Last week’s MLS encounter between LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire, which ended in a comfortable 2-0 victory for ex-US international Alexei Lalas’ Californian outfit, may seem to have had little significance for Honduran soccer. Indeed, the fixture will doubtless have been seen by most as a muted precursor to the unveiling of former English captain David Beckham when Galaxy host Premiership giants Chelsea in an exhibition match on Saturday July 21st.

Nevertheless, the introduction of one player in particular, 11 minutes into the second half, was greeted with rapturous applause and wild celebration from the small Honduran contingent of the Home Depot Center crowd as legendary US midfielder Cobi Jones jogged to the touchline to make way for Galaxy’s most recent Central American acquisition.

Carlos Pavón’s impact on the game was slight, the 33 year-old Honduran captain’s debut performance eclipsed by the return of Landon Donovan from a poor U.S. showing at the Copa America in Venezuela – particularly since it was the American captain’s two spot-kicks that decided the match. But Hondurans and Angelenos alike will take encouragement from Pavón’s incisive attacking movement, which would undoubtedly have borne fruit had Fire’s beleaguered keeper Jon Busch not prevented the scoreline from becoming a rout with some sharp saves from the ex-Napoli and Udinese striker’s boot.

Honduran football has not enjoyed widespread visibility outside of the Liga Nacional. Only nine Hondureños have ever graced the MLS, still fewer in the English Premiership. Iván Guerrero of the Fire – who also featured in Wednesday’s defeat – is the sole Honduran player ever to have experienced a full season in the English top-flight, with the now long-relegated Coventry City.

But this summer’s high-profile transfers of Honduras’ two main strikers, Pavón himself and the influential David Suazo to Inter Milan from Cagliari of Italy, may change that. Honduran eyes will also be trained on the progress of 21 year-old Ramón Núñez of FC Dallas, the only other Honduran currently plying his trade in the MLS since Amado Guevara’s release from the service of FC Chivas. Should his promise continue to develop, despite Dallas coach Steve Morrow’s reluctance to use the youngster in recent weeks, Honduran football may soon be able to able to justify aspirations of reaching the heady heights of their shocking third place finish in the Copa America of 2001.

With Suazo’s move to Internazionale comes the hope that a Honduran may at last creep onto the list of Europe’s most valuable players. His prolific record in front of goal over the last couple of seasons saw Suazo receive the award for Serie A’s “Foreign Footballer of the Year” in 2006, a factor which contributed to June’s tug-of-war between Italy’s two Milanese giants, Inter and AC Milan, in a bitter competition for the 27 year-old’s signature.

Suazo’s record-breaking 22 goals in 37 matches for Cagliari in 2005-6 is a tally Pavón will be hoping to replicate as Galaxy seeks to end their recent poor run of form, which has seen them plummet to second-bottom of the Western Conference of the MLS. With only one win since the beginning of May prior to the victory on July 4th, Galaxy coach Frank Yallop will be expecting to see some more concrete evidence of Pavón’s prowess in the final third. If Honduras’ all-time leading scorer can reproduce the form he showed in his side’s 5-0 2007 Gold Cup thumping of Cuba, in which he netted four, Pavón will certainly be a hit. And for the sake of Honduran football, not to mention those of their own careers, Honduras’ foreign-based strikers will all be hoping that their stays abroad will be happy ones.