Jaime Villegas, captain of the 1982 Honduran soccer team that qualified for the World Cup, says he saw firsthand how his exploits on the field became a panacea for the country.

“Many kids at that time, especially those who liked football, looked on us as role models and continued their passion [in the sport],” said Villegas in a telephone interview conducted in Spanish with The Crimson. Villegas currently serves as the sporting director of a first division Honduran soccer club.

“[Honduras] is a ‘fútbol nation’...Political rivalries are forgotten, if only temporarily, and rivals will embrace when the national team does well,” he adds.

In 1981, Honduras, a minnow in international soccer, went undefeated in its home qualifying matches and eliminated Mexico—one of the dominant forces in the region—en route to securing its first-ever entry into the FIFA World Cup. On the sport’s grandest stage, Honduras tied Spain, the host of the tournament, helping to establish Honduras’ soccer credentials on an international level and sparking speculation that a new era of athletic success was in the offing.

But in the nearly three decades since, those expectations have been unfulfilled. In the summer of 2001, Honduras was invited at the last minute to participate in the Copa America, South America’s premier tournament. Arriving just a few hours before their first game, the team went on to upset defending champion Brazil.

Yet despite the hopes garnered from that tournament, Honduras went on to suffer a heartbreaking defeat later that winter, capitulating in its last World Cup qualifying game to last-placed Trinidad and Tobago.

Now, eight years later, Honduras has overcome that spectre of defeat.

TRIUMPH AT LAST

This past June, Honduran President Zelaya was arrested at his home by military officials and exiled from the country, sparking months of civil unrest.

Two weeks after Zelaya’s arrest, the Honduran national team defeated Costa Rica 4-0 in a qualifying match for the World Cup, seemingly positioning the nation for its second-ever appearance in the World Cup finals.

But by September, Honduras’ World Cup campaign had taken a turn for the worse. In the penultimate qualifying match, Honduras lost to the United States 3-2.

With political chaos at home serving as a backdrop for Honduras’ final qualifying match, it seemed that the nation’s history of soccer misfortune would repeat itself yet again.

In the final day of qualifiers, Honduras played against El Salvador and needed the United States to tie or defeat Costa Rica in order to advance to the World Cup. Honduras won its match 1-0, with 36-year-old Carlos Pavón providing the lone goal, but the United States quickly fell behind in its game.

Yet down one goal in stoppage time, the United States struck a last second header into the back of the net to tie Costa Rica, sending Honduras to its second World Cup finals appearance—and relieving the team of 27 years of burdensome expectations.

‘NEW HEROES’