Meet Mexico City's Amputee Soccer Team

Baruch hates foot-massages. He slaps the couch, wriggles, laughs, groans. His mother Rosa Margarita hears him but won't stop kneading his skin.

Baruch groans, a wide grin spread across his face. "You're killing me."

Through the window: ozone-blue morning over the sprawling borough of Iztapalapa in the southern reaches of Mexico City. For all its size, Iztapalapa's still got a barrio heartbeat you can feel through any depth of concrete. Stall owners flirt with customers in the dim, humid markets. Elderly men watch new versions of their younger selves strut down cracked sidewalks.

Two years ago, Baruch's left leg was amputated to halt the spread of a malignant tumor.

"Nothing changed when they took the leg," Baruch says from behind his thick-framed hipster eye glasses . "I'm better with my right one anyway."

He didn't play soccer for a year. Then his mother found out about Guerreros Aztecas, a team of amputee soccer players. Founded one year ago by five players, the volunteer-run team now has a squad of twenty-three.

"He needed it," Rosa Margarita says. "Los cuates are his brothers."

Go to any Guerreros Aztecas training session and it's clear from the warmth behind the brutal jokes that the teammates need each other. Amputees are among Mexico City's most vulnerable populations. Only 25 percent of working-age men missing a limb are in study or employment. Every year, 1,500 male amputees are forced out of work.

Baruch's teammates' stories reflect the predatory heart of Mexico's economy. Midfielder Victor Hugo was a bus-driver until the driver he replaced had him beaten to a pulp. He lost one leg and hasn't had a job since. "Construction, transport, factory work—they won't even look at you if you're an amputee."

-Words by Tim Smyth

Baruch Alejandro Anleu Ramirez, 18, uses his crutches to perform an overhead volley during training in Mexico City, Mexico on June 26, 2014. Baruch 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"

Players from Guerreros Aztecas, run laps of the playing field ahead of training in Mexico City, Mexico on July 31, 2014.

Jose Luis Almaraz Mendoza (left) and Martin Alvarez Olvera, both players from Guerreros Aztecas, get changed before training. Jose Luis, 32, was washing the windows of his home when he fell 3 meters and lost his right leg. Martin, 49, lost his left arm to a disease of the nerves. He is the team's goalkeeper and is currently unemployed.

Almaraz Mendoza (left) and Osman Cristobal González Ruiz, both players from Guerreros Aztecas, do sit-ups. Osman, 31, lost his left leg in an electrical accident at work when he was 23.

A Guerreros Aztecas' defender makes a clearance during a game against León.

Players from Guerreros Aztecas pose for a group photo with a lucha libre wrestler after a match.

Teammates give Baruch some love.

Players from Guerreros Aztecas celebrate the team's first anniversary with family, friends, and food.

Rodrigo Fernandez Loya does pull-ups on a stairwell in his backyard in Mexico City. Rodrigo, 25, lost his left leg in 2012 when he saved a girl from an onrushing train. Involved in a local gang until his accident, he says that the self-discipline he has developed during his time with Guerreros Aztecas has helped him turn his life around.

Baruch in his bedroom at his home in Iztapalapa.

Players from Guerreros Aztecas hang out before the start of training.

Salvador Avendaño Vasquez, a player from Guerreros Aztecas, controls the ball during a soccer game with Los Dragones in Mexico City. Avendaño Vasquez, 25, lost his left leg in a car accident in may 2010. He joined the team in 2012. Until his accident, he sold fruits and vegetables. He now runs a street stall.

Fernandez Loya (center) during a match in Deportivo Tlalli II in Talnepantla, Mexico.

Players from Guerreros Aztecas join their crutches together before playing a match.

Rey David Angeles Perez, goalkeeper of Guerreros Aztecas, stretches to claim an attempt on goal during training.