Panama

Current FIFA Rank: 52

Copa America Record: No previous appearances

Manager: Hernán Darío Gómez

Overview:

The Panama National Football Team was first created in 1937. Since then they have not been a particularly successful team, never qualifying for a World Cup, but in recent times, since the creation of the FIFA world rankings they have been on a strong upward trend, currently achieving their highest ranking of 52 compared to an average of 92 since starting at 132 in 1993 and hitting a low the next year at 140. Since 1993, Panama has seen local success with two 2^nd place finishes in addition to relative consistency in the Gold Cup and a similar level of success in the Copa Centroamericana, winning it in 2009 which is the only tournament they have won since 1951 when they won a now nonexistent CCCF Championship.

Panama is coming into Copa America with a high level of confidence following third place finishes in both the 2014 Copa Centroamericana and the 2015 Gold Cup. Despite this confidence however, they have been placed in one of the toughest groups with the 1 and 3 ranked Argentina and Chile respectively. They are the third ranked in the group over Bolivia so a win over them will be key to Panama’s chances of success, but they will also likely need a big upset over Argentina or Chile. It is likely that they will see a group stage exit, but it would be reasonable to expect the upward trend to continue and see great things from this team in the future.

Players to Watch:

Blas Pérez:

Blas Pérez playing for FC Dallas

Blas Pérez is one of Panama’s greatest attacking threats and one of the top goal scorers on their roster, scoring second all time for the team and has over 100 appearances for them. The 35-year-old striker is also one of the few players on the team playing outside of South America in the MLS where he plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps, traded in 2016 after three years with FC Dallas. He is nicknamed Super Ratón which is a translation of the cartoon character “Mighty Mouse.” Pérez is a dynamic player as he has scored 36 times in 104 appearances in the MLS with FC Dallas and the Vancouver Whitecaps. He has also been booked 16 times and sent off 5 times in his MLS career. One of the greatest international achievements for Pérez is his 2007 Gold Cup performance where he scored three times and had one assist to get in the tournament’s Best XI. Panama ultimately went out in the quarter-finals but has since done well in the Gold Cup finishing fourth, second and third. He is likely to provide some key goals and will be one of Panama’s most likely to get the ball to the back of the net.

Jamie Penedo:

Jamie Penedo saving a shot for LA Galaxy

Jamie Penedo is another player for Panama that has recorded over 100 caps and is the starting goal keeper for the team. He currently plays for Deportivo Saprissa in Costa Rica, but between 2013 and 2015 he played for a successful LA Galaxy squad that won the MLS Cup in in 2014 on the back of Penedo’s three goals allowed in the 5 matches played and his five saves in the final game. Having some key experience playing in the USA as well as the international experience of the 34-year-old should help Penedo feel comfortable in the Copa America where he will need to be on top of his game against top offensive talent from the likes of Argentina and Chile.

Manager:

Hernán Darío Gómez coaching Panama

Hernán Darío Gómez is a very important member of the Panama National Team. A coach of multiple national teams in the past, the Colombian-born Gómez eventually resigned from his second stint at managing his home country in 2011, the same year he was reappointed, after assaulting a woman at a night club. It was feared that his coaching career would never get back on track, but appointed to be the manager of Panama in 2014, he has had many successful results including the third place finishes in the 2014 Copa Centroamericana and 2015 Gold Cup. He was even named the CONCACAF Male Coach of the Year in 2015. He is a very capable manager who has managed to bring out some of Panama’s best performances and will look to have a big performance in their first ever Copa America.

Works Cited:

Edwards, Daniel. “Colombia’s Hernan Dario Gomez Resigns following Nightclub Assault – Goal.com.” Goal.com. N.p., 09 Aug. 2011. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/82/south-america/2011/08/09/2612572/colombias-hernan-dario-gomez-resigns-following-nightclub>.

“The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – Associations – Panama – Men’s.” FIFA. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/associations/association=PAN/men/index.html>.

Fudge, Simon. “Vancouver Whitecaps FC Sign Former Nemesis Blas Perez – Goal.com.” Goal.com. N.p., 16 Feb. 2016. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/69/transfer-zone/2016/02/16/20022082/whitecaps-sign-former-nemesis-perez-trade-rosales-to-dallas>.

“B. Pérez.” Goal.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.goal.com/en-us/people/panama/15372/b-pérez/profile>.

“Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez and Carli Lloyd Named 2015 CONCACAF Players of the Year – Goal.com.” Goal.com. N.p., 22 Jan. 2016. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1616/concacaf/2016/01/22/19595172/chicharito-lloyd-named-2015-concacaf-players-of-the-year>.

“Blas Pérez.” MLS. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/Blas-Perez>.

“Jaime Penedo.” MLS. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/jaime-penedo>.

Rojas, John E. “Blas Perez on the Challenges of FC Dallas and MLS: “I’ve Never Wanted to Be Comfortable” – Goal.com.” Goal.com. N.p., 05 May 2012. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2012/05/05/3081595/blas-perez-on-the-challenges-of-fc-dallas-and-mls-ive-never>.

How to Cite this page:

“Panama” Written by Arjun Jain (1 May 2016), Copa America Centenario 2016, Soccer Politics Blog, Duke University http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/tournament-guides/copa-america-centenario-2016-guide/copa-america-centenario-2016-team-guide/panama/ (accessed on (date))