CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 14 (UPI) -- A Cuban soccer player who defected after a match in Charlotte, N.C., got some help from an uncle who has been in the United States for 10 years.
Yosniel Mesa gave a pre-arranged signal to his uncle during the Gold Cup match last week against Mexico, the Charlotte Observer reported. Julio, who did not want his last name used, followed the Cuban team's bus after the 5-0 loss, lost it in traffic and finally, after some desperate hurrying from hotel to hotel located the right one.
After a long wait outside the hotel, afraid to do anything that would tip off the Cuban coaches to his nephew's plans, Julio saw Mesa on a balcony. A few minutes later, they were headed for Miami.
"The escape was a little difficult, because the trainers were in the lobby at the hotel," Mesa said. "I had a glass in my hand. If they saw me, I could say I was going to look for a drink."
Mesa, 27, a reserve midfielder, told Univision Sunday he hopes to have a professional soccer career in the United States.
"I didn't have anything to lose and everything to gain," he said in an interview with El Nuevo Herald.
