- Photo Courtesy of Santa Ana Valley High School
UPDATE: Armando Flores, a student at Santa Ana’s Valley High School, won the 2012 MLS Sueno, which is the soccer version of American Idol, this past weekend, according to the L.A. Times. Congratulations to Flores! He will now have a chance to play on an MLS club’s elite youth team.
Armando Flores, a seventeen year old soccer player from Santa Ana was selected, from a group of almost 2,000 young soccer players, as one of only 18 regional winners who are competing this week in Carson, as part of the “Final Event” of the televised reality program, “Sueño,” MLS 2012, which is presented by Allstate.
Flores has lived in Santa Ana all his life, with his three older brothers and his mom, Francisca, who hails from Jalisco, Mexico, and his dad, Diego, who is from Guerrero, Mexico. Flores’ brother Joe is a U.S. Marine. Another brother is studying engineering at Chico State. Flores also wants to study engineering and he says that UCI, UCR and UCLA are all interested in him.
Right now Flores wants to win in the difficult three day trials he is involved in and advance to the finals, where he will have a chance to be invited to join an MLS club’s elite youth team.
Flores plays the forward position, and he was discovered after training for four months with the Club Atlas (Mexico) reserves. He made the “Sueño” MLS trials after getting a walk-up spot. He then beat out nearly 1,000 other competitors.
Flores and his brothers are very close with their mom and dad and he told me that he hopes to win as a Mother’s Day present for his mom. (In Mexico Mother’s Day is celebrated on May 10).
Flores is a junior at Santa Ana’s Valley High School. I asked him if he ever feels afraid while walking in our city. No, he said. Everyone knows he is a soccer player and they look out for him. He also said that Santa Ana at times gets a bad rap but he likes living here.
The Sueño national winners will be announced on television on May 13, on República Deportiva. Best of luck to Flores!
Click here to see a video of Flores’ soccer highlights.
I’m happy for the kid, but can someone double check his GPA since he is from Valley High School.
He is being recruited by the UC schools. Unlike USC they don’t take athletes with low GPAs.
plus he has amazing teachers at Valley HS. 🙂
@former Santa Ana resident- Armando has a 3.4 cumulative gpa bro. He’s a stud, plays like a young Xavi. We will discuss if he wants to join the team. The problem with Santa ana schools is that teachers go collect checks and pensions, instead of teaching kids. It all starts in elementary schools. It’s ok Mambo we got you the exposure, time to the rest little cuzzo.
ok so he won the sueno thing,is that mean that he wont play his senior yr at Valley HS? the team was going to return 3-4 div I prospects..and had a great chance to be one of the top high schools teams in the nation…is he turning pro?
We will weigh our options. I have seen the academy up close and personal, and boy I tell you ;(. All these kids from Santa Ana need to get noticed! Its a shame. I will try to get Chila, Jorge herrera, Arturo Olivo and the rest who are comitted.