Andrés Alexander Flores Mejía (born 31 August 1990) is a Salvadoran professional football manager and former player. He is the current assistant coach of

Portland Timbers 2 Portland Timbers 2 is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. The team, often referred to as "T2", serves as the reserve squad for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team was a member of the USL Champio ...

in the

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS club ...

Club career

Nicknamed ''Ruso'', Flores was signed by top Argentine side River Plate and played for River Plate's Reserves team in 2006–2008. He impressed in Argentina, but was unable to stay due to his age. Upon returning to El Salvador he signed with

A.D. Isidro Metapán Asociación Deportiva Isidro Metapán, also known simply as Isidro Metapán, is a Salvadoran sports club based in Metapán, Santa Ana, El Salvador. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Primera División, the ...

in 2009. During his time with the club Metapán enjoyed the greatest period in its history capturing four domestic titles, the last one in December 2011. On 29 January 2012, Flores signed to first division Danish club

Viborg FF Viborg Fodsports Forening ("Viborg Footsport Association"), or Viborg F.F. and VFF for short, is a Danish professional football club based in Viborg. The club was founded in 1896 and waited more than a century before winning its only national ...

. Due to injury he only played one league game, but played several games in the

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will quali ...

, where he scored two goals. He did not renew his contract with Viborg and went back to El Salvador to play with

Metapán Metapán is a city and municipality in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. Metapán is situated in the northern part of the department, bordering Honduras and Guatemala. It is the second largest city in the department after Santa Ana and ...

New York Cosmos

On 18 July 2014, the New York Cosmos announced that Flores would be signed on loan from Turín FESA F.C. The 23-year-old made his first appearance for the New York Cosmos on 2 August 2014 in a 1–0 loss against the

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

. On 9 August 2014, Flores scored his first goal for the Cosmos in a 2–1 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks. Flores battled a hamstring injury towards the end of the season and finished the year with one goal and one assist in eight appearances (seven starts) for the Cosmos. Flores also earned NASL Fall Team of the Week honors twice (Week 5, Week 13). Flores earned multiple call-ups to the El Salvador national team while with the Cosmos including to Copa Centoramericana and multiple friendly matches. In the 2015 NASL season, Flores started 11 times in 20 appearances, logging 1,044 minutes, while picking up three goals and three assists.

Portland Timbers

In January 2018, Flores signed with

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. Portland declined their contract option on Flores following the 2020 season.

Rio Grande Valley FC

On 27 August 2021, Flores signed with

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

side

Rio Grande Valley FC Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, is an American semi-professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season. The team served as a ...

. He announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 31 on February 23, 2022.

Coaching career

On February 24 2022, a day after announcing his retirement, Flores was appointed as an assistant coach of

International career

Flores started playing for the U-15 national team, and has been an essential player in the youth national teams. In 2008, El Salvador's manager

Carlos de los Cobos Carlos de los Cobos Martínez (born 10 December 1958) is a Mexican former professional football player and manager who last managed El Salvador. Playing career As a player, de los Cobos spent the majority of his playing career in his native Me ...

called the young Flores to train with the senior team. He made his debut for

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

in a March 2008

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of Gr ...

but was overlooked from May 2008 on, only to be recalled for a September 2010 friendly against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. Flores took part at the

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on June ...

. He was subbed-on at the 78th minute in exchange for

Léster Blanco Mark Léster Blanco Pineda (born January 17, 1989 in Soyapango, El Salvador) is a Salvadoran professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Thai League 3 club North Bangkok University F.C. ...

in a friendly on 7 August 2011 against

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Flores was named as the captain of the El Salvador squad for

2014 Copa Centroamericana The 2014 Copa Centroamericana (also known as the Central American Cup Tigo 2014 USA for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th Copa Centroamericana, the regional championship for men's national association football teams in Central America. It was org ...

. Flores started four matches for El Salvador during the tournament and led the team to an overall record of 2–0–2 (W-D-L) and a fourth-place finish in the tournament. In August 2018, Flores became a United States citizen.

International caps and goals

El Salvador's goal tally first.

Honours

Club

Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador The ''Primera División'' of the (''Professional Football League''), more commonly known as ''La Liga Mayor'' or ''La Primera'', is the top professional association football, football league in El Salvador. It was established in 1969, and in 2 ...

(4): Clausura 2009, Clausura 2010, Apertura 2010, Apertura 2011 ** Copa Mesoamericana: Runner-up (1):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...

(2): 2015, 2016

References

External links

El Grafico Profile
*
New York Cosmos profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Andres 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from San Salvador Association football forwards Salvadoran footballers El Salvador international footballers Salvadoran expatriate footballers Club Atlético River Plate footballers A.D. Isidro Metapán footballers 2011 Copa Centroamericana players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 Copa Centroamericana players 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2014 Copa Centroamericana players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2017 Copa Centroamericana players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Viborg FF players Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark New York Cosmos (2010) players Expatriate soccer players in the United States North American Soccer League players 2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship players Portland Timbers players Major League Soccer players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Portland Timbers 2 players Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players USL Championship players Salvadoran emigrants to the United States