MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Not too long ago, Honduras seemed to be the rising power coming out of Central American soccer.
But Costa Rica stole much of the thunder of their regional rivals recently, finishing ahead of the Hondurans during World Cup qualifying and later surging to the quarterfinals in Brazil.
Honduras, meanwhile, struggled at the World Cup, finishing in last place in their group with three losses. They subsequently followed that up with a disappointing showing at the 2014 Copa Centroamericana, where they finished fifth out of seven teams, while Costa Rica won the title.
But changes have come to Honduras’ national team, and star midfielder Boniek Garcia has high hopes for his country in 2015, who are now led by Jorge Luis Pinto -- the man who guided Costa Rica to summertime success in Brazil.
“[Pinto is] a winning coach. He demonstrated that in Costa Rica,” Garcia told assembled reporters through a translator at MLS media day on Tuesday. “He has high expectations and we hope he can bring a lot to Honduran soccer. And hopefully 2015 will be full of success.”
The Houston Dynamo Designated Player reflected on his national team’s struggles, as well as a rather subdued season for him, ahead of a big year for club and country.
“[The World Cup] did not fulfill expectations, for me or the national team,” he said. “…It was a year of injuries and time away with the national team. It was not the best of times for me with the club.
“The World Cup was bittersweet, but it’s not what my teammates and I wanted, to qualify for the next round.”
With Pinto now in charge of Honduras, it seems likely that there will be new players in the national team, and the 30-year-old Boniek spoke highly of the quantity of “young talented players” who could be in line to see playing time this year.
On tap for Los Catrachos ahead of 2018 World Cup qualifying beginning in the fall is a playoff series in late March against French Guiana to decide which team will go to the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July. Garcia sounded determined to reach the regional championship, which they have not missed since 2002.
“We have two crucial games to qualify,” he said. “The coach is already looking to see what players will be going on to that. And we’ll look to qualify for the Gold Cup.”
