When he was signed by the Los Angeles Galaxy in preseason, Guillermo "Pando" Ramirez was supposed to be a major piece of the Green and Gold's championship puzzle.
The regular season looked nothing like it was supposed to, but it's funny how things work out in the end.
Pando was named the Honda Most Valuable Player of MLS Cup 2005 Sunday after blasting home the game-winning goal in extra time in the Galaxy's 1-0 victory against the New England Revolution at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.
"It's the biggest [night] for me," Ramirez said. "I talked to coach before the game. He asked me to play a little bit more for the team. I said, 'I will,' and I did."
Though he fired a team-high 62 shots during the regular season, Ramirez struggled mightily to find the back of the net. His only goal of the year came on a penalty kick Sept. 10 against the Colorado Rapids, and it bounced off the post before hitting Rapids 'keeper Joe Cannon's back and deflecting in.
It was the most shots ever -- in MLS history -- with the fewest goals to show for it. A few years ago Ronnie O'Brien scored just two goals over the season on 67 shots, the previous mark for shooting futility.
So trying was Ramirez's season that he eventually became only a bit player in the Galaxy lineup as second-year midfielder Ned Grabavoy took his spot. Prior to entering Sunday's match in the 66th minute, Pando had not made an appearance in the playoffs.
And if Grabavoy hadn't gotten tired, Pando's magic moment might not have happened.
"I wanted someone to get more physical and to get in behind [Revolution defender Jay] Heaps and keep [midfielder Steve] Ralston at bay," said Galaxy head coach Steve Sampson. "It was just a feeling that I had. It was his attitude during the week."
Sampson said Ramirez has been angry for the last month, disappointed that he hadn't seen the field in the playoffs. The Galaxy boss took heart that Ramirez still had the desire to help the club, and when he needed help, Sampson turned to the Guatemalan national team captain.
Sampson and the Galaxy were rewarded for the decision.
"I'm very proud of Pando Ramirez, a young man that has suffered all year long," Sampson said. "It isn't an issue of him not being a great player. I think he lost his confidence during the course of the year."
On the play that culminated in the game's only goal, Ramirez was positioned at the top of the box just outside the far post. Forward Landon Donovan sent in a corner kick, and when Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis feebly punched the ball toward him, Pando latched onto the ball and laced it into the net.
"It was just a great strike. He does this in training every single day," Sampson said. "For him this season, everything was over the top ... It was well earned."
Said Pando: "It was an incredible emotion. You can't really describe what you feel ... It's beautiful. When you do it, you just feel normal. You don't realize it."
Even his teammates were stunned.
"I would have bet my mortgage -- in Manhattan Beach that's a little pricey sometimes - that this guy wouldn't have come in and been the one that would have the difference," Donovan said.
"It was pretty similar to me in Germany; things weren't going my way for some reason. Things weren't happening and I wasn't playing, and I made the decision to come back here," Donovan added. "For him, I don't know that he had another option, so he could have gone one of two ways. He could have stopped playing and decided the season was over.
"I feel like he's a true champion. He came in and, through all he's been through -- I can't remember the last time he played -- he put it all aside and came out and played."
In the end, Ramirez's season mirrored his club's. A boatload of hype slowly sank amid struggles during the season, but both Pando and the team were vindicated by the final result.
"Certainly, if he had scored more goals during the course of the season, we would have won more ballgames," Sampson said. "He found the right time to get it done."
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
