ORLANDO, Florida. - Costa Rican team captain Bryan Ruiz is an emblematic symbol of Los Ticos, both on and off the field.
Ruiz made his Gold Cup debut in 2005 against Canada in a 1-0 victory and in that same tournament he celebrated his first Gold Cup goal when he scored in the 81st minute of the quarterfinal match against Honduras.
Since then, Ruiz has become the go-to person on the Costa Rican team, the one the younger players go to for help and guidance.
Ruiz himself has said on several occasions that he tried to make it clear that he is there to help the rest of the players. Hinting that the 2021 Gold Cup might be his last, Ruiz has prepared the team to be ready to pass the torch to future the Ticos.
“I believe that it is always a great responsibility to be able to wear the captain's armband with my teammates, who are a group of united leaders. But in the end, someone has to wear the band and both the players and the coach have already given me that confidence. It’s been that way for quite some time, and what now remains is that I give my best effort and somehow repay that trust that they have given me”, explained Ruiz via the Fedefutbol website.
In the opening game against Guadeloupe, Ruiz tied teammate Celso Borges for most Gold Cup assists by a Costa Rica player. The 35-yeard-old forward was part of the 2005, 2011, 2015, 2017, and 2019 Ticos squad and has tallied three goals and three assists in 21 games in the Gold Cup.
“My first Gold Cup was in 2005. I was 20 years old and now I am almost 36 years old. It has been a long time. They were very positive experiences in the five that I played previously,” said Ruiz.
After going a year-and-a-half without a win, Ruiz is happy to see Costa Rica start the Gold Cup with two victories, but he remains focused on the main mission and accomplishing something Costa Rica have never done: Win the Gold Cup.
“This tournament is very well organized and very nice to play, but Costa Rica has always been denied and we always have the illusion of trying to win it for the first time. For us, that is always our goal,” concluded Ruiz.
