Mondo Ruiz

Armando "Mondo" Ruiz is the tritagonist of Cleats.

Biography
Mondo is Jack's best friend and the star player of the Dawgs. He is descended from a family of veteran soccer players and as a result, is good enough to play on a select team, but he prefers to be with his friends. He also is Abby's biggest fan and often tries to talk to her.

Appearance
Mondo is light-skinned and has black hair that is cut up into an afro.

Personality
Mondo is without a doubt, the biggest showboat in the whole team. He always boasts about how cool and amazing he is at soccer, much to Jack's annoyance. Despite this, he would much rather play on teams with his friends than be on a select team without them. Mondo is also the romantic type of guy, since he dreams of one day having a happy marriage like his relatives. Despite his ego, Mondo can be nervous when he is trying to impress or flirt with Abby.

Jack Dooley
Jack and Mondo are best friends. They compete on the same team and love to hang out together. Despite this, they have a bit of a vitriolic relationship, since they both have the same goal to become rich and famous with their athletic futures. The boys often argue about who is the best player on the team.

Abby Harper
Mondo has a huge crush on Abby, even though she doesn’t appear to be interested in him at all. He likes her because she is amazing at soccer and is jealous that she gives Jack different nicknames. Mondo always tries to talk to or impress Abby, but usually ends up getting the short end of the stick. Towards the end of the strip when Abby got a bowl cut, he tried to ask her to be his girlfriend, but only ended up getting tongue tied.

Bailey Dirks
Bailey looks up to Jack and Mondo like big brothers. They often invite him to play some sports and games with them, though Bailey is reluctant to do so and tries to ask them if there are any rules that don’t involve physical contact. Sometimes, they can get annoyed with Bailey being scared all the time. However, while Jack gets more annoyed with Bailey and sometimes yells at him, Mondo is more patient and encouraging towards him.

Trivia

 * A common stereotype of Latinos is that they are great seducers, arrogant, and love to play soccer, which Mondo lampshades often.