With a history of playing matches in Los Angeles, Chivas should have little trouble making a successful start in the U.S. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

LISBON -- So why have I come all the way to the European championships, only to write about a Mexican?

Several reasons: 1) I'll have plenty of Euro 2004 stuff on SI.com and in next week's magazine, 2) this column is called Inside U.S. soccer, and 3) I wanted to add to my story in this week's SI that looks in part at Jorge Vergara, the flamboyant Mexican investor who thinks he can make a killing in Los Angeles next year with the MLS expansion team Chivas USA.

This much is certain: He is one fascinating cat, a media lightning rod who will draw MLS greater attention, and his success or failure with Chivas USA will in many ways spell the league's success or failure as well.

Not long ago I sat down with Vergara, owner of the fabled Chivas of Guadalajara, in his suite at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York. He had just flown in from France, where his production company's new Sean Penn vehicle, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, debuted at the Cannes film festival.

Over the course of an hour we talked about such widely varying topics as soccer, health supplements, architecture, the film industry and globalization. And I came away with the same impression of Vergara that the New York Times had in an A-section story last year: that he's "full of bold coups and flashes, but highly unorthodox and hard to weigh."

Unorthodox? Well, he's an environmentalist, a Tony Robbins-styled self-empowerment guru and a fervent supporter of women's rights--not your typical characteristics in a Mexican tycoon.

Hard to weigh? Let's just say that an air of mystery surrounds the 49-year-old Vergara. Who is he as a businessman? And will he be good for MLS? Some would argue that his willingness to sink $25 million into startup costs for Chivas USA is answer enough. But not everyone thinks it's that simple. Consider these facts and caveats:

FACT: Vergara has turned his initial $10,000 investment in Omnilife, his direct-sale health supplements company, into an Amway-style empire with sales of $1.16 billion worldwide last year. In July, Vergara told me proudly, Omnilife will expand to its 14th (and first non-Hispanic) country, Russia.

CAVEAT: Some medical experts are dubious of Omnilife's products, which have included the "Power Maker," a shake purported to increase mental agility and raise sperm counts. (Does this mean we'll see Chivas USA players chugging Power Makers if their attack is ever, um, impotent?)

FACT: Vergara spent $100 million on a takeover of Chivas in November 2002, persuading 150 of the 196 shareholders in the club (then a shaky non-profit organization) to sell to him.

CAVEAT: After the takeover, Francisco Cardenas, Chivas's outgoing (and clearly outfoxed) former president, had this to say to the Times about Vergara: "I think he is a shady man, and he does business in a shady way."(Significantly, he provided no details.)

FACT: Vergara has launched an audacious 11-building, $670 million development project that he hopes will turn Guadalajara into an international destination a la Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The JVC Culture, Convention and Business Center (named for his father's initials) includes a futuristic new Chivas stadium, a museum, a hotel and designs by some of the world's foremost architects--including World Trade Center mastermind Daniel Libeskind.

CAVEAT: The center was initially scheduled to break ground in 1999, but construction of the first building (the stadium) now won't start until this September at the earliest, Vergara told me. And though Libeskind and the current architects are enthusiastic supporters, Gehry met with Vergara and turned him down. ("I got suspicious." Gehry told the Los Angeles Times, citing the low cost figures Vergara gave him.) Likewise, Rem Koolhaas (who designed the stunning new Seattle public library) quit Vergara's project within a year of joining, telling the LAT: "I had no confidence in the entire enterprise."

FACT: Last August Vergara told the San Diego Union-Tribune that he had reached a handshake deal with MLS for Chivas USA and that he would decide on the city where Chivas would be located in "60 to 90 days."

CAVEAT: After several hiccups, the announcement of Los Angeles as Chivas USA's home is now tentatively planned for July 8--some 250 days after Vergara's 90-day deadline.

It's important to note that some of Vergara's projects haven't raised questions at all. His movie production company's first film, director Alfonso Cuarón's *Y Tu Mamá También, won an Oscar nomination and $30 million at the box office. (Vergara's friend Cuarón has gone on to earn critical acclaim for his work directing the latest Harry Potter movie.) And Vergara's associations with Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Salma Hayek show that he's now closely tied to Hollywood's A-list.

What's more, Vergara has shaken up the way traditional Mexico does business. Take his company's strict environmental policies. "If we don't change things," Vergara says, "we won't have much to fight for in 50 years because the world is going to be destroyed."

Then there's Vergara's quest to strengthen the role of women in the Mexican workplace. More than 300,000 Mexican women have graduated, he says, from the schools he set up to teach business skills and self-empowerment. "In Latin American countries we have wasted women in the workforce because of our macho education," Vergara told me. "They have all these qualities that men don't. They're more administrative, more focused, more responsible." Vergara estimates that 65 percent of his employees are women. "When you are around so much feminine energy, you get more creative," he says with a smile.

The moment Chivas USA begins play next spring, Vergara will become MLS's most visible and provocative owner, American soccer's answer to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. He has opinions on just about anything, fútbol included. On Chivas USA's prospects: "We'll be a contender from the first year." On the L.A. derby with the Galaxy: "If you have no rivalry in a game, it's tough to be passionate, and you need passion for it to be contagious." And on the chance that Mexican rival Club América will soon invest in MLS: "If MLS gets Chivas and América, it's a done deal for soccer in the United States."

Vergara even told me he's comfortable with MLS's $1.7 million salary cap and its single-entity structure, in which team investors share league-wide profits and losses.

There may be plenty of questions about Vergara and his plans for Chivas USA (many of which he addresses in this week's SI). Yet there's no denying that he'll be a welcome change of pace in a league whose most powerful figure, Anschutz Entertainment Group head Phil Anschutz, hasn't given an interview in three decades.

Through balls

The Czech Republic has easily been the class of Euro 2004 so far, which prompts an honest question: Why haven't we seen these guys in a World Cup since 1990? Just goes to show you that no matter how difficult U.S. games in Central America may be, qualifying for major tournaments is a harder proposition in Europe. Consider: the third-place team from World Cup 2002 (Turkey) didn't even make it to Portugal ... Say what you will about the blunder last week Chicago goalkeeper Henry Ring -- coming 20 yards outside of the goal only to clear the ball directly to the feet of L.A.'s Jovan Kirovski, but the Galaxy forward's 50-yard one-timer into the back of the net for L.A. was a thing of beauty (and immense skill) ... This just in: British journos have officially determined that David Beckham's wayward PK against Portugal landed in Row Q ... We'd like to salute Inside U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame member Garth Lagerwey, who's now doing a standup job as a TV commentator while studying for the bar ... Had an excellent meal last night at Lisbon's Bico do Sapato, the ultrahip riverside restaurant owned by John Malkovich (whose portrayal of Tom Ripley put Matt Damon's to shame). If Portugal beats Holland, I'll be heading to Malkovich's nightclub Luz to see how the host country's celebrations compare to South Korea's in 2002 and France in 1998. (Hey, somebody's gotta do it.) ... I'll make some more calls about this when I get back to the States, but it's clear that San Jose Earthquakes owner AEG is using threats to move San Jose in an effort to get public financing for a soccer-specific stadium. More info to come next week.

Top of the table

Jason Kreis -- Major snaps to the Dallas Burn forward for setting the all-time MLS goal-scoring record last weekend. Now for a plot twist: how long will he be able to hold off Chicago's Ante Razov?

Pierluigi Collina -- The Ed Hightower of soccer referees will be calling his last international game in the Euro 2004 semifinal between Greece and the Czech Republic on Thursday. Turns out that Collina is about to reach the 45-year-old age limit standard. The bald one will be missed.

Clint Dempsey --  Let's see: a rookie named Clint jumps into MLS from a South Carolina college and starts turning heads around the league. Where have we seen this before?

Relegation zone

David Beckham -- Not a good year for the Spice Boy, who's dealt with flagging performances for Real Madrid, a media firestorm over alleged marital infidelities and two missed spot kicks in Euro 2004. Perhaps Becks can take solace from making the cover of the latest *Vanity Fair*.

Urs Meier -- We still don't buy the phantom foul the Swiss referee called to negate what would likely have been the winning goal for England against Portugal. Yank fans might recall that Meier was the guy who called a dubious penalty against Jeff Agoos in the U.S.'s 1-1 draw with South Korea in the last World Cup.

	MAILBAG Grant Wahl will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

CONCACAF -- Forcing the region's heavyweights to play home-and-home World Cup qualifying matches against such luminaries as Grenada and Dominica was an ill-conceived bone thrown to the Caribbean countries' giant voting bloc. Now the masterminds have given us woefully imbalanced four-team groups for the semifinal round. Only two of four worthy teams will survive the Group of Death (Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras), while the main beneficiary was Trinidad & Tobago, which only has to beat out St. Vincent & the Grenadines and St. Kitt's & Nevis to reach the final round. Funny: T&T just happens to be the home country of CONCACAF prez Jack Warner.

Copa América -- In the mid-1990s the South American championship was every bit as compelling as its European counterpart. No longer. When the latest edition starts in Peru next week, most countries will be bringing their B-teams or worse.

Opening the mailbag

Thanks for all your comments and questions after last week's return of the column. And feel free to add more, along with any inside news tips and story ideas.

Three questions to answer this week:

Do you think the U.S. will have any difficulty qualifying for the final round of CONCACAF World Cup elimination? Jamaica, Panama and El Salvador are all solid teams. Can they really present a challenge to the U.S. though?

Carlos Alvarado
Orlando, Fla.

I think the U.S. will get through, but it won't be as easy as some folks think. Opening the six-game series with a road test in Jamaica presents all sorts of challenges, particularly if Charlton Athletic striker Jason Euell goes ahead with his decision to join the Jamaicans. At the same time, I don't think Panama or El Salvador will keep the U.S. from advancing. Panama ain't exactly a powerhouse (it's hard to fear Jorge Dely Valdes), and El Salvador barely got past Bermuda (winning 2-1 at home and tying 2-2 in Bermuda).

Don't you think a Mexican team [like Chivas USA] will have an alienating effect on Americans, the ones the soccer world is trying to convert? They already watch their own teams on Mexican TV channels. Do we really need one of their teams here? I'm already turned off by it.

Robert Gaurie
San Diego, Calif.

For starters, Robert, Mexican-Americans are Americans, which is something that too many people forget. I'm bullish on what Chivas USA could bring to MLS: not just real money, but also an intense group of supporters that will improve the atmosphere at MLS games. MLS has never been able to reach Mexican-Americans, and Chivas USA provides by far the best opportunity yet. The often tense relationship between Anglo-Americans and Mexican-Americans is a touchy subject, especially in California, but it's high time that the Anglo community got over it. Chivas USA will provide an avenue for doing that.

Every three months or so I hear how Glasgow Celtic and Rangers would love to play in the English Premier League, but UEFA and/or FIFA woon't allow it. So how can Toronto be considered for an MLS expansion franchise?

Bill Winterle
Havertown, Pa.

My feeling is that it has to do with the lack of a top-flight soccer league in Canada. The A-League already has Canadian teams, which clearly is not a problem with FIFA, so I wouldn't expect it to be one for MLS. The problems arise when the boundaries of existing leagues are threatened, e.g., the Scottish powers with the EPL and introducing, say, a Los Angeles team into the Mexican League.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl keeps you up to date with the world of U.S. soccer at SI.com.