He Peruvian soccer receives a large number of foreign players every year. Of all of them, there’s a select group about whom very little is said: those who quietly “broke it” in a single season, to the point that they left for a better goal, never to make the league again 1 return. For this reason we remember in connection with Panama’s historic qualification for the 2023 Gold Cup Finals Harold Cummingsone of the strongholds of Juan Aurich, runner-up in 2014, who was still a young hopeful of Panamanian football at the time.
Harold Oshkaly Cummings Segura was just 21 when it was announced he would join Juan Aurich for the 2014 season. Nevertheless, the Panamanian defender had already made his debut in the first division with Árabe Unido in 2009 at the age of 17. Cummings was one of the young talents of “Los Canaleros”: He came to Peruvian football after participating in the 2011 U-20 World Cup and making his senior debut in 2010 at the age of 18.
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Harold Cummings and his time in Peruvian football
Harold Cummings came to Peruvian football with the approval of Roberto Mosquera, who was Juan Aurich’s coach from mid-2013 to 2015. He stood out at the press conference presenting the “Ciclón” reinforcements that saw him play a couple of times with the Panamanian team and that made him very happy. Cummings had only played for Árabe Unido as he never made his River Plate de Montevideo debut in 2011.
The competition for the young Panamanian defender was not easy: he had the experienced and undeniable captain Édgar Balbuena and Christian Ramos, a defender for the Peru national team. Because of this, Harold Cummings was the third option for a central duo. However, Mosquera used an offensive 3-4-3 several times, and there he was able to find a place as a starter in the row of three, especially on the left flank.
Harold Cummings with Germán Pacheco, the goalscorer of the Juan Aurich runner-up in 2014. Photo: GLR archives
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Cummings’ presence in the eleven depended on whether Jair Céspedes and “Gato” Cuba played as wingers or as wingers in a row of four behind the wheel. In doing so, the Panamanian played 1,768 minutes in 27 games, including two playoff games as a starter and the Apertura title. In general, he completed a very correct year, proving that he was not a strong defender and possessed the ability to play close to his rivals.
Harold Cummings, the Copa Sudamericana title and the Panamanian national team
Little was said about it at the time, but Harold Cummings made the leap from Peruvian football to one of Colombia’s all-time greats, Independiente Santa Fe, who had just won the national championship in 2014. And that’s despite not enjoying the same continuity as he had played in Juan Aurich the Panamanian for the first time in the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana in 2015 and became their champions after beating Huracán in the final.
Harold Cummings played every 120 minutes against USA in the 2023 Gold Cup semifinals. Photo: EFE
Cummings won the first and only international title of his career with Santa Fe and also became champion of the Colombian Super League (Super Cup) earlier in the year. Aside from the 2014 Apertura with “Ciclón,” he later became a national champion with Bolivia’s Always Ready in 2021. The Panamanian defender adapted to playing South American football and also spent a few seasons with MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes.
At national team level, Harold Cummings has won 88 caps to date. He knew how to wear the captain’s ribbon on a few occasions and played with Panama in all sorts of tournaments. Though not yet a starter at the time, he was part of Panama’s historic squad, which took part in a World Cup for the first time in history in 2018. Cummings was undisputed at the 2023 Gold Cup and is now gearing up for the grand final against Mexico.