German Giovanni Ruano González (born 17 October 1971), popularly known as ''El Chino'', is a former Guatemalan football defender who played the majority of his career for

Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the Guatemalan top division, and was also a member of the Guatemala national team.

Club career

Born in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

, Ruano, a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

of outstanding defensive and attacking skills, began his career with local side Suchitepéquez. In 1993, he was brought by coach Horacio Cordero to

, where he would remain for the next 16 years, winning 12 league titles and five domestic cups, thus becoming one of the most honoured players in the history of the club. By 2008, he had become the second-longest serving active squad member after

Juan Carlos Plata Juan Carlos Plata (born 1 January 1971) is a Guatemalan soccer coach and retired football striker. He is the highest-scoring player in the history of Guatemala's top division. As of January 2010, Plata has, except for Marc Lloyd-Williams, bee ...

. After finishing second on the 2008–2009 clausura tournament, Municipal did not renew his contract, and afterwards Ruano, who wore the number 17 on his shirt throughout his career, announced his retirement.

International career

Ruano made his debut for Guatemala in a December 1995

UNCAF Nations Cup The Copa Centroamericana (, Spanish for "Central American Cup") was the main association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ''Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol'' (UNCAF), the sport's Central Am ...

match against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and went on to collect 57 caps in the next six years, appearing in a total 19 matches during the qualification processes to the

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and 2002. He also played four matches at the

1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the third edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). The tournament returned to the United States and California; the games were hosted by Los ...

and two matches at the

1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). The tournament was once again held in the United States, in Los Angeles, Miami, and Oakla ...

. His final international was a January 2001 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Costa Rica, a game which also marked the end of the international careers of national team stalwarts Jorge Rodas and Edgar Valencia.

Honours

;Club * Liga Mayor / Liga Nacional winner (12): 1993–94, 2000 Apertura, 2000 Clausura, 2001, 2002 Clausura, 2003 Apertura, 2004 Apertura, 2005 Clausura, 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura, 2006 Apertura, 2008 Clausura * Domestic Cup tournament winner (5): 1994, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2004 * Campeón de Campeones (Super Cup) winner (2): 1994, 1997

References

External links

*
FIFA.com - Individual record at FIFA tournaments
1971 births Living people Association football defenders Guatemalan footballers Guatemala international footballers C.S.D. Municipal players C.D. Suchitepéquez players 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Sportspeople from Guatemala City {{Guatemala-footy-bio-stub