HOUSTON – After a frustrating process to obtain his work Visa, newly signed Houston Dynamo defender José ‘La Flecha’ Bizama is ready to leave everything on the pitch for the Orange.
Bizama was signed July 11 from Chilean club Huachipato FC but due to a difficult and lengthy process to get his P1-Visa, the 25-year-old couldn’t train with the team. And all Bizama wanted to do after signing with the Dynamo was step on the pitch and prove his worth.
But with the Visa issues now out of the way, the Chilean international said he’s ready to give all he can to be an option for Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera as soon as possible.
He may have to wait just a bit longer to be a viable option for La Naranja.
“What we don’t want, is we don’t want to rush anything with him. Because we want him to be successful and to have a good season. A good experience with us,” Cabrera said. “Because normally, that is going to give him the confidence and it’s going to give confidence to his teammates.”
Cabrera did state that Bizama, despite not training with the team, is in good condition and shape.
The small setbacks, however, are nothing new to Bizama, a versatile player that can play both right back and centerback, and minuscule compared to what the 5’11 player has endured to make it to Major League Soccer.
Chasing a dream
Bizama is from Curanilahue, Chile, a city with a population of about 32,000. Curanilahue has no level of professional soccer in it. The closest soccer team was Huachipato FC in Talcahuano, Chile, some two hours away from Bizama’s hometown and family.
“At 16-years-old I left to Talcahuano to become a player. It was my only option. I had to leave my family, and everything else behind,” Bizama said after his first Dynamo training session.
“Thank God it went well for me there. It’s the club [Huachipato FC] that molded me and these past years it’s where I’ve been. I made the first team and established myself there and now was be able to make this leap [to MLS].”
But it wasn’t a simple process to making the first team and establishing himself as the team’s right outside back. And there was no guarantee that when he left home for Talcahuano, he would succeed.
At 16 and from a small city, Bizama’s opportunity to make a run at being a professional soccer player was slipping away. Bizama took a leap of faith.
“It was at that moment that I decided, it’s now or never,” Bizama said. “And I left with no expectations but on the journey, I discovered that if I worked hard, I had a marvelous future ahead of me. And I’ve put in the work and now I’m here.”
Bizama’s leap of faith wasn’t only his doing, however. Unfortunate outside forces gave him a gentle push to pursue his dreams.
Bizama’s grandmother passed away when the outside back was 16-years-old. He was close to his grandparent and they often drove him to his games.
“When she passed away, I promised her that I would be a professional soccer player,” Bizama said.
And with that, the defender made the two-hour trek daily. He would leave home at 8 a.m. and return at 11 p.m.
Finally, Bizama made the ultimate decision to move outright to Talcahuano, Chile and after spending a large portion of his life there, he considers it his city just as much as his hometown.
La Flecha’s versatility
Before making the full transfer to the Orange, Bizama played in 68 matches in Chile’s top league. All of them with Huachipato FC. Additionally, he’s started to receive call-ups to the Chilean national team.
He’s often been deployed at right back but Bizama’s skills and technique have allowed him to play at centerback and defensive midfielder. He said his versatility is a positive for him as a player and for the coach but make no mistake, Bizama prefers the right back position.
“I love playing on the wing. Attacking, defending and running up and down the wing. And that’s where my nickname comes from,” Bizama said.
“A Chilean commentator that knew me started calling me La Flecha (The Arrow) for how fast I was. That’s where the nickname was born. My teammates found out about it and at the end, everyone started calling me La Flecha.”
La Flecha’s versatility could be a boon for La Naranja but Cabrera clearly sees Bizama as a right back first and foremost.
The Dynamo signed Bizama to be a right back, and Cabrera notes that the team hasn’t contemplated playing him at center back. But at defensive midfielder, Cabrera said, could be a possibility if there’s a need.
With Bizama now entrenched with the Orange, the Chilean is eager to prove his worth to the club and Dynamo fans alike. Asked after his first training in Houston what message he has for the Dynamo faithful, Bizama said he’s ready to give his all.
“A player can make a mistake with a pass or a variety of other things but the effort is non-negotiable,” La Flecha said.
If Bizama’s journey to becoming a professional soccer player is any indication, the bandwagon to be a Bizama fan could start filling up rapidly. After all, La Flecha keeps his promises and it’s a sure bet his grandma is smiling down on him.
Jesus Acevedo Jr. is the Editor-in-Chief of The Bayoucitian. He’s an award-winning bilingual journalist from Houston, TX. A graduate of the University of Houston, he has written for the Houston Chronicle, La Voz de Houston, MLSsoccer.com, and ProSoccerUSA.
Before becoming a journalist, Jesus spent his early 20s drumming his way across Houston with two bands — Shortcomings and InsertNameHere. The memories that Jesus made as a musician were the seeds that started the idea for the comedy, Houmans: The Series.