One of the coaches who was instrumental in turning around Mexico’s youth national soccer program is back in the community, visiting and collaborating with Porterville’s South Valley Chivas Academy.

Last summer, Cesar Vega Perrone had visited Porterville for the first time and in that visit had worked closely with the Chivas academy coaching staff and players. Due to his close relationship with Chivas academy co-founder Esmaldo Hernandez and the level of soccer he witness at the academy last June, Vega decided he would come back to Porterville to follow the development of some of the Chivas players. “When he left last June, he mentioned to us that he wanted to come back to Porterville this January to follow the development of some of our players and at the same time collaborate with us on a number of other soccer events with other soccer organizations in the valley.” South Valley Chivas Academy director Gilbert Hernandez said.

Since arriving in Porterville two weeks ago, Vega has already been to a United States Soccer League player combine with the Ventura Fusion in Ventura and has been featured on a 1-hour Univision Channel 21 sports program which aired on Sunday, January 13. He also has been on an ESPN Deportes radio show and his visit has been featured in an article in Vida En El Valle, a Spanish newspaper that serves the
Valley.

Between the time he left Porterville and came back, he has already traveled to Colombia, Argentina and back to Uruguay with Mexican youth national teams who have competed in numerous international tournaments.

“We are very fortunate to have Cesar as a very close friend and soccer comrade,” Gilbert Hernandez said. “For Cesar to want to come back to Porterville to work with us and our players, it just goes to show that we are doing something right here at our academy. He basically knows almost every player in our academy by their first name and our players love having Cesar around at our trainings.”

“You can see their eyes twinkle when Cesar tells them, he has coached players like Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Giovanni Dos Santos and Carlos Vela who are currently having successful soccer careers in top clubs in Europe.”

Vega, who played for Uruguay in the 1986 World Cup against Diego Maradona, was among those who were brought into Mexico’s youth program after its 20 and under and 17 and under men’s teams failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2001. Vega played a huge role in developing the players in the program that went on to win the 17 and under World Cup titles in 2005 and 2011.