Las Vegan Gomez eagerly returns to roots in world soccer showcase

On Sunday, Gomez returns to where it all started. He will lead Santos Laguna, the defending Primera Division champion of Mexico, against Real Madrid, one of the world’s most formidable clubs, in the World Football Challenge at Sam Boyd Stadium.

“It’s going to be real emotional for me,” the 30-year-old Gomez said. “I feel like I’ve come full circle, coming back home to play in a big game like this. I just hope it doesn’t get to me.”

As a kid growing up in Las Vegas, Gomez’s rudimentary soccer education began with the Neusport FC club team. He went on to star at Las Vegas High School, and that led to a pro career that has seen him play in Major League Soccer with three teams and four in the Mexican First Division.

It also has given Gomez the chance to play for his country. He represented the United States in the 2010 World Cup and is in the player pool for the 2014 World Cup qualifying matches.

Gomez said none of it would have been possible had he not played for Neusport.

“I always look back at my time of playing club soccer as the best time of my life,” he said. “Not only did I learn how to play the game properly, it helped me grow into a man.”

Neusport was a traveling team, and when Gomez played in the mid-1990s, there wasn’t a lot of competition within Las Vegas, or Nevada, for that matter. The team would play in tournaments throughout the West, forcing Gomez to grow up.

“I come from a traditional Mexican-American family,” said Gomez, the oldest of five children. “When we would go away to play in tournaments, they would always be worried about me from the time I left until I came home. But to be on that team and get the kind of experience I did and the friends I made, it helped define me as a player and the person I am. It makes me appreciate everything I have now.”

Gomez said youth soccer in Las Vegas wasn’t that big when he was a kid in terms of numbers.

“I remember we’d only have to win two games to win the State Cup,” he said. “It’s a lot different now. The game has really grown, and it’s great to see. That’s why this game we’re playing in Sunday is so important. I really believe it’s a trial run for MLS for Las Vegas. If we can fill the stadium and get a great crowd, I think the MLS will have to take notice and look at putting a team here someday. I would love to see that.”

Gomez’s soccer passport has numerous stamps on it with many fond memories attached. He played on the Los Angeles Galaxy team that won the 2005 MLS Cup. In 2007, he scored the first goal in Dick’s Sporting Goods Park as a member of the Colorado Rapids. In 2010, he became the first American to lead another country’s league in scoring when he had 10 goals for Puebla and tied for the scoring title in the Primera.

Later that year, then-national team coach Bob Bradley asked Gomez to be part of the United States’ 30-man World Cup roster. He was considered a long shot to make the team. But after scoring in a 4-2 tuneup win over the Czech Republic, Gomez was named to the 23-man final roster. He appeared in three of four games in South Africa.

Bradley was fired a year after the World Cup and replaced by Jurgen Klinsmann. Gomez’s ability to find the net has allowed him to find a spot with the current U.S. national team squad, and his goal against Antigua and Barbuda on June 8 helped the Americans win their first qualifying match, 3-1.

“When I think about where I’ve been and what soccer has been able to do for me, it’s just amazing,” Gomez said. “It makes me proud to be from Las Vegas, and without the coaching I received when I was growing up, I’m not sure any of this happens.”

He has enjoyed each stop along his extensive journey. His latest team, Santos, has allowed him to do what he does best. In the team’s recent league opener against San Luis, Gomez scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory.

And while Sunday’s game is technically an exhibition, Gomez said he and his teammates aren’t coming to Las Vegas to party. At least not before the game.

“It’s a very skilled team,” he said. “We have a lot of talent and a lot of pride. We’re taking this game very seriously. Real Madrid is one of the world’s greatest teams, and it’s an opportunity for us to represent Mexican soccer and show we are capable of competing with the world’s best.”

Santos will arrive today and will be welcomed at a ceremony at noon at the Fremont Street Experience. The event is free and open to the public.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.