Gomez flies onto USA's World Cup radar (Yahoo! Sports)

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

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Any self-respecting Vegas child will tell we which fitness can turn in the wink of an eye as good as the turn of the card. But as his career threatened to solve into the predictable pattern, Herculez Gomez was beginning to consternation if he would ever hit the soccer jackpot.

Just the few months back, the 28-year-old was reflecting upon the seventh year of the Major League Soccer career which had once promised most though had become rutted in disappointment as good as stagnation.

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So what do we do to stop your career from streamer south? Well, since not conduct south yourself? Literally.

After 3 unproductive as good as injury-ravaged years with the Colorado Rapids as good as Kansas City Wizards, the switch to Mexican Primera Division side Puebla brought Gomez the lapse to his healthy position of striker, the run of 8 goals in 10 games, as good as – unexpected – the trail to the brighter destiny he had all though since up on.

The Las Vegas native has gone from MLS afterthought to longed for man, with teams in Mexico, MLS as good as Europe interested in his services when his Puebla understanding expires next month.

“If we told we who the little of the teams were, we wouldn’t believe me,” he told Yahoo! Sports in the telephone conversation this week. “It is amazing to think of how fast things have developed. It has been the discerning as good as crazy tour though I’m loving the ride.”

While the rewards for rolling the bones as good as receiving the possibility in Mexico have been the higher i! ncome as good as the potential for an even bigger move, the most appropriate prize of all might be still to come.

The World Cup offers the unlikeliest of storylines, though if Gomez can claim the place upon Bob Bradley’s United States patrol it would be the single of the tournament’s biggest cases of the player “coming from nowhere.”

Bradley has already been in telephone contact to offer encouragement. There shouldn’t be any warn there; with the start of the event reduction than two months away, the conduct manager is the male with the dire need for in-form forwards. While Gomez is far from upon trial the spot, he is good as good as truly upon the radar.

“The manager has been in touch to say he is paying attention to what we am doing,” Gomez said. “It wasn’t an central call, though he longed for me to know which my performances have been noticed as good as to keep it going.

“To be in this position is all we can ask for. At the start of the year, we wouldn’t have been in anyone’s thoughts.”

With damage doubts about Charlie Davies as good as Brian Ching, the group of forwards together with Gomez, Robbie Findley, Conor Casey, Jeff Cunningham as good as Edson Buddle have been hungrily eyeing the possibility to accompany Jozy Altidore (who has the upon trial spot barring damage or mishap) in South Africa.

Gomez’s achievements for Puebla – where he went in Jan awaiting to be the patrol player as good as instead became the superficial – equates to there is no questioning of his certification south of the border. So most so which the little members of the Mexican press even looked into whether it would be possible for him to switch allegiance as good as play for El Tri (Gomez’s relatives were Mexican).

That was out of the question, if only since he has already represented the United States in the ill-fated Copa America debate in 2007, when the enervated side lost all 3 matches t! o Argent ina, Paraguay as good as Colombia.

Back then, things were still flattering splendid for Gomez. He was entrance off the four-year stint with the Los Angeles Galaxy which had seen him score the winner in the 2005 U.S. Open Cup final as good as be partial of the team’s MLS Cup delight the same year.

From which point, though, things would not work out. Moves to the Rapids as good as afterwards the Wizards failed to bear fruit. Gomez was often in use in midfield as good as suffered an ACL tear which kept him upon the sidelines for months.

“Having the critical damage is the difficult time for any player,” he said. “It makes we take the long, hard demeanour during things as good as consternation where your career is going. we didn’t want it to be the beginning of the end, though it was hard to see how things were unexpected starting to improve. But they have.”

Gomez’s career has taken him away from the splendid lights of Sin City, where his mom functions as an usher during Barry Manilow’s uncover as good as his father sells used cars. Yet the pierce to Puebla was the play which paid off in thespian fashion as good as has since Gomez the sniff of opportunity.

With just two friendlies (against Czech Republic as good as Turkey) remaining prior to the patrol is announced, time is short. A stay call-up from Bradley would be the initial step, afterwards the possibility to gleam upon the margin in the single of the final warm-up games.

There is not most room for blunder as good as there might not be the possibility like this again for Herculez Gomez. But which in itself is some-more than he could have dreamed of during the turn of the year, when during prolonged final his fitness changed for the better.

GROUP C WATCH

• England: Boss Fabio Capello urged World Cup referees to protect talented players such as Wayne Rooney as good as Lionel Messi from assertive “hitman” defenders.

• Algeria: S! triker K arim Matmour insists his side will have an advantage over Team USA in light of the Americans’ lack of knowledge of the Algerian players.

• Slovenia: World Cup heat gripped the Balkan nation as the tournament prize was paraded in the capital, Ljubljana, as partial of the tellurian tour.

SMILES

Palermo striker Fabrizio Miccoli this week suggested himself as the poser buyer of an earring belonging to Argentina legend as good as right away conduct manager Diego Maradona. Earlier this year, Miccoli paid 25,000 euros for the auction item, which was seized by Italian police as partial of an ongoing review into Maradona’s taxation arrears.

TEARS

Some connected with news came out of South Africa this week: Nearly the entertain of all tickets to the tournament sojourn unsold. The arch problem appears to be which internal fans have been not accustomed to using the Internet to purchase. Tournament organizers have been launching the brand new promotion directed during ensuring full stadiums in Jun as good as July.

WORLD CUP NUMEROLOGY

Fifty-six: the numbers of teams which attempted to qualify for 16 spots in the 1958 World Cup. For South Africa 2010, 204 teams fought it out for 32 places.

THE WALKING WOUNDED

• Oguchi Onyewu: AC Milan’s healing staff have been quietly gratified with the rehabilitation of the big defender, who is good upon course to make the World Cup. Likelihood of selection: 90 percent.

• Charlie Davies: The supernatural lapse is getting closer as good as closer as Davies makes conspicuous progress from the injuries he postulated in the car crash final year. Likelihood of World Cup selection: 60 percent.

• Stuart Holden: The midfielder is still the integrate of weeks away from returning after violation his leg in March, though he had his stint during Bolton extended until the finish of next season. Likelihood of World Cup selection: 90 percent.

• Clint Dempsey: Deuce’s latest injur! y, to hi s thigh, does not seem to be as well serious. He is expected to be back in time for Fulham’s Europa League semifinal opposite Hamburg. Likelihood of World Cup selection: 95 percent.

PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR

June 18: A U.S. compare will be broadcast in 3D for the initial time ever as Bradley’s group take upon Slovenia during Ellis Park.



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