Since joining Chivas USA in mid-August, Ramon Nunez has been a key part of the club, whether it has been off the bench or in a starter's role.
Now, the club will have to make do without him.
Nunez was called into the Honduras national team for a pair of friendlies that could keep him out of Chivas USA's side for the next two league games. A day after Chivas USA overcame a two-goal deficit for the first time in its history, Nunez left the club to join Honduras as the catrachos will play Costa Rica on Sunday in Boston and Ecuador on Wednesday in San Pedro Sula.
Instead of preparing for a run at the MLS Cup Playoffs, Nunez will shift his mindset momentarily to the task of helping his native country prepare for World Cup qualifying.
"This is the beginning of a core group that's going to be in qualifying and I think if I can show well, it will do me good," Nunez said. "Coming to Chivas and having a couple of good games has helped the cause and I'm really looking forward to it."
The 21-year-old Nunez has been called into the Honduras national team before but has yet to make his international debut. He was on the bench for a pair of friendlies Honduras played in 2006 and now hopes to get into a match.
When he was five years old, Nunez's family moved from Honduras to Dallas. Growing up, Nunez longed to play international football. As he grew older and developed his skills, the chance to play for Honduras grew into a reality.
Nunez played for Honduras in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, a tournament that also featured teammate Sacha Kljestan.
He said his goal was to "play for a national team and right now it would be tough to play for the U.S. and Honduras has given me the opportunity so I think I'm going to take it and see if I can do really well."
Nunez will be part of a talented Honduras side. Also called up for the matches are David Suazo of Inter Milan, Julio Cesar Leon of Genoa, Maynor Suazo of FC Koln and Galaxy forward Carlos Pavon.
If Nunez can acclimate himself to the national side as swiftly as he did Chivas USA, he might just earn his first cap. Nunez last played for FC Dallas on July 4 and saw no action until Chivas USA traded a future SuperDraft pick for his services on Aug. 14.
Four days later, Nunez debuted with Chivas USA as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 win at Toronto FC. He appeared in Chivas USA's 3-0 win against the Galaxy on Aug. 23 and started against Real Salt Lake on Aug. 26. Against D.C. United, Nunez came on for the final 26 minutes.
Adjusting to a winning side was not a difficult transition given the amount of talent and experience on the roster, Nunez said.
"I feel like I settled in pretty quick and settled in with the team pretty well," Nunez said. "When I first came in, I saw what a great group of guys are in the locker room and I think that's going to take this team very far. On the field, I was coming into a competitive team and I love being competitive at every practice. It's very great for me and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
