New Soccer Club CD Aguiluchos USA is Copying Chivas USA's Model

Remember when people said that Chivas USA is a terrible brand, and should be scrapped? Oh yeah, that's every day.

Here's a new twist. Although the idea of connecting a team to another team abroad is largely pooh-poohed in discussions of Chivas USA, the National Premier Soccer League, part of the third/fourth tier (it is frankly somewhat hazy) has announced a new crop of expansion clubs today. One of those clubs is called CD Aguiluchos USA. Connected to Salvadoran powerhouse CD Aguila, they plan to play in San Francisco* Oakland beginning this season.

Here's what the NPSL wrote today in announcing the decision:

Aguiluchos USA, named after the most popular team in El Salvador’s history, will play home games at Raimondi Park or States Acalanes High. They will try to capitalize on the large number of Salvadoran players in California.*

* Update: December 11 - The original press release and information indicated the team would be playing in San Francisco, but that information was incorrect. Aguiluchos will be playing in Oakland, while the San Francisco Stompers FC have exclusive NPSL rights to San Francisco.

Sounds rather familiar, doesn't it? A large club in Latin America tries to branch out and establish the brand in the United States, with a team name that is literally CD (team name here) USA, and tries to incorporate players with ties to that country in order to appeal to co-ethnic fans in California.

Leaving aside the discussion of whether Chivas USA's struggles come less from the brand itself as from the management of the brand and club (which nearly everybody can agree has been mismanaged), it strikes me as odd that the idea of Aguiluchos USA has gotten good responses in the very earlygoing.

Of course, the remarkable logo, also unveiled today, may have something to do with it. To their credit, the brain trust behind this new club realized that incorporating an Aguila (eagle) could be really American, but in order to stress that this club was based in the U.S., they literally screened an American flag over said eagle's face. And it isn't a cartoon eagle, either. You must check it out to truly understand it.

Perhaps Chivas USA can be convinced to incorporate a real Goat, with an American flag screened over his/her body on a new crest?

What do you think? Leave a comment below!