Gold Cup now glittering event
The Gold Cup has come a long way since it started as the CCCF Championships in 1941. The tournament was twice discontinued, resuming in 1991 with a Sun Belt/Mexico emphasis. This year's Gold Cup will be among the most ambitious ever, beginning tonight at the Orange Bowl in Miami and concluding at Soldier Field in Chicago June 24.
Games will also be staged at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough (June 12 and 16), Giants Stadium, Reliant Field in Houston, and the
Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States are expected to dominate. All three nations played in the last two World Cup finals.
The Gold Cup, which was not played outside California, Florida, Texas, and Mexico until 2003, will continue to move on in 2009, when it will be staged in Canada, the winner advancing to the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
COSTA RICA: Hernan Medford has proven himself as a coach at the club level, guiding CD Saprissa to the Champions Cup title, following a playing career that included successful stints in Italy and Mexico. The Ticos' guiding force is midfielder Walter Centeno, formerly of AEK Athens. The strikers include all-time leading scorer Roland Fonseca (Alajuelense), Belgium-based Bryan Ruiz (KAA Gent), and Switzerland-based Alvaro Saborio (Sion). Jose Francisco Porras (Saprissa), Costa Rica's goalkeeper in the World Cup, is supported by a defense that includes Pablo Chinchilla and Michael Umana, formerly of the Los Angeles Galaxy.
GUADELOUPE: The surprise team of the qualifying tournament. The island nation has the smallest population of Gold Cup finalists and, as a French department, is not a member of FIFA. Jocelyn Angloma, 41, who played 37 matches for France, came out of retirement to perform for his native country. Angloma, who was with Olympique Marseille's 1993 Champions Cup-winning team, then performed in Italy (Torino, Inter) and Spain (Valencia), will be in a midfield playmaking role.
HAITI: The team has been revived under Cuban coach Luis Armelio Garcia. Defenders include Europe-based Frantz Bertin (Atletico Madrid) and Jean-Jacques Pierre (Nantes), plus Pierre-Richard Bruny. The attack includes former Major League Soccer players Alexandre Boucicault and Fabrice Noel, plus Ricardo Pierre-Louis, who is attending Lee University and playing in the summer for the Cape Cod Crusaders.
GUATEMALA: Coached by Hernan Dario Gomez, who guided Colombia to the 1998 World Cup finals, the team includes seven players from CSD Comunicaciones and five from CSD Municipal, former club of Chile-based defender Pablo Sebastian Melgar and FC Dallas striker Carlos Ruiz.
TRINIDAD and TOBAGO: Leo Beenhakker, the Dutchman who guided the Soca Warriors to Germany '06, has moved on to Poland, and assistant Wim Rijsbergen has taken over. None of the high-profile stars are with the team because of a pay dispute, but Silvio Spann, a key midfield performer in qualifying, is on the roster.
UNITED STATES: The US has won 28 games in the Gold Cup, a tournament record, and won the title in 1991, 2002, and 2005. Coach Bob Bradley has called in the team's Europe-based stars and named Tim Howard (Everton) the starting goalkeeper. Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham) captained the team in a 4-1 win over China Saturday and is paired with Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege) in central defense, and Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA) and Jonathan Spector (West Ham United) cover the outside. DaMarcus Beasley (Manchester City) and former Revolution star Clint Dempsey (Fulham) key the midfield. Three Revolution players -- defender Michael Parkhurst, midfielder Steve Ralston, and forward Taylor Twellman -- are on the team. The forwards include Brian Ching (Houston), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), and Eddie Johnson (Kansas City), MLS's leading scorer with nine goals.
HONDURAS: The team is missing Oscar David Suazo, who has been playing for Cagliari and could be moving to a major club in Italy, and it could be without Italy-based Julio Cesar "Rambo" de Leon while Genoa is involved in a late-season drive for promotion from Serie B. The Catrachos' defense includes outside back Edgar Alvarez (Messina) and former Chicago Fire central defender Jorge Samuel Caballero. Midfielders include former MLS star Amado "El Lobo" Guevara and the Chicago Fire's Ivan Guerrero. Carlos Pavon, who has played in Italy and Mexico, is a proven striker.
MEXICO: Coach Hugo Sanchez has called up a strong team, including defenders Rafa Marquez (Barcelona) and Carlos Salcido (PSV Eindhoven), plus Ricardo Osorio and Pavel Pardo, who started for Bundesliga champion Stuttgart. Club America's Guillermo "Memo" Ochoa appears set to challenge Chivas's Osvaldo Sanchez for the starting goalkeeper spot, and 19-year-old Andres Guardado of Atlas is the heir apparent to Chivas's Ramon Morales on the left wing. The Tricolores are overloaded at striker with Adolfo Bautista and Omar Bravo (Chivas), Chicago Fire-bound Cuauhetemoc Blanco (America), Jared Borgetti (Cruz Azul), Nery Castillo (Olympiakos), and Kikin Fonseca (Tigres).
PANAMA: The emerging star is striker Blas Perez, who has helped Colombian club Cucuta Deportivo reach the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores. The Canaleros' success in Gold Cup play provided a launching pad for Spain-based goalkeeper Jaime Penedo (Osasuna), defender Felipe Baloy (Club America), Colombia-based Gabriel Gomez and Luis Moreno (Independiente), and forward Roberto "El Bombardero" Brown (Colorado Rapids). The bench includes former Revolution midfielder Ricardo Phillips. Alexandre Guimaraes, who guided Costa Rica to the 2002 and '06 World Cup finals, is the coach.
