Photo Courtesy of Diario de Centro America.
The world is sometimes called a small place, with near misses, brushes with greatness, and seemingly meaningless interactions sprinkled throughout mingled lives. Connections can span lifetimes and continents or last only an instant, with chance encounters changing the trajectory of a life only slightly or ricocheting away like chunks of rock in the depths of space, never to be seen again.
One such noble life, full of these myriad webs of shared moments, is that of Trigg County resident Romulo Mendez Molina. Born in 1938 in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Mr. Mendez’ life was dedicated to sports, teaching, and family. As a young man, he set national track and field records in the 400, 800, and 1500 meter events. He also played soccer professionally for his hometown club, CSD Municipal, one of the most decorated and historic teams in Guatemala. The Los Rojos have won the Liga Nacional, Guatemala’s top-flight professional league, 30 times, while also claiming the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup in 1974.
Mendez became a teacher at the American School of Guatemala, teaching physical education, where he met his wife Mary, a chemistry and biology teacher and native of St. Cloud, Minnesota. In addition to a number of other schools, he also taught at the Marryknol School in Guatemala, known as Monte Maria.
Throughout his extensive teaching career, Mendez continued to coach track and field, not only at the high school level, but locally and nationally as well. After a 16-year absence from the Olympics, he helped coach the Guatemalan national track and field team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. Five athletes competed in six events, with Julio Ortiz posting the best finish at 28th place in the 20km Walk.
A year later Mendez began his career as a soccer referee, before becoming an international level official in 1975. In 1982, he became the first ever Guatemalan official to take part in a World Cup, officiating a group stage meeting between Algeria and Chile in the Estadio Carlos Tartiere in Oviedo, Spain on June 24. Mendez handed out a yellow card to Chile’s Juan Carlos Letelier, who also scored in the game. He also awarded a penalty kick to the Chileans, which they converted, but Algeria hung on for a 3-2 victory.
Perhaps the highlight of his international career came at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, when he took charge of a group match between Brazil and Algeria in the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara on June 6. The Brazilian team featured legendary stars Socrates and Zico, with the Seleção taking a 1-0 victory on a 66’ goal by Careca. After retiring as an international referee, he continued to work for FIFA for many years as an instructor for referees all over the world.
In 2011, Mendez moved to Cadiz along with his wife and two daughters and their families. Seven of his ten grandchildren came along, with three others living in North Carolina with his son. Four of those would go on to play soccer at Trigg County High School, beginning with Andy Llarena, who was a freshman on the 2012 Wildcat team. Andy would be joined on the team two years later by his brother Javier, and two years later the youngest brother, Cristian, joined the varsity team as a freshman. Over their combined eight years at the varsity level, the three were involved in 99 wins, seven 5th District championships, and a region runner-up. A fourth grandson, Timmy Mendez, just finished his sophomore season with the Wildcats. Throughout his time in Cadiz, Mr. Mendez has been a staple at Trigg games both home and away.
In 2012, he and his family returned to Guatemala to be honored with the Orden del Mérito Deportivo, or Royal Order of Sports Merit, by the Guatemalan Minister of Culture and Sports. The award recognizes distinguished service in sports, in teaching physical education, or the management, organization, promotion and development of physical education and sports.
Mr. Mendez’ long and storied careers as a teacher, coach, and official have seen him touch countless lives of athletes both amateur and professional, including some of the best soccer players the world has ever seen. Cadiz can be proud to be the current home of a man appreciated in multiple countries not only for his accomplishments and the people he came in contact with, but for the way he so generously gave of himself for over 50 years.
