Kansas City Wizards midfielder Roger Espinoza has been named to the training camp roster for Honduras ahead of the upcoming UNCAF (Central American Football Union) Nations Cup. The camp, which begins Jan. 1 in Miami, Florida, will help Honduras manager Reynaldo Rueda select a 20-man roster for the Central American tournament that determines the regional champion. The top five finishers in the tournament will qualify for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Espinoza has never appeared for Honduras at the youth or senior levels. Should Espinoza earn a CAP for his native country, he will become the first-ever Wizards player to represent Honduras. Three other MLS players are featured in the 25-player training camp roster.
"I am very excited about the opportunity to play for the country I was born in," Espinoza said. "I am glad that I got the call to camp, and I am eager to show what I can do at that level. I hope to make the most of this opportunity."
"I'm happy for Roger because it shows he is improving as a player every day," Technical Director Peter Vermes. "It is always good when we have more players with international experience because it helps us to improve as a team."
Espinoza was born in Honduras and lived there before moving to Denver, Colo. at age 12. Espinoza graduated from Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colo. before playing two years of junior-college soccer at Yavapai College. After helping Yavapai to a 46-2-3 regular-season record during his time with the Roughriders, Espinoza transferred to Ohio State University. Ohio State went 17-4-5 in his lone Division I season, winning the Big Ten post-season tournament and finishing as the runners-up to Wake Forest in the NCAA College Cup final by a 2-1 margin. Espinoza scored the opening goal of the National Championship game before Wake Forest recorded two second-half tallies for the victory.
Kansas City selected Espinoza with the 11th overall selection in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft after he signed with MLS as a member of the Generation adidas program. As part of the program, Espinoza's contract does not count against the League salary cap, and adidas pays for him to continue his education while playing in the League. During his first year with the Wizards, Espinoza scored one goal and added three assists in 22 games (12 starts). He was among the rookie leaders in games played, minutes played and assists. He was part of a recent Generation adidas squad that traveled to London, England and played against reserve teams from Chelsea FC, West Ham United and Reading FC. He started two matches and came off the bench in a third.
Honduras has a busy international schedule ahead in 2009, with the UNCAF Nations Cup to be followed by World Cup 2010 qualifying. Should Honduras finish in the top five in the Central American competition, it will also compete in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Honduras, the host nation, kicks off the tournament with a match against Belize on Jan. 22. All 14 games will be played at Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino in Tegucigalpa.
Honduras Training Camp Roster
Goalkeepers (3): Noel Valladares (Olimpia), Víctor Coello (Marathón), John Bodden (Victoria).
Defenders (7): Mario Beata (Marathón), Sergio Mendoza (Olimpia), Erick Norales (Marathón), Osman Chávez (Platense), Boniek García (Olimpia), Iván Guerrero (DC United), Emilio Izaguirre (Motagua)
Midfielders (10): Mariano Acevedo (Marathón), Mario Rodríguez (Real España), Mauricio Castro (New England Revolution), Amado Guevara (Toronto), Danilo Turcios (Olimpia), Hendry Thomas (Olimpia), Ramón Núñez (Olimpia), Emil Martínez (Shanghai Shenhua),Marvin Chávez (Marathón), Roger Espinoza (Kansas City Wizards)
Forwards (5): Carlos Pavón (Real España), Saúl Martínez (Marathón), Walter Martínez (Beijing Guoan), Carlos Will Mejía (Marathón), y Allan Lalín (Real España)
UNCAF Nations Cup Schedule
Group A
Honduras, El Salvador, Belize, Nicaragua
Group B
Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala
January 22
PM El Salvador vs. Nicaragua
PM Honduras vs. Belize
January 24
PM El Salvador vs. Belize
Honduras vs. Nicaragua
January 26
Nicaragua vs. Belize
Honduras vs. El Salvador
January 23
Costa Rica vs. Panama
January 25
Guatemala vs. Costa Rica
January 27
Panama vs. Guatemala
Semi-Finals
January 29
3rd A vs. 3rd B (to determine 5th team to qualify for 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup)
January 30
1st B vs. 2nd A
1st A vs. 2nd B
Finals
February 2
3rd place game
Championship game
