‘Viva Mexico’ proclaims Blue soccer expert

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This article was published 11/06/2010 (5656 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HE’S the Winnipeg Blue Bombers resident soccer expert, so why is Alexis Serna passing on a World Cup prediction?

The California-born placekicker, who parlayed his solid soccer skills to a kicking gig on the college football field when he was 18 years old, didn’t want to speculate about which country would claim international bragging rights for the next four years after Thursday’s training camp session.

The reason: Turns out the former sweeper has been slacking off.

“I’m a huge World Cup fan, but I’m a little behind,” Serna admitted after a light workout at Canad Inns Stadium. “I’ve been busy over the last few weeks getting ready for camp and once I got here, there hasn’t really been a lot of time to follow what’s been going on.

“I can tell you who I’m following, though.”

Serna will be keeping up on a few countries aspiring to make a deep run in the global event. Mexico is at the top of his list, of course, what with his roots tracing back to the North American basement (Serna’s mother is from Mexico). They take on host South Africa this morning, kicking off the 32-country tournament at 8:45 a.m.

Serna stands alone during most of the Blue Bombers workouts as the only placekicker in camp these days, but he plans to take a break from his (cough, cough) busy schedule to see a few minutes of action.

If it means a yellow card from head coach Paul LaPolice, so be it.

“I’ll be watching — or at least I’ll be trying to,” he said with a laugh. “We do have practice but maybe I can head into the offices once in a while and check the score. I’ll figure something out.”

Serna’s other countries of choice include the United States and, for a reason he can’t explain, England. With those two squaring off in a marquee matchup Saturday, Serna quickly abandons his English sensibilities for his American pride. He actually feels the U.S. could be a dark horse and might even upset England, provided they keep their wits about them.

“They’re a very talented team, and I think they might surprise a few people,” offered Serna, who used to kick around on the pitch with U.S. midfielder Maurice Edu. “If they can come out and play a tough, disciplined style, they could do well. The World Cup, you never know. Some teams show better than others depending on the matchup.

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“They have a pretty good team. A deep run would be great for the game in the States, too.”

Serna’s love affair with the World Cup started when he was five years old. He told a story of how his mother pulled his brothers out of school for the Cup when it was in Italy (1990). And when it was in France in 1998, Serna would rise before the sun and watch the games.

“I loved playing,” he said. “After I started playing football at Oregon State, we put together an indoor soccer team. I miss playing.”

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca

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