Godoy arrives at just right time
SAN JOSE — The Earthquakes hope to salvage an unraveling season with the help of Anibal Godoy, a midfielder the Panamanian press calls “the son of the Samurai.”
The eighth-place Quakes (8-10-5) need the help more than ever while opening a challenging two-game trip Wednesday night against Sporting Kansas City, which is unbeaten in its 12 home games this year.
Veteran defender Jordan Stewart suffered a seasonending torn Achilles injury Friday against Colorado. Designated player Matias Perez Garcia did not travel this week after aggravating a hamstring injury in the same game.
Godoy, meanwhile, had a positive debut as San Jose ended a six-game winless streak by defeating the Rapids 1-0.
Now the Panamanian midfielder might need to marshal some of that samurai warrior ethic against third-place Sporting (114-7), and again Saturday against Eastern Conference leader D.C. United, which leads Major League Soccer
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Earthquakes (8-10-5) at Sporting Kansas City (11-4-7), 5:30 p.m., CSNCA with 44 points.
“There’s no time to think a lot,” Godoy said in Spanish through a translator. “You just have to go play the games.”
Godoy, 25, has been playing since childhood while growing up in a rough part of Panama City.
He said his father is a mechanic, his mom works in an office. But Godoy failed to mention that his dad — Cristobal Godoy — was a center back in the early 1990s for one of Panama’s top clubs.
Godoy used to accompany “El Samurai” to games and practices of his father’s former team. The nickname came about because of Cristobal’s toughness and a samurai-like head band that he wore to intimidate opponents.
Anibal began playing in the streets with friends in a well-worn narrative for Central American players.
“I was just wanted to play for fun,” he said. “I never thought it was possible to play professionally.”
Soccer, though, kept Godoy away from the criminals and drug lords of his barrio Santa Ana Calle 15.
“It’s either that or soccer,” he said. “It’s difficult to make those choices, but once I started playing a lot the only path I wanted was football.”
Godoy joined Chepo FC at age 13 and played with the Panamanian club until 22. The midfielder briefly played on an Argentine club before signing in 2013 with Hungarian side Honved Budapest.
Godoy made his MLS debut Friday without even practicing with teammates. Now after two training sessions he is feeling better. But Godoy might need to work on positioning in the central midfield if coach Dominic Kinnear pairs him with rookie Fatai Alashe this week.
Godoy plays a similar role for Panama, which last month defeated the United States to finish third in the Gold Cup, the Central America, North American and Caribbean championship.
The victory by the shorthanded Panamanians provided some payback. Two years ago, the United States scored twice in second-half stoppage time in the final qualifying game to prevent Panama from advancing to the 2014 World Cup.
Panama also experienced hard luck this year in a controversial Gold Cup semifinal against Mexico. Playing with 10 men, Panama was called for a questionable handball that awarded the Mexicans a late penalty kick to tie the score. El Tri advanced by scoring on another penalty in extra time.
Godoy said teammates discussed forfeiting the third-place game in protest.
“Then we realized that you just have to keep on working and the last image you leave needs to be the best image that you leave,” he said. “We felt after that game that we could’ve been champions of the Gold Cup.”
Now Godoy wants to leave a lasting impression by reviving sputtering San Jose.