Arturo Alvarez

Arturo Alvarez

Personal information
Full name	José Arturo Alvarez Hernandez
Date of birth	(1985-06-28) 28 June 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth	Houston, Texas, United States
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Midfielder / Winger / Forward
Club information
Current club	Paços de Ferreira
Number	21
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2004	San Jose Earthquakes	26	(2)
2005–2008	FC Dallas	86	(11)
2008–2010	San Jose Earthquakes	54	(11)
2011	Real Salt Lake	16	(0)
2012–	Paços de Ferreira	9	(2)
National team‡
	United States U17
	United States U18
	United States U20
	United States U23
2009–	El Salvador	20	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 28, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of June 19, 2011

José Arturo Alvarez Hernandez (born June 28, 1985 in Houston, Texas) is a left-footed, American-born Salvadoran footballer who currently plays for F.C. Paços de Ferreira.

Career

Professional

Alvarez did not play college soccer; instead, he joined the MLS in 2003, signing a Project-40 contract, and was selected thirteenth overall in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by the San Jose Earthquakes. In his first year, Alvarez scored his first MLS goal on June 14, 2003, against FC Dallas but would go on to get limited playing time. However, the 'Quakes traded him to Dallas before the 2005 season in a deal that included Richard Mulrooney and Brad Davis.

During the 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, in the second leg of FC Dallas' Conference semifinal match with the Houston Dynamo, Alvarez was sent off for "violent conduct" after he kneed Brad Davis in the groin while out of bounds in the forty-seventh minute. Dallas went on to lose the tie 4–1, and the match 4–2 on aggregate.

In November 2007 Alvarez had a one week trial with French club Bordeaux, but did not sign with them.

Alvarez was traded to the San Jose Earthquakes in July 2008 for allocation money and their first round draft pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. In his debut, he scored the first goal of the match against the Los Angeles Galaxy in a match that ended 3–2. On November 24, 2010 Alvarez was selected in the tenth round of the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft by Portland Timbers, but was immediately traded to Real Salt Lake for a 2nd round 2011 MLS SuperDraft pick.

The Salvadoran American made his debut with Real Salt Lake on March 15, 2011; he entered in the 88th minute. It was the first leg of the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League semifinals against Saprissa. The game was won 2–0.

After the 2011 season, Real Salt Lake did not re-sign Alvarez. He opted to participate in the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft and he was selected by Chivas USA on December 5, 2011.^[1] This fell short as on January 30, 2012 he signed a two-year contract with first division Portuguese club Paços de Ferreira. On March 18, 2012 he scored his first goal with his new team against Académica^[2]

International

United States

Alvarez represented the United States in various youth levels – U-17, U-18, and U-20. He also participated in various matches and training camps with the U-23 team.

El Salvador

Though Alvarez played on various United States national squads at the youth level, he was never called up to the senior national team. Being of Salvadoran descent, Alvarez was invited to play for the El Salvador national team by coach Carlos de los Cobos.^[3] On August 12, 2009, Alvarez made his debut for El Salvador in a World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago. On September 5, 2009, Alvarez started in a World Cup qualifier against his home country at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. El Salvador fell, 2–1. On September 9, 2009, Alvarez played his first home game in Estadio Cuscatlán, in San Salvador, El Salvador against Costa Rica. El Salvador was victorious 1-0.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competitions
1	June 12, 2011	Soldier Field, Chicago, United States	Cuba	5 – 1	6 – 1	2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup

See also

• List of current MLS players

References

External links

• Arturo Alvarez – FIFA competition record
• MLS player profile
• Arturo Alvarez at National-Football-Teams.com

v t e El Salvador squad – 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 Montes 2 García 3 González 4 Purdy 5 Turcios 6 Martin 7 R. Sánchez 8 Osael 9 Corrales 10 Quintanilla 11 Zelaya 12 Alvarez 13 Umanzor 14 D. Alas 15 E. Sánchez 16 J. Alas 17 Blanco 18 Portillo 19 Hernández 20 Flores 21 Baires 22 Gómez 23 Anaya Coach: Israel