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Main Characters
Salvador "Chava" Iglesias, Jr.
Played by: Luis Gerardo Mendez
"No Mames, Güey..."
The heir to the presidency of the Cuervos F.C. soccer team, following the untimely death of his father, Salvador Iglesias. Rather sheltered and ditzy, and obsessed with making his father's team the "Real Madrid of Latin America".- Camp Straight: Displays some very flamboyant mannerisms, but is explicitly straight.
- Catchphrase: "¡No mames, güey!" Though commonly heard throughout Mexico, Chava is particularly fond of this phrase.
- Character Development: Goes from a childish, ignorant jerk to a thoughtful, supportive man with the confidence to follow his dreams.
- Denying the Dead Parent's Sins: When he hears the news that his father, Salvador, murdered someone decades prior, he denies it at first.
- Even the Guys Want Him: Aitor Cardoné makes a pass at him and Hugo Sanchez is probably in love with him. Zigzagged somewhat as Aitor is actually pansexual.
- It's All About Me: And how. Most of his problems stem from the fact that he can't stand others taking his spotlight.
- Jerkass: Selfish, self-centered, manipulative, and arrogant at least at the beginning.
- Manchild: At the beginning of the series. Mellows throughout, but maintains some of his more childish tendencies regardless.
- Parental Issues: Most of his insecurities and desires to take over Los Cuervos are born out of worry to not live up to his father's expectations.
- Schemer: He and Isabel regularly work to manipulate and undermine each other in their fight for power over the Cuervos. His actions during season 2 especially.
- Took a Level in Cynic: After Isabel effectively ruins his presidency and takes over at the end of season 1, he becomes much more cynical.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Especially with Isabel.
- Was It All a Lie?: Asks Mary Luz this after he finds out Valentin, her son, isn't his half brother.
Isabel Iglesias-Reina
Played by: Mariana Treviño
- Abusive Parents: Implied that her mother was emotionally abusive growing up (and continues to be so).
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After going through and losing so much throughout the series, from her father to her marriage, potentially her last chance to have a baby, and eventually the team, she is eventually unanimously elected as Cuervos president by its new owners.
- Lonely at the Top: A running theme in the show and especially with Isabel. This is actually deconstructed as she's the one that ends up pushing away her allies, be it because they betrayed her or they don't bend down to her will.
- Manipulative Bastard: Especially her actions during season 1.
- Married to the Job: Absolutely. Her actual marriage suffers and eventually ends in part due to this.
- Running Gag: Isabel's stress-eating, especially elotes.
- Schemer: Constantly, especially during the earlier seasons.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Especially with Chava.
- Women Are Wiser: She is by far much, MUCH more sensible and grounded than Chava. She is also more business and industry savvy than him, and is much harder to manipulate (yet not impossible, as seen when she was tricked into selling up Nuevo Toledo as the new site of a team that becomes the direct competition of the Cuervos) than most other characters. This is, however, deconstructed since she is not perfect, with a few personal flaws that trip her up every now and then.
Cuervos F.C. Management and Administrative Staff
Salvador Iglesias, Sr.
Chava and Isabel's father, and the former owner of Cuervos F.C., who bought the team and built it up from the ground up into a local economic powerhouse. He passes away in the first few minutes of the series.
- Posthumous Character: Dies early in the first episode, but his legacy is a very strong element of the series, and his actions, for better or worse, heavily influence what happens throughout the story.
Félix Domingo
Played by: Daniel Giménez Cacho
- Only Sane Man: Especially when he tries to bring reason to some of Chava's wilder (and frankly stupider) schemes that will likely hurt the team.
- Put on a Bus: Eventually realizes that he wants to quit the soccer world all together at the end of season 2.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Conspicuously absent from the Where Are They Now segment at the end of the series.
Rafa Reina
Played by: Antonio de la Vega
- Only Sane Man: Along with Félix, Rafa is one of the few people who can (and does) try to mediate between Chava and Isabel and mitigate some of the worse outcomes of their conflicts.
- Your Cheating Heart: Rafa ends up cheating on Isabel with a barista he met
Hugo Sánchez
Played by: Jesús Zavala
"¡No mame, señor!"
Chava's personal assistant and loyal lackey through thick and thin. No relation to the legendary Mexican soccer player of the same name.- Ambiguously Bi: Appears to be a little too fond with Chava, doing pretty much anything at his boss's whim, and looking non-stop for him after he goes missing during the first few episodes of season 2. He is shown flirting with Laura, a girl he met at Ricky Lamas' party while looking for Chava. Also, by his own account, he had an explicitly sexual relationship with his female roommate (now deceased)...Back when he was 14 and she was 80 years old.
- Full-Name Basis: ALWAYS called by his full name, Hugo Sánchez.
- Hyper-Competent Sidekick: He is this to Chava. He makes most of his calls and reservations, and in season 2, he looked all over Nuevo Toledo, and then travelled to Mexico City and Acapulco when Chava went missing.
- Leitmotif: A temporary, situational one. When Chava goes missing in the first few episodes of season two, Hugo is shown going all over town looking for him. In those scenes, the traditional Mexican song La LloronaTranslation is playing on a xylophone in the background.
- Running Gag: His name being the same as that of a very famous soccer star is squeezed for all it's worth. Every single time someone addresses him, it's not as "Hugo" or "Sanchez", they call him by his full name, every time. Newcomer characters are, understandably, very confused at first.
Carmelo
Played by: Aldo Escalante
(Right)
Isabel's own personal assistant. He's pretty much her own version of Hugo Sánchez, but far less competent and loyal.- The Stoner: Revealed to grow and use his own pot in season 3.
Fede
Played by: Mauro Mauad
- Secret Other Family: Has MULTIPLE secret families. They eventually find out in the Ballad of Hugo Sánchez.
Cuervos F.C. Team
Moisés Suárez
Played by: Iannis Guerrero
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Moises starts the series as a devote christian and a humble man. However, after playing in Greece and coming back to Mexico, Moises becomes arrogant, gets into fights with his teammates and threatens to leave the club if they don't bend down to his will. He gets better, though.
- The Bus Came Back: After being sent to Greece at the end of season 1, returns during season 3 to captain the Cuervos.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: At the beginning of season 1, he's the only one who turns down Eliseo's bribes. And look where that got him.
- The Leader: Team captain at the start of the show. Chava gives the captaincy to Aitor once he joins the team, and after Moi returns from Greece, he is made captain again, though reluctantly at first.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Moises isn't better than Aitor or Javier Pizarro. However, compared to the rest of Los Cuervos, he's definitely better than them.
- Put on a Bus: After so much scandal during season 1, due in no small part to the machinations of Isabel Iglesias, he moves to Greece to play soccer in Europe and is gone for all of season 2.
- Took a Level in Cynic: After being screwed over by the Iglesias siblings, being forced to leave the country, and then being screwed over by them (again!) when he finally comes back to Mexico makes him a lot more cynical than he was in season 1.
Aitor Cardoné
Played by: Alosian Vivancos
- The Ace: And doesn't he know it. One of the best strikers in the world and unbelievably attractive to boot.
- The Bus Came Back: After leaving the Cuervos to play in the United States at the end of season 1 due to the homophobic backlash in Mexico when his sexuality becomes public, appearing a couple of times in season 2, and not at all in season 3, he returns to the Cuervos in season 4.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Flirts with everyone, but after he makes a pass at Chava and is rejected, he doesn't push things further.
- Expy: Of the more flamboyant, showy soccer stars (think Cristiano Ronaldo.)
- Mr. Fanservice: Incredibly good-looking and often almost completely naked.
- Put on a Bus: At the end of season 1.
- Third-Person Person: Often refers to himself in the third person.
- Took a Level in Kindness: When Aitor comes back, he is more of a team player and nicer overall.
Diego "Potro" Romani
Played by: Joaquín Ferreira
- Brainless Beauty: With his oft-remarked good looks and poor reasoning skills, he fits this trope to a T.
- The Bus Came Back: After being sold to another team at the beginning of season 3, he returns to the Cuervos in season 4.
- Career-Ending Injury: When Tony's gun accidentally goes off after the semifinal and Potro gets shot in the leg.
- The Ditz: Definitely not one of the Cuervos most powerful minds.
- Even the Guys Want Him: Aitor Cardoné admits that he'd have sex with Potro, after telling the rest of the team that he wouldn't touch any of them when they react poorly to his sexual relationships with men. Zigzagged somewhat, as Aitor is pansexual.
- Mr. Fanservice: His cut physique and massive genitalia are frequently on display. Eventually, he puts this to good use by getting into the porn industry after he can no longer play soccer.
- Green Card Marriage: After Chava tries to get him deported to get revenge on Isabel.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone calls him El Potro.
- Porn Star: Becomes this for a little while to pay the bills after he is shot by Tony and fired from his team.
- Put on a Bus: In the beginning of season 3.
- Shipper on Deck: Tries to get Rafa and Isabel back together in season 4.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The show ends with a Where Are They Now, but Potro is conspicuously absent.
Cuauhtémoc "Cuau" Cruz
Played by: Said Sandoval
- Affectionate Nickname: Cuau and "El Azteca" (more often when someone is angry with him.)
- The Corruptible: Sells out to Eliseo Canales in season 1.
- Corrupt Politician: Eventually becomes this after becoming the governor of Nuevo Toledo at the end of season 3.
Tony
Played by: Juan Pablo de Santiago
- Corrupt the Cutie: The Cuervos all try to corrupt him at the beginning.
- Put on a Bus: At the beginning of season 3 he is sold to another team. We never hear from him again.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: For a character who is prominently featured for the first half of the series, he is conspicuously absent from the Where Are They Now epilogue.
Rio
Played by: Gutemberg Brito
Cuervos player from Brazil.- The Corruptible: Sells out to Eliseo Canales.
- Language Barrier: Speaks almost exclusively in Portuguese.
- Put on a Bus: Part of the Cuervos purge at the beginning of season 2, he leaves the team and is never heard from again.
Benito "El Zombie" Guerrero
Played by: Markin López
Si tu corazón no está contigo corriendo en el campo, algo estás haciendo mal.
New addition to the Cuervos in season 3, a Mexican player with a heart condition that eventually kills him.- The Cutie: One of the nicest characters in the series, and a looker to boot.
- Deadpan Snarker: Though usually sincere, he has his snarky moments.
- The Determinator: The absolute definition of. Despite his heart condition, he is one of the best players on the new Cuervos Negros Salvajes de Nuevo Toledo en Puebla, and it is implied, if not outright stated, that he would be considered one of the top Mexican prospects if not for the fact that he's likely to drop dead on the field.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Scores the winning goal that the Cuervos need to go to the final, which will save the team from ruin. However, he scores by taking a ball to the chest and this is what ultimately kills him.
- Friend to All Living Things: Is a vegan who hates cruelty to animals.
- Hallucinations: In The Ballad of Hugo Sanchez, he begins to experience hallucinations of a terrifying black crow who talks to (and taunts) him. While he experiences an out-of-body experience as he dies, he sees the crow for the final time when it tells him it's over and takes him away.
- Kill the Cutie: The determined heart and soul of the Cuervos, it's a real Gut Punch when he dies scoring the winning goal that the Cuervos need to get to the final.
- Living on Borrowed Time: With his terminal heart condition that is only exacerbated by vigorous exercise, absolutely.
- Meaningful Name: Zombie, an In-Universe reference to his heart condition, and Guerrero, meaning "fighter."
- Memorial Statue: They erect a statue and rename the Cuervos stadium after him.
- Near-Death Clairvoyance: After scoring the winning goal in the semifinal match, Zombie experiences this. At first confused about why his teammates aren't running to him to celebrate his winning goal and instead have gathered around someone lying on the field. Zombie eventually sees that they have gathered around his own body, and realizes that he is dead.
- Nice Guy: One of the nicest characters in the entire series.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Almost always referred to as "Zombie".
- Peaceful in Death: After he scores the winning goal for the Cuervos and dies, we see that he has a peaceful, slightly happy expression on his face.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Naturally, due to his terminal heart condition which, we later learn, he has not been properly caring for.
Axel Carmenara
Played by: Renato Gutz
- Jerkass: Certainly at the beginning. He mellows out eventually.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Becomes less of an arrogant jerk and more of a team player as the series progresses.
El Pepenador
Played by: Raúl Briones
Translation: So we have to get 17 points in the next game?
Quirky Cuervos goalie added in season 3.- The Ace: Despite not understanding a lot of how the world works, he is an excellent goalie and all-around player.
- Smarter Than You Look: Manages to commit passages of the Bible and Quran to memory his first time reading them, and is the only one of the Cuervos who suspects Emaíl of being a traitor, despite being a bit of an oddball.
Julito
Played by: Memo Dorantes
Young player who is recruited to Felix's new team, and eventually joins the Cuervos in season 3.- The Cutie: Is cute-looking with a sweet, earnest personality.
- Disappeared Dad: Doesn't know who his dad is, as revealed in a therapy session with the other Cuervos.
- The Ditz: Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
- Genius Ditz: Within a week or two of being told he is Serbian (which is an obvious lie) he manages to learn a decent amount of the language.
- Put on a Bus: At the beginning of season 4.
- Rags to Riches: Somewhat. Julito is shown to live in a poor neighborhood, though he is able to make a better living than before by playing soccer professionally.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Similar in character to Tony, though unusually, he is introduced at the beginning of season 2 while Tony is still a recurring character. It works out because most of his interactions in season 2 are with Felix, and he and Tony never meet.
- What Happened to the Mouse??: We never find out what happened to him during the "Where Are They Now?" segment at the end of season 4.
Emaíl Trujillo
Played by: Pablo Astiazarán
Deeply religious new addition to the Cuervos at the end of season 4.- Token Religious Teammate: Revealed to be The Mole, although he regrets.
Goyo
Played by: Emilio Guerrero
Cuervos F.C.'s strict, heavy-handed coach before Chava fires him during season one. His morals and methods are, let's say, questionable, but he is a very competent coach, and a valuable asset to the team.- Depraved Bisexual: Holy hell, ''zig-zagged without mercy. The "depraved" part comes from him accepting sexual favors from his players' moms as bribes to allow them to play in proper matches. For this purpose, Tony (unknowingly) hires Susanita, a transexual/crossdressing prostitute to pass as his mom. It actually works, and Goyo allows Tony to debut as a main player in the team, apparently playing the trope straight. Subverted since, as it turns out, whatever Susanita did was a) apparently really amazing and b) not enough for Goyo to catch on about what he/she actually has between his/her legs, which causes him to pursue him/her further. Then, he eventually finds out Susanita has male genitals, and he is furious, going as far as to physically beat Tony. However, eventually, a few months later, he is shown having an ongoing relationship with Susanita, effectively double-subverting the bisexual part, and averting the depraved bit (their relationship is clearly serious and long-term).
Extended Iglesias Family
In General
- Dysfunctional Family: Essentially the premise of the series.
Juan Pablo Iglesias
Played by: Arap Bethke
- The Ace: Handsome, smart, generous, and good at everything.
Other Inhabitants of Nuevo Toledo
Susanita
Played by: Oscar Olivares
A street walker that Tony hires to pass as his mom to bribe Goyo (since his own mother is... not quite attractive). She also happens to be transexual/crossdressing (it's never explicitly said which, but he/she/they is all but said to have male reproductive organs).- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: All in all, a very nice, caring person. She seems to have a particularly soft spot for Tony, being very reassuring and supportive when they first meet, and ever since then being more than willing of helping him out as much as she can.
- Trans Equals Gay: Apparently Averted. We are never really told what exactly her gender identity and sexual orientation is, but since we always see her dressing and referring to herself as female (even when not at "work"), she's most likely a trangender woman, as opposed to a cross-dressing gay man.
Mary Luz Solari
Played by: Stephanie Cayo
- Dark and Troubled Past: Constantly talks about how dangerous her family is, which is part of the reason why she ran away from her country and changed her name
- Manipulative Bastard: Played straight during the first season. Mary Luz is constantly scheming and plotting his way into the Iglesias' money.
- May–December Romance: With Salvador Iglesias Sr.
Paty Villa
Played by: Sofía Sisniega
Isabel Cantú
Played by: Melissa Barrera
- Spoiled Brat: More subtly than Chava at the beginning of the series, but is definitely used to having her own way because of who her father is. Shows little care for the impact her actions have on others, such as when she decides she wants the Cuervos to move to Puebla, despite Chava, Isabel, and the team explicitly not wanting to do so, and convinces her father to help her.
Armando Cantú
Played by: Tomás Goros
- Pushover Parent: Does whatever it takes to get his daughter what she wants, regardless of who it might hurt.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: With Chava and Isabel Iglesias, after Chava breaks off his engagement with Isabel Cantú after discovering Isabel's plan to move the Cuervos to Puebla permanently.
Ricky Lamas
Played by: Luis Fernandez-Gil
- Cuteness Proximity: Hugo Sanchez seems to be his weakness. He takes an almost immediate liking, is constantly trying to make him leave Chava to work for him and ends up using his likeness and voice for a Virtual Assistant that he named after Hugo.
- Jerkass: There's not a single person he isn't rude to. Except Hugo Sanchez.
