The ball curled into the box off of Marco Pappa’s left foot in a majestic arc, finding Clint Dempsey with precision and mastery. The 52nd minute goal was all Seattle would need in a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at CenturyLink Field and was the perfect sendoff for Pappa as he heads off for his first call-up with the Guatemala National Team since joining Sounders FC in January.
Guatemala will play four matches in the Copa Centroamericana beginning on Wednesday against El Salvador at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and Pappa figures to feature prominently for “La Furia Azul.”
“It’s always an honor to go to the national team. It’s important to represent your country. I go with positives and I hope we can do well for the national team,” Pappa said on Saturday after helping Sounders FC to a league-leading 15th victory. “It’s always, for me, special that they are thinking about me. I’m wishing all the best to the guys in the next couple of games. Now, for me, I will focus on Guatemala and hope that we can get our goal over there and then come back to the team and keep working hard.”
Pappa has 31 appearances with Guatemala, making his debut in a substitute role against the U.S. in 2008. He has notched six goals in that time, his latest coming at RFK Stadium two years ago against Paraguay. He will be with Guatemala for group stage matches against El Salvador on Wednesday, Belize in Dallas on Sept. 7 and Honduras in Houston on Sept. 10. Pappa will then play in a knockout stage match on September 13 (opponent TBD) at the LA Coliseum before returning to Sounders FC prior to the U.S. Open Cup final on Sept. 16.
Guatemala has played just two matches in 2014, a pair of friendlies last month, so this is the first opportunity Pappa has had to play for his country in a competitive atmosphere since coming to Seattle after a stint in Holland with Heerenveen.
“It was one of the [reasons] that I came from Europe – to compete and have opportunities with the national team,” Pappa said. “I am happy with the Sounders. We’re in first place, I’m competing, I’m playing. I’m hoping we can continue in this way.”
This season with Seattle, he has three goals and three assists, with all three of his assists coming on game-winning goals. While Seattle will miss those contributions, it has the depth to cope with his absence in Lamar Neagle, Kenny Cooper, Chad Barrett and Andy Rose, all of whom have been on Seattle’s bench for the last two matches. Additionally, Gonzalo Pineda has shown an ability to keep the quality in Seattle’s set piece delivery.
“He’s done a good job on our set pieces. Although Pineda has done well with those as well, so we’re lucky we have two guys who do well with that,” Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid said. “Marco is a guy who helps us keep possession and helps connect passes for our team. When he gets wide on the left flank, he can also get over crosses and get behind the defense in that way. He’s had a good season for us and he’ll continue to play well.”
