In June 2007, Ozzie Alonso walked out of a Walmart in Houston, Texas, knowing that he’d just left Cuba forever.
Alonso, a 21-year-old midfielder with the Cuban national soccer team, hadn’t told anyone his plan. No teammates, no friends, no family, no one. Defecting from Cuba had enough perils without risking someone accidentally (or intentionally) letting his secret spill.
Then again, there wasn’t exactly a plan to share. Step one involved slipping away from the team whenever the opportunity presented itself. That opportunity came when the team went shopping in the days between their second and third games of the Gold Cup’s group stage. Alonso found a moment to drift away slowly from the group and then move quickly past the greeters and through the sliding doors. Step two had even more of an improvisational feel.
“I'm standing there in the street and I say, ‘What am I doing now?’ Because I don't have a phone, nothing,” Alonso said. “I walked maybe 10 blocks. I find a guy sitting there in the street. I come to him and ask ‘Do you speak Spanish?’ I tell him ‘I’m from the Cuban national team. I left. They’re trying to find me. So, can you help me?’”
The stranger offered a phone call. Alonso called a number he had memorized: His ex-girlfriend’s. From Cuba, she offered advice on his next move and, shortly after, the stranger agreed to give Alonso a ride to the nearest Greyhound station and help as Alonso bought a ticket to Miami.
Alonso arrived in Miami essentially a free man. Under what’s known as the “wet foot, dry foot policy,” Alonso had successfully emigrated from Cuba when he stepped away from the national team on U.S. soil. However, he still had a long way to go and a few more calls to make. He called his ex-girlfriend again and she helped him find his way to Calle Ocho in Little Havana. He called a friend of his father’s he had met just a few days before during his former team’s time in New Jersey. And he called his family.
“I called my mom and my dad to tell them that I defected. That was a hard time for me. Back in the day, I wasn’t allowed to come back to Cuba. In Cuba they have no WiFi, no internet, it was difficult for me. That moment was like leaving everything behind,” Alonso said. “I was thinking that I don’t know if I can see my mom or dad again in that moment. That moment was a sad moment for me. I can say it was hard. Leaving my friends, my culture to come here to a new country and a new language to open a new life was difficult for me.”
With help, Alonso began to find his way in his new country and his way back onto the field. Former Cuban national team player Maykel Galindo defected from Cuba in 2005 before joining the Seattle Sounders and then Chivas USA. Galindo worked to get Alonso an invite to come train with the team. However, Alonso was still waiting on the necessary paperwork. He had to wait a couple of months to join the team. Once the paperwork came through, Chivas reportedly offered Alonso a development contract for $12,900. Alonso decided he’d rather have guaranteed playing time and found a place with the USL’s Charleston Battery.
From there, it’s likely you know the rest on the field. Alonso earned a spot with Seattle and became a mainstay as one of the team’s best-ever players and one of MLS’ best-ever midfielders. In Seattle, he played alongside Mexican national team midfielder Gonzalo Pineda. Pineda went on to coach Alonso in Seattle and Atlanta and, over time, has become keenly aware of how Alonso’s approach to the game mirrors his choice to walk out of a Houston Walmart.
“How he arrived to this country is a testament of the fighter that he is and the competitive mentality that he has, to look for a better future for him and his family," Pineda said in a post-game press conference last month. “He's always fighting for that for the food of his kids. So when you have that mentality of fighting for the food of your kids, then you give your very best because every action is life or death. And he has that mentality.”
Fortunately, Alonso’s decision didn’t have the permanence he feared. His mother and little sister found their way to Miami in the years following Alonso’s defection. His ex-girlfriend came to the U.S. and became his wife. And his father finally got to see Ozzie play for Seattle in 2015, over eight years after they’d last seen each other. That same year, Alonso even returned to Cuba.
“The moment was unbelievable. Because I didn't know if that moment was going to come again. When I came here, I said “I’m not going to Cuba anymore.' When I was able to go, I was so happy to see the rest of my family, my friends, my hometown, see my city,” Alonso said. “Being in Cuba and being around the people I left there, I spent eight years without talking to them. It was a moment that I remember forever. After eight years, I left my brother. He was like seven or eight. When I saw him again, he was 15. It was amazing.”
Now, Alonso is 37 years old and 16 years removed from that day in Houston. As his career winds down, it’s clear he has accomplished so much of what he set out to do when he walked out of that store with no clear plan. He found his way as a professional. He found a way to reunite with his family. And, most importantly, he found joy.
“I came here to live. For a new opportunity. Freedom. To get here and play soccer, or whatever else. In Cuba, there is no freedom to do whatever you want. I saw the opportunity to come here. I had to leave the country. I came here to do whatever. I got lucky to start playing soccer. It’s a big deal for me and my family because in Cuba it was hard to even play soccer. Because you have no chance to go to another country to play professionally,” Alonso said. “I'm very grateful for this country because it’s been 16 years since I left. To be here has made me happy.”
