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Baruch uses his crutches to perform an overhead volley during training in Mexico City, Mexico on June 26, 2014. Baruch Alejandro Anleu Ramirez, 18, is the captain of Guerreros Aztecas. Two years ago, Baruch had his left leg amputated due to bone cancer. He used to practice as much as his chemotherapy would allow. Expelled from school for missing too many classes during his treatment, he says, “Guerreros Aztecas has filled a big hole in my life”. Baruch was Guerreros Aztecas’s brightest hope to represent Mexico at the Amputee Soccer World Cup. But since the cancer’s spread to his lungs, he can no longer play or train with the team. Guerreros Aztecas (“Aztec Warriors”) is Mexico City’s first amputee football team. Founded in July 2013 by five volunteers, they now have 23 players, seven of them have made the national team's shortlist to represent Mexico at this year's Amputee Soccer World Cup in Sinaloa this December. The team trains twice a week for weekend games with other teams. No prostheses are used, so field players missing a lower extremity can only play using crutches. Those missing an upper extremity play as goalkeepers. The teams play six per side with unlimited substitutions. Each half lasts 25 minutes. The causes of the amputations range from accidents to medical interventions – none of which have stopped the Guerreros Aztecas from continuing to play. The players’ age, backgrounds and professions cover the full sweep of Mexican society, and they are united by the will to keep their heads held high in a country where discrimination against the disabled remains widespread. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)