Marco Pablo Pappa Ponce (born 15 November 1987) is a Guatemalan professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Liga Nacional club Achuapa.

Club career

Born in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

, Pappa, who plays as a winger, joined his local side,

Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, in 2004 at the age of 16, and made his professional debut in a domestic league match in August 2006 against

Deportivo Petapa Deportivo Petapa was a Guatemalan football team based in San Miguel Petapa, and currently plays in the Primera División de Ascenso. Their home stadium was Estadio Julio Armando Cobar, which has been converted to artificial turf due to the heav ...

. He scored his first professional goal against Nicaraguan side

Real Madriz Real Madriz Fútbol Club is a Nicaraguan football team playing at the top level. It is based in Somoto. History On 13 April 2021, the club under Honduran coach Hector Medina reached its first Copa Nicaragua and first top tier league final afte ...

during the 2007 UNCAF tournament.

Chicago Fire (2008–2012)

Pappa signed a one and a half-year loan deal with Chicago Fire on 30 July 2008, and made his MLS debut for Fire on 2 August 2008, against

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

. He scored his first MLS goal on 5 April 2009, in a game against the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. On 3 December 2009 The Fire exercised their option to buy Pappa's rights from Municipal, thus ending almost two-year loan deal it had for Pappa and securing his services through the 2012 season. Pappa started the 2010 MLS season in great form for the Chicago Fire with 5 goals and 4 assists in his first 11 games, making one of the league's top performing midfielders, and finished the year with seven goals (being the team's top scorer) and five assists. He was also awarded the MLS " Goal of the Year" award of the 2010 season for his goal against

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

on 10 April 2010. During the 2011 season, Pappa scored eight goals, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on 28 September 2011 in an away win against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

, earning the "Player of the Week" award and becoming the second Guatemalan player to score three goals in an MLS match after Carlos Ruiz had done it in 2002 and 2003.

Heerenveen (2012–2014)

Per an announcement made on 13 August 2012 Pappa was originally going to join the Dutch club

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

of the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

on 1 January 2013 on a three-and-a-half-year deal. However, on 30 August, Chicago agreed to make the deal an immediate transfer. On 3 January 2014 Pappa was released by Heerenveen as they dissolved his contract to make room on their roster for the Hungarian Szabolcs Varga.

Seattle Sounders FC (2014–2016)

Pappa was released by Heerenveen and entered the MLS Allocation process, being selected by the

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

who had the first pick. He was officially given the number 10 jersey last worn by

Mauro Rosales Mauro Damián Rosales (born 24 February 1981) is an Argentine former association football, footballer who last played in Alumni de Villa María, Alumni. A Midfielder#Winger, winger/Forward (association football), forward best known for his pace ...

on 12 February 2014. On 25 October, Pappa came off the bench and scored twice as the Sounders defeated the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

2−0 to clinch the Supporters' Shield, as the best club in MLS during the

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

Colorado Rapids (2016)

On March the 1st, Pappa was traded to

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

in exchange for allocation money.

Return to Guatemala

In January 2017, Pappa returned to the team of his youth,

C.S.D. Municipal Club Social y Deportivo Municipal, also known as Municipal or ''Los Rojos'' (the Reds), is a Guatemalan football club based in Guatemala City. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football, and play their home matches ...

. His contract expired on 30 June 2017. Pappa then looked for a club abroad, however, without success. He then returned to Municipal in September 2017. In July 2018, it was reported that Pappa had joined

. On 30 August Pappa also said that he had reached an agreement with the club but in September 2018, Petapas head coach said that there was no agreement with Pappa and that he wouldn't be a part of the squad. He then joined

Club Xelajú MC Club Social y Deportivo Xelajú Mario Camposeco, commonly known as Xelajú MC or just ''Xela'' and nicknamed ''Superchivos'' is a Guatemalan professional football club competing in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football. They are ...

on 8 October 2019. In the summer 2019, Pappa signed with

Deportivo Mixco Club Social y Deportivo Mixco is a Guatemalan football club based in Mixco, a municipality in the Guatemala City metropolitan area. They play in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football, after achieving promotion during the Claus ...

. On 24 October 2019 the club confirmed, that they had terminated Pappa's contract. Pappa played 12 games and scored a goal in 726 minutes of play. On 16 March 2020, Deportivo San Pedro announced the signing of 31-year old Pappa.

International career

Pappa has represented Guatemala at the U17, U20, U21 and U23 levels, and played for Guatemala at the U23 level in the qualifying tournament for the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, in which they finished in fourth place after being one

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

away from qualifying to the Olympic Tournament. Pappa earned his first cap for the senior national team on 20 August 2008 in a 0–1 World Cup qualifying loss to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, appearing as a substitute. He scored his first goal for Guatemala on 15 October 2008 against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. He participated at the

UNCAF Nations Cup 2009 The UNCAF Nations Cup 2009 was the tenth edition of the UNCAF Nations Cup, the biennial football (soccer) tournament for the CONCACAF-affiliated national teams of Central America. The first five places qualified for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Th ...

and at the 2011 Gold Cup, where he scored the second goal of a 4–0 win against

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

. During 2014 World Cup qualification, he scored the first goal of a 4–0 win against

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

during the 2nd round, and in the third round, he scored from a direct free kick to equalize 1–1 at home against the

. At the 2014 Copa Centroamericana, Pappa helped Guatemala to a runner-up finish and qualification for the

2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 13th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 23rd CONCACAF regional championship overall in the organization's fifty-four years of existence. It was held in the United States, with two matches bein ...

. He scored four goals in four matches en route to winning the tournament's Golden Boot as its top scorer and the Golden Ball as its best player.

International goals

:''Scores and results list. Guatemala's goal tally first.''

Honors

Municipal *

Liga Nacional de Guatemala Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Lig ...

: Clausura 2007, Clausura 2017 Seattle Sounders * Supporters' Shield:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* U.S. Open Cup:

Individual *

Copa Centroamericana The Copa Centroamericana (, Spanish for "Central American Cup") was the main association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ''Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol'' (UNCAF), the sport's Central Am ...

top goalscorer:

best player:

Personal life

Pappa earned his U.S. green card in June 2015. This status also qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes. In 2016, he was involved in an incident that resulted in Pappa being rushed to the hospital. When police arrived, girlfriend Stormy Keffeler was with him. On 7 January 2020, Pappa was sentenced to 5-years in jail due to a domestic violence offence in his native Guatemala.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pappa, Marco 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Guatemala City Guatemalan footballers Guatemalan expatriate footballers Guatemalan people of Italian descent Guatemala international footballers 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2014 Copa Centroamericana players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players C.S.D. Municipal players Chicago Fire FC players SC Heerenveen players Seattle Sounders FC players Colorado Rapids players Xelajú MC players Deportivo San Pedro players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Eredivisie players Association football wingers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Guatemalan expatriate sportspeople in the United States