10 August 15 - 21, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents from a previous century. In the U.K., if you played for God and country in an interna- tional soccer match, you received a ceremo- nial hat. No one gets a physical cap anymore, but once players are capped they are tied to that country for the rest of their interna- tional career. For skilled players with dual citizenship or mad skills, this can lead to hard choices. On the other hand, the various national teams want as big a pool of players as possible, which incentivizes them to bring in as many players as possible and lock them onto the team. With his lineage, Omar Gonzalez theo- retically could have played internationally with Mexico, but he got into the U.S. system early and it didn’t let him go. But it’s not like they hid him from the Mexican team, as he has over 50 appearances in the U.S. colors. Looking back on his career, with all the achievement, success and occasional heart- break, he says, “The moment I may remem- ber the most is stepping out with the starting 11 for a 2014 World Cup match against Germany.” For Kamungo, his sudden appearance as a pro also attracted international attention, and he was invited to train and possibly ap- pear for the Tanzanian national team in a friendly against Niger. He didn’t play that day and remained uncapped. On his return to the U.S., the national team made sure to call him up and get him into a game against Slovenia. Capped. FC Dallas, like most other soccer clubs, is a truly international team. But these two stories are special. Omar Gonzalez is both the son of Mexican immigrants and a home- town kid. Bernard Kumungo started life in circumstances most of us can’t even imag- ine. Two young Americans, and both are capped, not just in the soccer sense. This doesn’t mean that either has forgotten where they came from. Gonzalez ended up playing three seasons for Pachuca F.C. in the Mexican first division Liga MX. Located in the north of Mexico, Pachuca is a mining town and home to one of the oldest soccer clubs in Mexico. He describes the experi- ence as “an unbelievable opportunity for him and his young family to get back to his roots.” The soccer was “both skilled and passionate,” and even with his broken Span- ish, “the support from fans was extraordi- nary,” he says. Kamungo had his own getting-back-to- his-roots story during his time with the Tan- zania national team. It was a side of the country he had never really seen, and a “chance to speak Swahili again.” There was interest for sure, and Kamungo was torn. In the end, it was his family who encour- aged him to go all in for the U.S. As Kamungo was training with FC Dal- las, he had made a commitment to finish high school, and in 2021 he received what was really his first “cap,” along with a gown and a diploma from Abilene High School. After an additional year of studying with Matt Denny, at that time the general man- ager of North Texas Soccer Club (and an Englishman), he passed the test for U.S. citi- zenship. Between finishing high school or pass- ing the citizenship test, Bernard acknowl- edges that “it was the citizenship test for sure” that was hardest. Ironically, he now probably knows more about our govern- ment structure and Abilene than most na- tive Texans. These teammates’ stories both have twists and turns that lead to success. That makes them easy to tell, and they are stories that Americans desperately want to believe in. Anyone who reads the news knows that they are not the only “Coming to America” stories, but the idea that people from across the world can settle and, within a generation or two, transform their family’s fate is a powerful reminder of the country’s ethos. Outside of our native populations, the story of every American started some- where else. We came escaping something else, or out of desperation, or in the ugliest cases, against our will. And people still con- tinue to try anything, risk everything to get here. It seems like most of them believe in the American dream more than those of us living it. The good side of this is that everyone brings along their passion, and as a result we get more interesting food, music and art, and especially in Dallas, better soccer. Mike Brooks Bernard Kamungo takes a hip check and goes flying. Culture from p8 W I N GW E E K DA L L A S . C O M
