Player to Watch: Tejada, Panama's silent marksman.
By: FIFAworldcup.com.For someone so talked about in his own country, Panama’s Luis Tejada is himself surprisingly quiet. Even when things go his way – as they did in his sparkling international debut against Mexico – the youngster could never be accused of exuberance. As he has said himself on numerous occasions, he prefers to let his boots do the talking.
Tejada could scarcely have imagined the impact he would make on his debut with the national side. With time running out and Panama trailing regional giants Mexico in a crunch FIFA World Cup qualifier last March, the 23-year-old came off the bench and scored a wonder-goal that earned his side a priceless point. Tejada received the ball at the edge of the area, taking two touches to bring it under the control. The striker then teed it up with his third touch before powering an exquisite overhead kick past the stunned Mexican keeper Oswaldo Sanchez. It was a moment of unbridled joy for the team and the country, yet the hero of the hour was not getting carried away. When asked about his feelings afterwards, the young Panamanian replied succinctly, “I’m quite happy” and left it at that.
Although this was the first glimpse of Tejada on full international duty, he had already made quite a reputation in his homeland after hitting five goals for the national U-23 team in their brave attempt to qualify for last year’s Athens Olympics. His U-23 coach Jose Hernandez, who is also coach of the senior team, was so impressed with the player’s performances that he called him into the senior squad. “I didn’t think I’d be called up,” says Tejada when asked about his reaction to the news. The player is equally taciturn when questioned on his relationship with Hernandez: “It’s normal. He’s the coach and I’m the player. It’s really nothing special”. Hernandez, for his part, was much more effusive when speaking about his prodigy in an interview with FIFAworldcup.com after the Mexico game. "Naturally, I congratulated him. It was his first game with the senior side. He has a different mentality than before and more presence about him. He’s also worked on certain aspects of his game that needed improving, and we saw the results here.”
Whatever their respective opinions, the coach and player share a burning desire to make it to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™. It is a prospect that excites even Tejada, who says it would mean “so much to Panama to qualify for their first World Cup”, and that “the players and public would be ecstatic”. When asked about the key to achieving what would indeed be a historic feat, the player answers simply, “hard work, lots of hard work”.
Though quietly hopeful that he may start his county’s next CONCACAF qualifiers, Tejada is unwilling to speculate on the matter. “That’s for the coach to decide,” he insists. However, there is no such doubt in the minds of Panamanian supporters, who believe the goal-scorer will be instrumental in the team’s future. In a recent survey published on the Panamanian Football Federation’s website, 75% of voters said they would like to see Tejada paired in attack with Jose Luis Garces, another promising young player. Up until now, the veteran Roberto Brown has been the country’s first-choice striker.
Luis Tejada started out as a professional with Panama’s FC Tauro before signing for the Colombian side Envigado. It is a country that Tejada was seemingly destined to play in, sharing as he does a surname with one of its finest poets. The Panama coach Hernandez, who has played such a pivotal role in the player’s development, is coincidentally also Colombian.
And so far, Cafetero football has been good to him. "Playing in a better league (than Panama’s) has helped me improve as a player. It’s more structured, more disciplined and has taught me how to move on the pitch,” the player says. Despite being young and a relative newcomer, Tejada has enjoyed a great deal of success in his first season in Colombia, where his haul of seven goals in twelve games points to an exciting future.
Tejada describes himself as a “real team player” and “ a centre-forward who’s good in the air with the profile of a classic No.9”. He says he badly needs to improve his shooting – a worrying thought for opposition defenders. Tejada grew up watching the likes of the Dely Valdes brothers and Rommel Fernandez on TV, but admits his hero nowadays is Ronaldo. The Brazilian himself would have been proud of the youngster’s goal against Mexico, and if he continues in that vein, who is to say the two will not cross paths at Germany 2006. Perhaps by then, Luis Tejada will have a little more to say when he is away from the pitch. For now though, he seems happy to do most of his talking on it.
A goal against Mexico in a 1-1 draw, not bad for Panamanian striker Luis Tejada's first full cap... Copyright: AFP.
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