Many World Cup Athletes Have This Texas City in Common

by Steve Davis

 

Talent from the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup is now deeply embedded within the global soccer community – all you had to do was watch this year’s World Cup in Brazil to see it. Incredibly, at least one former Dallas Cup participant took the field (or supported from the team bench) during each match day of soccer’s top event.

Several times during the busiest days in Brazil – particularly in the first and second rounds – 10 or more Dallas Cup alumni stood with their respective teams.  On June 23 for instance, Australia, Netherlands, Croatia, Brazil and Mexico were all in action, and each had players who once participated in this prestigious 35-year-old youth tournament.

The United States was certainly well represented by Dallas Cup-exes; 11 of the 23 men on Jurgen Klinsmann’s roster came through the Dallas Cup tournament. Among that group of Dallas Cup alums competing in Brazil, eight started in at least one of United States’ four matches. Clint Dempsey, who participated in the Dallas Cup with the highly successful Texans youth club, scored just a few seconds into America’s run at Brazil.

Other Dallas Cup Exes among the U.S. World Cup starters include: Jozy Altidore, DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Brad Davis and Omar Gonzalez.

Gonzalez holds a special place in Dallas Cup lore as a member of the history-making 2006 Texans group, which became the first team from the United States to capture a Dallas Cup Super Group title. That year’s Super Group lineup included Manchester United, Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Blackburn Rovers, plus the usual collection of talented teams from Mexico.

Dallas Cup alums also graced the Mexico and England national teams in Brazil, not exactly a surprise as those countries have long been Dallas Cup cornerstones.

Under the direction of excitable boss Miguel Herrera, Mexico advanced into the second round in Brazil. Ten members of Herrera’s bunch are former Dallas Cup participants, including several of El Tri’s most prominent stars. That list starts with Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. He came off the bench to enliven a sleepy attack in a 3-1 win over Croatia, helping arrange a second-half goal for Andres Guardado (also a Dallas Cup alum) and then claiming the late insurance strike for himself in both teams’ final Group A match.

Mexican teammate and fellow Dallas Cup alum Giovanni dos Santos was a factor in Mexico’s early matches, ever so close to scoring in a victory over Cameroon and a memorable draw with host Brazil. Dos Santos finally fulfilled all that goal-scoring promise against the Netherlands, striking brilliantly against the Dutch as Mexico nearly took down the three-time World Cup runner-up in the knockout phase.

Five members of England’s team – including an older stalwart in Wayne Rooney and up-and-comers like Adam Lallana and Ross Barkley – once chased a Dallas Cup title. Rooney’s first World Cup goal (his 40th in an England shirt) was bittersweet, coming in a 2-1 loss to Uruguay, a result that officially eliminated the Three Lions.

Costa Rica, another heavy World Cup contributor of Dallas Cup alumni, advanced all the way into this year’s quarterfinals, a historic achievement for the unheralded Ticos. Along the way, Costa Rica made worldwide headlines by upsetting four-time World Cup winner Italy behind the strong play of goalkeeper Keylor Nevas. Nevas came through the 2004 and 2005 Dallas Cups with the powerful Saprissa club out of San Jose, Costa Rica.

Throughout the course of its 35-year history, the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup has proven to be a tournament for elite young athletes who aspire to do great things. This legacy should continue as the next generation of Dallas Cup alumni, including Emerson Hyndman, Gedion Zelalem, and Adnan Januzaj, have their sights set for the next World Cup, to be played in Russia in 2018.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the complete list of Dallas Cup alumni players that were called upon to represent their countries in Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Argentina        Agustin Orion

Australia          Massimo Luongo

Belgium           Adnan Januzaj

Brazil                Maicon

Costa Rica       Joel Campbell

Costa Rica       Diego Calvo

Costa Rica       Waylon Francis

Costa Rica       Keylor Navas

Costa Rica       Celso Borges

Costa Rica       Daniel Cambronero

Croatia             Sammir

England           Ross Barkley

England           Glen Johnson

England           Wayne Rooney

England           Luke Shaw

England           Adam Lallana

Germany         Ron-Robert Zieler

Mexico             Javier Hernandez

Mexico             Rafael  Marquez

Mexico             Jose Corona

Mexico             Andres Guardado

Mexico             Giovani Dos Santos

Mexico             Alfredo Talavera

Mexico             Francisco Rodriguez

Mexico             Marco Fabian

Mexico             Miguel Ponce

Mexico             Alan Pulido

Netherlands    Jonathan de Guzman

USA                  Jozy Altidore

USA                  DaMarcus Beasley

USA                  Kyle Beckerman

USA                  Alejandro Bedoya

USA                  Michael Bradley

USA                  Timmy Chandler

USA                  Brad Davis

USA                  Clint Dempsey

USA                  Omar Gonzalez

USA                  Brad Guzan

USA                  Nick Rimando