Most of all, I thank my mom, dad, and brother Saggy for their generosity, love, and wisdom. I thank Christen Karniski, Kellie Hagan, and the people at Rowman & Littlefield for believing in this project.
Lots of other people have been most kind in assisting me. I thank Ale, Maddy, and Darko Campa for their kindness. I thank Silvia Rivera, her mother, and family for providing me with an inviting environment and delicious meals on game days for Querétaro FC. I thank Oswaldo for suggesting player choices, in particular Xavi and Iniesta. I thank Fernando Arriaga Cervantes for informing me about the philosopher Mauricio Beuchot and the “Sacred Flock,” the fans of Club Deportivo Guadalajara. I thank William Coffin for kindly giving me his copy of Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-Rigging and Ticket Scandals. I thank Jay Pence for lending me his copy of My Life and the Beautiful Game: The Autobiography of Pelé. I thank Mario Vázquez for providing me with a few important Spanish-language sources about soccer. I thank my university, Tecnológico de Monterrey (Campus Querétaro), in particular Angélica Camacho and Dr. Gabriel Morelos, for giving me the time to write this book. I thank Nereo Sanchez and Leslie Ortega for taking me around Pachuca and Real del Monte, the birthplace of soccer in Mexico. I thank Manuel Mancilla for generously sharing his passion for soccer and his unique paintings. I thank Andréia Michels for her inspirational soccer paintings. I thank Nebojša Vasović for alerting me to the genius of Dragan Džajić. I thank two assistants, Sophie St-Onge and Fernanda Martínez, for helping me with the bibliography and index. I thank my favorite teams, its players, and soccer fans in general as they have all inspired me. In particular, I thank my former teammates at Maccabi Toronto FC, FK Sarajevo, the McGill Redmen, and Armourdale Soccer Club. I thank my friends and teachers. I thank Mexico and its people. They are blessed with a shining, warm, and welcoming spirit. As the famous song and saying goes, “Como México no hay dos” (“There are no two countries like Mexico”). Indeed, Mexico is unique and deep in my heart. I thank the game of soccer, which is precious like the oxygen we breathe.