Hola, amigos. Buenos dias! We’re throwing a little Latin flavor at ya.

Panama _ already through to this summer’s Gold Cup _ went to penalties before winning last night’s UNCAF Nations Cup final over Costa Rica and Red Bull target Carlos Johnson. The 12-team field consists of the U.S., Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and Nicaragua.

Costa Rica had won the last three Central American titles, and fell in penalties after a 0-0 draw. They’d made the finals with a 1-0 win over El Salvador in one of the weirdest semis you’ll ever see, called in the 60th after the Salvadorans walked off the field in forfeit. Thet went down to six men after getting two reds, and then suffering three injuries after having already used all three of their subs.

(For those of you who didn’t see it, it looked more like they just quit after the second quick red. If you want a video to show your kids of how NOT to deal with adversity, this might be a good pick.)

Also of note was Johnson, Costa Rica’s starting right back. Red Bull coach Juan Carlos Osorio had scouted the 24-year-old defender when Costa Rica played in Florida recently, and the club had somebody scouting that wacky semifinal. Both Johnson’s agent and a second source close to the Red Bulls confirmed to me that they’re interested in the player.

Some of you may remember I said last week the Red Bulls were interested in Johnson OR Argentine striker Luis Miguel Escalada, an either-or proposition but not both. Now that the tournament is over I’ll be interested to see if Johnson meets the Red Bulls in Bradenton. Costa Rica (ranked 47th by FIFA) does face Honduras (No. 40) in a World Cup qualifier Feb. 11.

In other news, Boca Juniors beat River Plate 2-0 in their derby, which got a little feisty at times. Here’s a clip…