have helped shape the soccer scene in Central Los Angeles through their efforts on and off the field.

* * Alfonso Arias

Soccer columnist for La Opinion Arias has been covering the local soccer scene for La Opinion for 30 years. He is the editor of a special section published each Friday that follows the hundreds of Latino teams in the central city area. An all-around athlete as a youth, the native of Veracruz, Mexico, was forced to stop playing soccer in 1962 and start writing about it because of a neck injury stemming from a high school football accident in Arkansas. “I got hooked watching the California Soccer League and started writing articles,” he said. “That’s the game our people play.”

* * Orlando Brenes

Soccer coach

A native of Costa Rica, Brenes started playing soccer in Rosemead at the age of 5 after watching his dad play in the Latino California League. He was captain of the 1975 East Los Angeles state championship team and was an all-American soccer player at Whittier College. In 1990, Brenes coached East Los Angeles to a state title and Bell Gardens High School to a Southern Section championship, becoming the only coach to accomplish that feat in the same year. “I want to be a role model for younger players (and) let them know if they work hard on the field and in class they can succeed,” he said.

* * Joe Capusetti

Business owner Capusetti helped start the California Soccer League in 1958. As the first Latino league in Los Angeles, the California League helped spawn today’s thriving soccer scene in the Latino community. He said the California League was started because the only other league then in existence allowed just one Mexican team to play. Capusetti, a native of Guadalajara, was inducted last year into the California Soccer Hall of Fame. “It’s a good feeling to see all the Latino kids playing,” he said. But “we need more (athletic) scholarships for college.”

* * Tony Criteli

Soccer coach A former semiprofessional soccer player, Criteli was one of several coaches who helped start soccer in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1972. The Brooklyn native led Garfield High School to the city’s first soccer title that year. His team has won five city championships, more than any other school in Los Angeles. Criteli also coached East Los Angeles College to its first state championship in 1975. Criteli said high school soccer has provided athletic opportunities for the city’s Latino immigrants. “It’s given these kids the chance to express themselves and do something positive,” he said. “That’s what athletic programs are about.”