Alexandria, Va.’s Andy Najar helps Honduras fulfill Olympic dreams

By Charles Boehm

Five players with local ties were in the mix for a place in the men’s soccer competition in the 2012 Summer Olympics, via the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament which just concluded in Kansas City, Kan. on Monday night.

Only one made it.

Thanks to their second-place finish in the tournament, Andy Najar and his Honduras Under-23 teammates will carry their small, humble country’s colors to London this summer. But Najar will also represent Alexandria, Va., Washington, D.C. and the greater mid-Atlantic region, having honed his talent and grown into an elite professional here.

The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team, led by Bill Hamid (Annandale, Va., D.C. United), Freddy Adu (Potomac, Md.), Joe Gyau (Silver Spring, Md.) and Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), were regarded as favorites to win the event and eventually even contend for a medal in London. But they crashed out in the group stage and Najar’s team were the ones who stepped up and seized the berth that everyone thought would go to the United States.

Born in Choluteca, Honduras, Najar spent most of his adolescence in Northern Virginia and was spotted by journalist and United broadcaster Edgar Enciso while playing pickup soccer. This led to an opportunity with the club’s youth academy, and less than two years later he signed a professional contract with the club at age 17 – and earned 2010 MLS Rookie of the Year honors the same season. His first call-up to the Honduran National Team arrived in September and now he looks set to be a mainstay for “Los Catrachos” for years to come.

It was Najar who whipped in the decisive cross that teammate Gerson Rodas headed home for the game-winner in Honduras’ extra-time, semifinal win over El Salvador on Saturday, the game that handed them tickets to London regardless of the outcome in Monday night’s tournament final, which Mexico won 2-1 in extra time.

“I don’t have words to describe this moment – it’s my first,” a grinning Najar told media after the win over El Salvador. “Everybody was singing tonight after the game – everybody was excited. This is every player’s dream, to play in the Olympics. This is my opportunity so we have to give everything in the Olympics, and play good.”

Back in his hometown of Choluteca, a sun-baked provincial capital in southern Honduras, Najar’s extended family are celebrating his achievement, too.

“This is a unique moment. People feel happy for Andy,” his uncle Rafael told the Honduran newspaper Diez. “We never imagined this moment. It is difficult for a player from this area to succeed. I liked his attitude.”

Diez also spoke to his grandmother, Consuelo Espinal.

“I miss Andy and I love him. I know that soon we will see each other again,” she said. “From here I send a hug and I’m proud of everything he has done.

“Andy’s work was always the ball. The school was on the field – I knew that was it for him. I never, but never thought we would see him where he is now, however, thank God he got it right. ”