Timeline: the improbable rise of U.S. candidate Herculez Gomez

Herculez Gomez is sunning himself in the bright spotlight as one of the truly fascinating stories of the ongoing U.S. pre-World Cup camp. Here’s a relatively unheralded dude who has exactly 67 minutes of international experience. A lot of folks who like MLS still probably couldn’t tell you much about the guy, even though he was livin’ large in 2005 and would have won Rookie of the Year but for, more or less, technical reasons.

Now, he’s on the cusp of making the U.S. final 23 for South Africa.  It’s a toss-up at this point, I’d say, although Eddie Johnson’s hamstring-related fitness struggles aren’t hurting Gomez’s chances. Either way it’s a great story. Here’s the Gomez timeline to consider as you prep for tomorrow’s big friendly:

1982 – Born in Los Angeles. He moved to Las Vegas at age 10, dreaming of playing pro soccer. The catch is that he wanted to play in Mexico.

Circa 1993 – Joins Neusport FC. The club helped instill a passionate love for the game, as well for the bonds developed in his years with the youth club.

2001 – Barely out of Las Vegas High School, still a skinny young speedster, Gomez signs for Cruz Azul’s reserve squad in Mexico City.

2002 – Finding the adjustment tough and not having much success in Mexico’s lower leagues, he ponders an end to the dream of playing pro soccer.

2002 – Instead he catches on with the semi-pro San Diego Gouchos. Scouts for the nearby L.A. Galaxy notice him. Meanwhile, he’s working part-time at Abercrombie & Fitch to make ends meet. 

2003 – On loan to the Seattle Sounders (then playing in USL), Gomez breaks his foot. He had played just five minutes with the Galaxy in 2003, when his salary for the season was $16,500.

2004 – Following a lengthy recovery from injury (which included time with the San Diego Sockers of the Major Indoor Soccer League), he re-signs with the Galaxy. Major League Soccer’s decision to expand rosters to accommodate a new reserve league may have been his saving grace and invitation back into the league.

2005 – Landon Donovan extensive time on national team duty early in the season gives Gomez a shot on the big stage. Around that time, one MLS coach tells me Gomez strikes the ball as cleanly as anyone in MLS – but that he does need to keep shoring up other areas of his game to become a more complete player.

Late 2005 – The Galaxy makes a late run into the playoffs and eventually wins the MLS Cup (also claiming the US Open Cup that summer; Gomez nails the winner in the Open Cup championship).  Gomez is the Galaxy’s leading scorer with 18 goals in all competitions and is voted the team’s Most Valuable Player. He is a newcomer to the league in every practical sense, but as he signed a contract with the Galaxy back in 2003 he is ineligible for Rookie of the Year balloting.

2006 – He struggled early and didn’t seem happy that then-coach Steve Sampson was using him in various positions. Later, as Frank Yallop took over in L.A., Gomez got back in the lineup and finished with five goals for the season.

Summer 2007 – Gomez travels to play in the Copa America with the U.S. national team, debuting against Argentina. It’s important, however, for it ties Gomez to the U.S. team; he could also have been eligible for Mexico.

Late 2007 – Yallop trades Gomez to Colorado for two important pieces, defender Ugo Ihemelu and outstanding goalkeeper Joe Cannon. Gomez made immediate impact in Denver, scoring the first goal ever at Dick’s SportingGoods Park as his Rapids beat D.C. United, 2-1. Ultimately, the Rapids just weren’t a good side; Gomez’s four goals in the run of play were most on the team. Plus, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in September.

2008 – Another year, another trade. This time to Kansas City in September – and his value had clearly fallen based on the Colorado’s return in the trade. In Kansas City, then-coach Curt Onalfo chose to use Gomez mostly in the midfield late that year and also for 2009. He was just OK.

January 2010 – Gomez signed with Puebla of the Mexican league and almost immediately made a mark. Despite frequently coming off the bench, he finished with 10 goals to tie for the scoring leadership in the Mexican Clausura. He was the first American to claim scoring leadership in a foreign first-tier league. Along the way, he starts getting mentioned as a candidate for Bob Bradley’s World Cup squad. Even then, Gomez gets overshadowed in the run-up by Edson Buddle’s red-hotness in MLS.

May 2010 – Bradley makes the call, inviting Gomez into camp. The striker’s approach to the camp is humble and 100 percent team-oriented, exactly what you’d want to see from the guy. “I definitely have 29 players ahead of me,” he told reporters upon arrival.

One more thing to consider on this story: Argentine-born Frank Lemmon was Gomez’ longtime coach on that Neusport youth club that nurtured the player’s love for the game. Here’s what Lemmon told the Las Vegas Review-Journal earlier this year, and how true it is:

“The reality is, with the infrastructure of U.S. soccer, when you don't come up through the Olympic Development Program or don't go to a UCLA or Virginia or Indiana, it's very hard to break through. What amazes me is all he has had to overachieve just to be noticed.”

The tale may end Wednesday when Bradley makes the cuts, but it is an improbable, inspiring one.