23 for 2010 – Honduras: World Cup squad analysis Pt.1 (Keepers & Defenders)

Okay well, this is new. Hello I’m Hector and I’m the brand-spanking new writer for Honduras. Hoy Si Papa!! Anyways, Lets look into what many people call, an unknown quantity, but what I call Los Catrachos. Some faces you heard before, some you haven’t, so bear with me through the nicknames, which you’ll see a lot of. First we’ll dive into our 3 Goalies.

Goalkeepers:

The Expected goalies that will be traveling to South Africa are Olimpia’s duo of Donis Escober and Noel Valladares, along with Motagua’s Ricardo Canales.

Now, the goalie that will be starting, well…thats up for discussion, all 3 have seen time recently, Donis starting against Turkey in the 2-0 loss in Istanbul, Valladares and Canales in the recent loss to Venezuela 1-0 in San Pedro Sula. Donis has been looked at as the most reliable goalie after his impressive campaign in last year’s Copa De Oro, while Valladares has been inconsistent, having a poor performance one week (bobbled goal in Trinidad&Tobago 1-1 tie), and then following it up with a great performance (3-1 win over Mexico).

Valladares’ late dip in form at club level has also put him at risk of relenquishing the number one spot to fellow teammate Donis Escober. Now, Ricardo Canales is a long shot, only having seen 45 minutes against Venezuela and thats about it, even though he has the best form at club level, with league leading Motagua, but once June rolls along, I expect our goalie to be none other than Noel Valladares, due to his international experience and his performances against big teams which will come in handy when we face La Furia Roja.

Defenders:

Centrebacks: Osman Chavez (Platense), Maynor Figueroa (Wigans Athl.), Victor “El Muma” Bernardez (RSC Anderlecht), Erick Norales (Marathon), Johnny Palacios (Olimpia)

Wingbacks: Sergio Mendoza (Motagua), Mauricio Sabillon (Hangzhou Greentown), Oscar Boniek Garcia (Olimpia) and Emelio Izaguirre (Motagua)

Now when you first hear Honduras and defenders in the same sentence, usually what pops up into everybody’s mind is Wigan Athletic’s dynamic LeftBack Maynor Figueroa…well this is true, Maynor will be one of the most important parts on the team if we are to have any shot of winning any game. Maynor is usually a Left Back at Wigan but is Honduras’s starting CentreBack. Centreback? You may ask, well thats because our leftback role is ran by none other than, Motagua’s and Honduras’s Player of the year Emelio Izaguirre.

He is a very attack minded LeftBack, but can also run back to defend, he is a very very good LeftBack, good enough to overshadow the great Maynor at his own position. Emelio is only 23 yrs of age, has been Honduras’s LeftBack since he was 20-19 yrs of age and his perfect blend of defence and attack keeps a lot of counter-attacking sides at bay on the left side. He also has the speed and ability to beat players 1v1. Over recent time his crossing has been suspect, but at 23 I expect him to improve this with a European move definitely in the books. Blackburn, Wigan and Anderlecht are interested in the young man.

However, on the contrast, our RightBack slot is as questionable as it gets, with 3 players still vying for that position before June rolls around. Main contenders Boniek, Sergio and Mauricio will be pushing to try and impress DT Reinalo Rueda.

Right now Motagua and experienced RightBack Sergio Mendoza seems like the front runner for the position. Interestingly enough he was the starting RightBack entering World Cup Qualifying, but due to a substance ban which lasted 1 year, he lost his position on the team and when a playmaker was needed to take over, none other than Mauricio “El Olimpico” Sabillon duly delivered. His first game in the 3-1 whooping over Mexico in San Pedro Sula was enough to win over Rueda as starting RightBack, his assist and countless runs forward propelled Honduras to an infamous win that saw Sven-Goran Eriksson’s time at Mexico come to a close.

As time rolled on Mauricio continued to deliver and ultimately was seen as Sergio Mendoza’s permanent successor, but due to his nickname “Olimpico”, Mauricio Sabillon could never deliver the same outside of El Estadio “Olimpico” and coupled with his recent move to Second Division China, which put his job at risk, and Sergio Mendoza’s resurgence with table-topping Motagua, things look to be very interesting during training camp.

And we can’t forget about Oscar Boniek Garcia. The dynamic RightBack is basically a lock as a back-up. He is so attacking minded that he plays as a RightMid at Olimpia, but when the offensive spark isnt there for Honduras and we need a younger player to call upon, Boniek will be there, and he will most likely be our starter going into 2014. He is also most likely to move abroad, after successful trials with PSG. He has now signed a pre-contract agreement with Wigan Athletic.

Finally we touch on our CentreBacks. The duo that is most likely to feature in South Africa will be none other than Maynor Figueroa and Osman Chavez. Everybody knows Maynor, but noone knows Osman. Osman being an unknown quantity, broke into the squad as our outright centreback after Honduras’s 2-0 loss to Costa Rica in Saprissa and he hasn’t ever looked back.

His impressive performances against Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador made Rueda think twice of Victor “El Muma” Bernardez’s spot on the squad. Victor’s combo of absolutely no playing time at Anderlecht and somewhat poor performances opened up a hole for Platense’s standout Centreback to showcase why he’s had trials with Birmingham City, Wigan, Newcastle, Portsmouth and Blackburn.

Victor is known for his big physique and absolutely venemous freekicks, which made him a very dangerous player for Motagua and ideal player for Anderlecht. But after his move, his form took a horrendous turn for the worst only playing 10 games and scoring 2 goals over 2 seasons and this may put a very big dent in his selection credentials when Rueda decides to make call-ups for training camp in Austria.

But back to Osman. Osman was seen as the right player to pair up with Maynor in Back, but after 3 months of disappointing trials in England, his form also dipped and once again another player showed up to the rescue and it none other than Wilson Palacio’s younger brother Johnny.

Johnny’s inclusion as Osman’s replacement came after his stellar showing at the Gold Cup and his form at Olimpia. Johnny is a very well rounded defender with some Wilson Palacios-like traits; very good passing from the back and dribbles forward. He became the starter in Honduras’s most important game ever in El Salvador, and this is where Erick Norales enters the fold.

Maynor Figueroa’s yellow against the US made him miss the final and most important game of all, so in his place came 23 yr old Erick Norales of Marathon. He featured on the Gold Cup squad along with Johnny and also was a vital piece of Honduras’s Olympic team in 08. Norales, a strong and very physical centreback, is known for clearing out balls and giving out much needed tackles, but he also is a very raw player.

Slightly error prone and bad in the ai, but he’s shown that he can be called upon, which earned him the nod along with Johnny Palacios in the 1-0 win in San Salvador. Both of these players are going to head out to Europe soon, with scouts recently at Marathon and Olimpia games respectively and Wigans rumored to sign Wilson’s 24 yr old brother.

To only think this is part 1… Part 2 coming soon so stay tuned as we look into Honduras’s mdfield with the likes of Wilson Palacios and Bari’s Edgar “SS Mosky” Alvarez.

(pic via carlossalinas on Flickr)

23 for 2010, Honduras, Squad Analysis, World Cup 2010