Marco Pappa

Marco Pappa (full name Marco Pablo Pappa Ponce) was originally acquired by the Fire on a one and a half year loan from CSD Municipal on July 2008 before signing a permanent deal following the 2009 season. Pappa followed up a breakout 2010 campaign in which he won the team’s Golden Boot and MLS Goal of the Year with a strong 2011 season, finishing second on the team in goals with a career high of eight and netting his first career hat trick. Now one of the longest tenured Fire players, Pappa’s ability on the wings and in the middle of the park will be invaluable heading into the 2012 season.

2011: Appeared in 29 matches, starting 27. Finished second behind Dominic Oduro and set a career best in goals scored with eight, adding two assists over 2324 minutes played…Assisted on Gaston Puerari’s 40^th minute goal before bagging a 59^th minute game winner on a stunning individual effort 3/26 vs. SKC…Tallied a looping 81^st minute strike in a 4-2 loss 4/14 at POR…Scored a close-range effort in the 43^rd minute of a 1-1 draw 4/30 at COL…Beat goalkeeper Stefan Frei from a free kick in a 2-2 draw 5/14 at TFC…Recorded a 58^th minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw 6/26 vs. NYRB…Assisted on Dominic Oduro’s 16^th minute goal in a 2/2 draw 8/13 at NYRB…Struck in the ninth, 36^th and 75^th minutes of a 3-0 win 9/28 at RSL to record his first career hat trick, becoming the fifth player in Fire history to do so…LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP: Appeared in and started four matches, logging 366 minutes on the team’s run to the 2011 Final…INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES: Started both international friendlies, logging 107 minutes… Played 62 minutes and assisted on Cory Gibbs’ 13^th minute header in a 3-1 loss 7/23 vs. Manchester United…Played the first 45 minutes of a 1-0 loss 9/14 vs. Chivas de Guadalajara.

2010: Appeared in 25 matches, winning the team’s Golden Boot award with 7 goals and finishing second on the team with 5 assists over 1961 minutes…Won 2010 MLS Goal of the Year for his one-time half volley in a 2-1 loss vs. SJ on 4/10… Was voted a starter and made his first career MLS All-Star appearance as the team fell 5-2 to Manchester United in Houston…Scored both goals in 2-2 draw vs. COL on 6/9…Recorded 3 game-winning goals: 2-0 win at DC on 4/17, 2-1 win vs. PHI on 6/5 and 1-0 win at NE on 6/27…Contributed one game-winning assist in 4-1 win on 10/23 at CHV…SUPERLIGA: Appeared in all 3 matches, providing the game-winning assist in the 1-0 win vs. Pumas UNAM on 7/20…LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP: Played the full 120 minutes during the scoreless draw vs. Charleston Battery, eventually falling 3-0 in penalty kicks on 6/29…INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES: Appeared in all three matches, starting in 1-0 losses to Paris Saint Germain (5/19) and A.C. Milan (5/30).

2009: In his first full campaign with the Fire, Pappa stood out in the midfield as a creative player who controls the flow of the game.  Started 28 of his 30 appearance for the Men in Red, recording five goals and four assists on the season…Notched a game winning goal 4/5 vs. NY and a game winning assist 8/16 @ KC SUPERLIGA: featured in 5 games as the Fire progressed to the final of the international tournament registering nearly 4 shots a game…International Friendlies: Registered 23 minutes in the game vs. Club America on 4/29 at TOYOTA Park.

2008: Played in six matches, starting in three after joining the Fire on loan from CSD Municipal on 7/30.

Previous Club Experience: Joined Guatemalan side CSD Municipal in 2004 at the age of 16 … played for the club until being loaned to the Fire in July 2008… made his professional debut in a domestic league match in August 2006 against Guatemalan club Deportivo Pepata … first professional goal came against the Nicaraguan club Real Madriz during the 2006 UNCAF tournament.

International:

As of December 2011 has tallied 24 caps and four goals since making his international debut for Guatemala in 2008… Made his first international appearance in a 1-0 loss to the United States in a 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier on Aug. 20, 2008…Appeared in 6 World Cup Qualifying matches for los Chapines during 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying…Scored first international goal in Guatemala’s 1-0 victory over Cuba on September 10, 2008 in Havana…Scored his second international goal in a 1-0 win against El Salvador on March 3, 2010 in Los Angeles…Appeared in all four of Guatemala’s 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, scoring in a 4-0 win over Grenada on June 14 in Carson, CA, helping los Chapines to the tournament’s quarterfinals for just the third time…Appeared in four of six of Guatemala’s second round CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches, scoring his fourth international goal in a 4-0 win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines September 2, 2011. Helped Guatemala finish with a perfect 6-0-0 record and move to the 2014 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying semifinals.

Has also represented Guatemala at the U17, U20, U21 and U23 levels … Suited up for the U23 team in the 2008 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament who just missed securing a trip Beijing by finishing third in the tournament.