This Love Is Not for Cowards: Salvation and Soccer in Ciudad Juárez

4.4 | 111 ratings

Price: 21.83

Last update: 10-21-2024

About this item

More than 10 people are murdered every day in Ciudad Jurez, a city about the size of Philadelphia. As Mexico has descended into a feudal narco-state - one where cartels, death squads, the army, and local police all fight over billions of dollars in profits from drug and human trafficking - the border city of Jurez has been hit hardest of all. And yet, more than a million people still live there. They even love their impoverished city, proudly repeating its mantra: "Amor por Jurez." Nothing exemplifies the spirit and hope of Juarenses more than the Indios, the city's beloved but hard-luck soccer team. Sport may seem a meager distraction, but to many it's a lifeline. It drew charismatic American midfielder Marco Vidal back from Dallas to achieve the athletic dreams of his Mexican father. Team owner Francisco Ibarra and Mayor Jos Reyes Ferriz both thrive on soccer. So does the dubiously named crew of Indios fans, El Kartel. In this honest, unflinching, and powerful book, Robert Andrew Powell chronicles a season of soccer in this treacherous city just across the Rio Grande, and the moments of pain, longing, and redemption along the way. As he travels across Mexico with the team, Powell reflects on this struggling nation and its watchful neighbor to the north. This story is not just about sports, or even community, but the strength of humanity in a place where chaos reigns.

Football and much more!

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2021

Ever wondered what it would be like to one of the most dangerous cities on Earth and start following the local football team? Nope, me neither, but turns out it makes for a fascinating story.

‘This Love is not for Cowards: Soccer and Salvation in Ciudad Juarez’ is the work of American journalist Robert Andrew Powell. I’d never heard of the book until earlier this year when Rory Smith of The NY Times, declared it his ‘gold standard for soccer books’. High praise from one of the best football writers around. Though the book doesn’t feature widely in the canons of football literature, it is certainly a hidden gem.

‘I don’t even know what I’m looking for, really. I know only that I want to look,’ Powell writes in the introduction. His looking leads him to the city’s LIGA MX side Indios de Ciudad Juárez. The team, originally the feeder club of CF Pachuca, moved to the city in 2005. They achieved an unlikely promotion in 2008 to the top league at which point Pacucha divested their shares. After a miracle escape from relegation in their first year, Powell joins them for the start of the Clausura. The Indios are mired in a relegation battle again and need some divine intervention to retain their status for another season.

Juarez’s dangerous reputation stems from the ongoing turf war between La Linea, natives of Juarez, and the Sinaloa Cartel, the largest criminal syndicate in the country, led by Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, or as he is more commonly known, El Chapo. Juarez location on the US border makes it turf worth fighting for, and killing and dying. In the year the book was written, 3766 people were murdered. More than 10 per day. And yet, in a 10 minute walk, over the bridge, lies sleepy El Paso, Texas and the United States

Powell decided to become a paid up member of the most passionate supporters club, ‘El Kartel’, (yes, you read that right) and travels with them across Mexico visiting Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City, exploring the cities with us via pre-game walks. In the journeys with the supporters there are echoes of ‘A Season With Verona’ by Tim Parks’ and his interactions with the President and other members of the club, reminiscent of ‘The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro’.

We learn a lot about the relationship between Juarez and El Paso, Mexico and the USA, and the fluidity of the border yet in other ways, ‘Juárez touches Texas, yet in some ways it doesn’t even seem to be on the map’. Most of the individuals Powell befriends are dealing with this duality. Marco Vidal, the American midfielder, of Mexican parents who has fallen in love with a Juarez girl. Ken-Tokey, the weed loving member of El Kartel, previously of Kentucky (get it) but since deported. The owner Francisco Ibarra, who postpones his move to El Paso as long as he can, finally gives in when his wife is assaulted and his children appear on kidnapping lists. The writer himself wrestles with it. The authenticity and vibrancy of his life in Mexico contrasting with the monotony and familiarity of the US.

The book is not a blow-by-blow account of soccer in Mexico and with Powell being a newcomer to the sport, there’s certainly some explanations provided for the non-football lover. The Indios provide a structure to Powell’s life in Juarez, and at the same time, an anchor to the book. We come for the football, we stay for the insight into illegal immigration and femicide. It may seem remarkable how football can still thrive in such circumstances but as Powell shows, though it may seem trivial, it thrives as a symbol of hope, of normal life.

Personally, I’ve not really gotten into the football travelogue genre, probably related to snobbery and interest in big teams and big leagues but I’m sure I’ve been missing out. ‘This Love is Not for Cowards’, is funny and enlightening, a book that teaches us about a wider topic, through the mechanism of football. Powell is a skilled and honest writer and though I don’t expect he will write any more football books, he leaves us with a classic.

radrich

wow!

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2012

The book was entertaining and sad at the same time. I really liked this book and recommend it to many that love the sport of football. You also get a glimpse on what is really going on down there and how the people there deal with the situation of life on the border. You hear about the deaths and the violence but you never really get a personal feel for the people that actually live with the violence, never had i heard football supporters go to such lengths to support a team. even if you dont like the sport its still a good read into the lives of the people down there. How one can still live in a place after seeing a wedding reception shot up by gunman is amazing. One violent event after another and people still live day to day. its amazing and I am recommending this book to everyone

John V

What is Life Really Like in Juarez? Read this book to understand.

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2012

I have a strong interest in the borderlands to begin with and my interest has peaked with the rise of the violence in CD Juarez and all of Mexico. I have read Grillo, Gibler, Longmire, Bowden, and Campbell's works on the violence and they were all excellent in helping me understand the politics and theories surrounding the situation in Mexico. However, Powell's book, This Love is Not For Cowards, gave me something that I really craved to which the other books left me longing and that is a view of what life is really like for citizens of the world's most dangerous city. Powell moved to Juarez at the height of the drug war to cover the Indios, the City's soccer team, which has been promoted to the highest level of the Mexican soccer league. In doing so, Powell bonds with players, fans, coaches, and team management going to all their home games and even accompanying them on the road.

The team becomes a metaphor for the City itself, bursting onto the scene then spiraling downward in a series of losses that guarantees relegation back to the minor leagues. The City of Juarez follows a similar pattern from an economic powerhouse with no unemployment to a City seemingly going through death throes. Or is it? As the book illustrates, people still go out to restaurants and bars, celebrate children's birthday at McDonalds, fall in love/get married, jog, walk their dogs, and support their soccer team to the end. By reading this book, we find that people love their soccer team and their city despite the pervasiveness of death.

We see the city through his eyes as someone who chose to live there, renting an apartment and fully engaging in daily life. Our media paints a picture of Juarez as a town that shuts completely down at night with residents in bunker mode for fear of being shot. And while some of that occurs, we still see people living their lives and that is the strength of the book.

Powell does provide a good background of the drug war and who the major players are in the City. He touches upon some of the more shocking headlines such as the student massacre, the murder of American consulate employees, and the car bombs. His chapter about the women murders is especially powerful in helping the reader understand some of the debate over the origin of killings. But in the end, the book is about how this soccer team, the Indios, provide a diversion for the City in desperate need for something good. You'll meet interesting people and players and hopefully get a sense that not all is doom and gloom in Juarez. I highly recommend this book whether or not you are a soccer fan.

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