The 2014 Copa Centroamericana served as an opportunity for longtime Guatemala National Team standout Carlos Ruiz to pass the torch to Marco Pappa. Ruiz had 55 goals in 105 career appearances, carrying the mantle for Guatemala through four World Cup qualifying campaigns, but it was time to usher in Pappa as the new leader, and the Copa Centroamericana was the perfect stage for that changing of the guard.
Pappa responded to that challenge by scoring four goals in four matches to lead Guatemala to a second-place finish in the tournament, clinching a spot in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup while earning the Golden Ball for the tournament’s outstanding player and the Golden Boot for its leading scorer.
“It feels good. In the beginning they didn’t expect big things from us. In the first three games we did pretty good,” Pappa said after returning to Sounders FC prior to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final. “I was really happy. We fought for each other.”
The tournament marked the first time Pappa played for his country since joining Sounders FC in February and his time back in MLS proved beneficial for the 26-year-old midfielder.
In 22 matches for Seattle he has three goals and three assists, playing a key role in the explosive offense that sits atop the Supporters’ Shield standings. Using that to gain confidence, he was sharp heading into the Copa Centroamericana and it showed from the opening match.
Guatemala started the group stage against El Salvador and Pappa scored both goals in a 2-1 win, getting the tournament off to a strong start. After a 2-1 win over Belize, Pappa again played the hero by scoring twice in a 2-0 win over Honduras to seal a spot in the championship match against Costa Rica. He couldn’t rekindle that magic against the World Cup quarterfinalists, though and fell 2-1, Ruiz scoring one of his two goals in the tournament in defeat.
Pappa credited his success in Seattle for paving the path to success for his country.
“Every single day I have the opportunity to step on the field outside of Guatemala, I want to bring that to the national team,” he said. “I try to take on that responsibility and we have a nice group.”
In finishing runners-up, Guatemala reaches the CONCACAF Gold Cup for just the second time since 2007, an honor for a country striving to keep up with some of the up-and-comers in the region. Building confidence against other regional teams can only serve to help Guatemala as it focuses on the 2018 World Cup cycle, striving to reach the country’s first ever World Cup.
Qualifying for the Gold Cup is a big step in that direction.
“That’s one of the things I said a lot. Guatemala has to be in competitions. When you’re out of the Gold Cup and the qualifications start, it kills the team sometimes,” Pappa said. “The goal was to be in Gold Cup and we had a big chance to be in Copa America. We missed out on that, but we have the chance to compete in Gold Cup and that’s a big thing for Guatemala.”
Now back with Sounders FC, Pappa played 46 minutes in helping Seattle lift its fourth Open Cup title in club history. After playing five matches in five cities over 14 days, he is now readying to meet the Red Bulls in New York as Seattle continues pursuit of the Supporters’ Shield and building momentum for the MLS Cup playoffs.
