A revived Gonzalez returns from Mexico
PHILADELPHIA — Omar Gonzalez had just left the Los Angeles Galaxy to join Mexico’s Pachuca in December 2015 when his new club’s chairman had a request: Would the 6foot-5 defender walk into his introductory news conference dressed as Darth Vader?
Of course, he obliged. Ever since then, he has been a defensive force.
“I had signed a contract 15 minutes prior to that, so I was like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ It was a bit small,” Gonzalez recalled of the costume Tuesday. “I don’t know if they met any other Mexican my size.”
Gonzalez, 28, is among the U.S. players trying to impress coach Bruce Arena in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Americans play El Salvador on Wednesday night in a quarterfinal at Lincoln Financial Field.
He made his national-team debut in August 2010 during an exhibition against Brazil in New Jersey, in which a teenage forward named Neymar also made his first international appearance.
Gonzalez would become one of Major League Soccer’s highest-paid players, but his career stalled, first with a torn knee ligament during his initial training session following a January 2012 loan to the German club Nuremberg, then with a knee injury that kept him from starting the first two games of the 2014 World Cup. Worst of all was the malaise during his final seasons with the Galaxy.
“I was just doing enough to get by and things were OK,” he said.
Gonzalez decided to change his attitude and alter his rest regimen. He signed with Pachuca, helped that team win last year’s Clausura title — and now he is flourishing on a team that will be in this year’s Club World Cup.
“He’s matured,” U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “When you have ability and other people think you have ability, it’s great. When you actually realize your own ability and potential, I think the game slows down for you a little bit and you get very comfortable with your own movements and your own communication.”
Born in Dallas to Mexican American parents, Gonzalez could have played for either country. An All-American at Maryland, he was the third pick overall in the 2009 MLS draft and was voted MLS Rookie of the Year with the Galaxy while being coached by Arena.
Gonzalez now lives in Pachuca, a city of about 265,000, with his wife, Erica, and their daughters, 2½-year-old Isla and 1year-old Colette.
“It’s just a totally different lifestyle,” he said. “In L.A., you’re done with training and you sit around and you think, ‘What should I do today?’ There’s always something, to do, and Pachuca there’s not really much to do.”
He is convinced he would not have revived his career had he stayed in Los Angeles.
“It’s definitely made me a better player and also made me a better person, living in a different culture, living in a different country, living in an environment you’re not used to,” Gonzalez said.
With the national team, Gonzalez is competing for one of what probably will be four center-back spots on the World Cup roster, assuming the Americans qualify.
John Brooks and Geoff Cameron top the depth chart at the moment, with Gonzalez, Matt Besler, Matt Miazga and Matt Hedges the four splitting time at the Gold Cup.