No matter the result, Herculez Gomez will look back on Puebla's InterLiga group finale Sunday as one of the special moments in his life. The former Major League Soccer standout made his debut with the Mexican Primera Division side, and it couldn't have gone much better.
Well, aside from the result -- Puebla fell on a last-minute goal to Monterrey -- and a few touches that weren't quite what he'd envisioned, but sometimes the details get in the way.
"It was great," Gomez beamed after the 2-1 defeat at The Home Depot Center. "This is a dream come true. Everybody always dreams of playing at a high level, and Mexican soccer, it's been around forever. It's a new chapter to my life, and I'm excited about it."
Gomez, who joined Puebla just after the New Year, fit in nicely with his new teammates and nearly scored a goal, and he hopes to get another chance when Los Camoteros take on Estudiantes Tecos in the first of two InterLiga finals Wednesday night. Club America meets Monterrey in the nightcap, and the winners will join Morelia, Chivas de Guadalajara and San Luis in Copa Libertadores, South America's club championship, which kicks off later this month.
Gomez, who played five full seasons with the Los Angeles Galaxy, Colorado Rapids and Kansas City Wizards, is one of four Major League Soccer veterans who will be available to play Wednesday. Guatemalan forward Carlos Ruiz, who scored 82 goals in seven seasons with the Galaxy, FC Dallas and Toronto FC, is Gomez's teammate and mentor of sorts with Puebla.
Diego Jimenez, who played a vital role in the New York Red Bulls' run to the 2008 MLS Cup Final, is with Estudiantes Tecos.
And former FC Dallas defender Duilio Davino, a Mexican national team standout for a decade, anchors Monterrey's backline.
Puebla had clinched the Group B titles with victories against Tigres UANL in Frisco, Texas, and Jaguares in Houston, so coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola used a secondary lineup against Monterrey, and he got his first chance to see Gomez in action.
His verdict: "Very good."
Gomez, acquired from the Wizards to supply attacking depth to a club that saw the departure of forwards Jared Borgetti to Morelia and Nicolas Ignacio Vigneri to Peru's Universitario, nearly found the net in the 15th minute. He chested down a cross, turned and fired just past the left post.
"You're around quality players, and they put you in quality positions," he said. "I'm just trying to keep working hard, and hopefully I'll find myself in positions like that, and hopefully I'll put the next one away."
Gomez's transfer to Puebla had been in the works since shortly after the MLS season concluded in November, and "when the opportunity came around," he said, "it was too good to pass up. And to be quite honest, I've just been in awe of everything so far. It's been a good experience, and I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can."
The Home Depot Center was the perfect locale for his Puebla debut. His MLS career began nearly eight years ago with the Galaxy, who call Carson home, and he found his footing as a pro in the stadium.
"It's no secret I was a huge Galaxy fan before I played there," Gomez said, "so to come back here to a place where I have so many fond memories, and to get my debut with this team, was definitely special."
There were butterflies before he stepped onto the field, but they were gone by opening kickoff.
"I started calming down during warmups," he said. "Once I got my first shot in -- I hit a pretty good shot during warmups, and that has some good effect. Some of the guys here still haven't seen what I'm all about, so it was good to kind of remind myself why I'm here, It brought me down and settled me."
Gomez started up front with Juan Carlos Garcia and fared well before departing in the 71st minute, replaced by Ruiz, his former Galaxy teammate.
"You know, he and I have still never played on the field together," Gomez said. "With everything we both achieved in MLS, and we've never been on the field together. We were teammates in 2002, 2003 and the 2005 preseason, then he got traded. That's just the way things are.
"Carlos is a great player, and he's been helping me out, taking me under his wing," Gomez said. "We're roommates at the hotel, and it's been great. Especially someone who's been through it all, to be there and give you those little pointers."
Gomez could partner Ruiz up front when Puebla opens the Primera Division's 2010 Bicentenario spring campaign Sunday at home against Tigres.
"He's a very good player," said Ruiz, who was the MLS MVP in 2002, when scored 24 regular-season goals and eight more leading the Galaxy to their first league title. "Everybody here believes in him. I think we have a great team right now."
Said Gomez: "I look forward to earning a place on the field, whether it's coming off the bench or starting, and just try to help the team. I look forward to playing with him."
Gomez, who was born in Los Angeles and raised in Las Vegas, played in Mexico during his teens -- for Cruz Azul's second team and with a couple of lower-division clubs -- before signing a developmental contract with the Galaxy in 2002.
He didn't really get his chance with the Galaxy until 2005, when he exploded onto the scene with 21 goals in all competitions and was selected the club's Most Valuable Player.
He scored 11 regular-season goals and six more to lead L.A. to the U.S. Open Cup title, tallying in all four matches -- twice each in quarterfinal and semifinal wins, and the only strike in a 1-0 triumph over FC Dallas in the final.
He also scored in the playoffs, helping the Galaxy to its second MLS Cup crown.
"Oh, man, 2005 couldn't have gone better if I'd planned it," he said. "I just came out of nowhere, full of confidence, and had a lot of fun."
He scored five more goals for the Galaxy in 2006, then was traded to the Colorado Rapids in the deal that brought goalkeeper Joe Cannon to Carson. Gomez scored the first goal in the Rapids' new Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
He was sent to Kansas City late in the 2008 season and started 27 games, most as a flank midfielder, through the end of last season.
"There are so many things I'll always cherish (from my time in MLS)," Gomez said. "What we achieved in 2005, scoring the first goal in Colorado, and I got to play (against Argentina and Colombia at the 2007) Copa America with the national team.
"More than anything, it's the friendships I've made with all the players. MLS is different than any league in the world. It's really blue-collar, and I think that makes the guys kind of stick together, and you build these lifelong friendships."
Ruiz is tied for eighth with Raul Diaz Arce on the all-time MLS goalscoring list, and his record of 16 playoff goals was eclipsed last season by Landon Donovan. He hit double-digits his first five seasons in the league, then struggled his final season and half, in which he bounced from FC Dallas to the Galaxy to Toronto.
He joined Paraguay's Olimpia after the 2008 MLS season, scoring 10 goals during the spring campaign and becoming a fan favorite. He moved to Puebla last summer, scored in his debut, and finished with five goals in the Apertura as Los Camoteros reached the quarterfinals.
Ruiz scored twice in Puebla's 4-1 victory over Tigres in the InterLiga Group B opener in Frisco, Texas, which was followed by a 1-0 win over Jaguares in Houston. Although Puebla lost Sunday, he was happy to be back on the field in the Galaxy's home stadium.
"I feel like this stadium is my home -- this city, you know?" he said. "I have a lot of people from my country who, every time I come here, are supporting me. That's great for me."
Puebla will take on an Estudiantes Tecos team that bounced back from a 2-1 loss to Atlante in its Group A opener to beat Santos, then rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie America 3-3.
Jimenez, just 23, features regularly on Tecos' backline. He went to the Red Bulls on loan during the 2008 campaign, playing 10 games -- four of them in the playoffs -- before returning to the Jalisco-based club.
Davino joined FC Dallas in 2008 after 10 seasons with America and played in 23 MLS matches. He returned to Mexico after the season, playing for Puebla during last spring's Clausura campaign, then moving to Monterrey, which he helped to the Apertura title last month.
Gomez says his experiences in Major League Soccer have readied him for Mexico's top flight.
"Everything I've gone through has prepared me for this," he said. "I'm thankful for the opportunities MLS gave me, and now I'm looking forward to helping Puebla."
Scott French is a contributor to InterLiga.com.
