León Krauze has been an award-winning print and broadcast journalist in both Mexico and the United States. He has anchored newscasts for Foro TV and Univision, and is a columnist for The Washington Post and El Universal. His work has also appeared in Slate, The New Yorker, The Atavist, The Daily Beast, and Letras Libres, among other publications.
He has received multiple awards for his journalistic work, including ten Emmy Awards, as well as the Edward R. Murrow, LA Press Club and Golden Mic awards. In 2018, León moderated the second debate of the Mexican presidential race.
León has authored six books on a range of subjects, including one on Mexican football. He has also written and produced two football documentaries, Rafa Márquez: El Capitan, and Al Grito de Guerra.
He is also a senior fellow at the Annenberg Center on Communication at the University of Southern California, and lives in Miami with his wife and three children.
Favorite sports memory?
Watching Fernando Valenzuela pitch in 1981. Being close to Julio César Chávez while he fought Greg Haugen. Attending the 1986 World Cup at Azteca Stadium. Seeing Mexico beat Ireland in the heat of Orlando in 1994. Witnessing Mexico’s victory over Germany in 2018. And watching Cruz Azul, my team, win its eighth championship in 1997. There are just so many!
Your global sports Mount Rushmore:
Fernando Valenzuela, Guillermo Mendizábal, Rafael Márquez, and Xavi Hernández.
Which world leader would you put in goal?
Emmanuel Macron, for his intelligence and resilience.
Which athlete would you want to be world leader?
Sergio Busquets. Anyone who can manage a midfield that well must have the skills to be a good politician.
Best rivalry:
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid. At one time, I would have said Cruz Azul vs. América, but you have to respect the quality of El Clásico. There’s nothing quite like watching Barcelona take on the white colossus at the Bernabéu.
A sign that the world of sport is shrinking:
Great question. I think the clearest sign is the global success of the Premier League. When I was a kid, watching the English league was a dream. Now, a child in Sri Lanka can be an Arsenal fan with ease. They can follow the team every weekend and study their tactics. The sport is accessible to the entire world, and that’s a wonderful thing.
Where would the Great Game Lab find the quintessence of global sport?
Another great question. I’d say the quintessence of global sport lies in the small neighborhood courts—those places where kids, against all odds, still gather to kick a ball around. These places are becoming rarer, which is a huge problem. But it’s in the joy of childhood play where the true heart of sport still resides.
Question you'd most want to ask other fellows?
How can we rescue the soul of the game and move away from the ambition and greed that seem to threaten what truly matters? How can we tell more and better stories about what sport really represents in the world?