Guillermo Jara (born October 20, 1973, in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

) is an American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played four seasons in

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 ...

Youth

Jara grew up in

, attending Christian Brothers High School where he was a 1991 ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' magazine high school all-American. Jara also played club soccer with the Tri-Valley Soccer Club. He then played four years of college soccer at

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

, from 1992 to 1995. He was the ''

Soccer America ''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the US, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California. History and profile The magazine was founded by Clay Ber ...

'' magazine Freshman of the Year when he finished second in the US in assists and tied for third in the points list. He holds the university records for both goals and assists with 51 and 48 respectively. In his senior year, he was the 1995 West Coast Conference Player of the Year and a third team

all-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. Jara is one of 22 college players to be part of the

40-40 club 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, having both 40 goals and 40 assists in their college career.

U-23 national team

Jara earned five

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the

United States U-23 men's national soccer team The United States U-23 men's national soccer team, also known as the United States men's Olympic soccer team, is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is qualification into and competition at the quadr ...

in 1994 and 1995. However, he never played for the senior national team.

Professional

In February 1996, the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

selected Jara in the first round (7th overall) of the

1996 MLS College Draft The 1996 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on March 4, 1996, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. History As Major League Soccer prepared for its first season, the league began stocking teams with players. As the teams were being created at the s ...

. While he played in twenty-one games for the Galaxy in 1996, it was mostly as a late game substitute, amassing only 811 minutes. Consequently, the Galaxy loaned him to the Sacramento Scorpions of the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

for several games. Jara plated even less in 1997, a total of only 353 minutes. In 1998, he played one game with the Galaxy before being traded to the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

. The Mutiny also used him sparingly, and in July sent him to the MLS Pro-40 team for four games.Pro-40 stats
/ref> Jara began the 1999 season in Tampa Bay, but was traded to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

on June 14, 1999, in exchange for Steve Trittschuh. Jara played only six minutes with the Rapids before the team released him on November 24, 1999. In 2000, Jara spent the season with the

San Diego Flash San Diego Flash was an American soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1998, the team returned to competitive play in 2011 and most recently played in the Southern Conference of the West Division of the National P ...

of the

USL A-League 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jara, Guillermo 1973 births Living people American men's soccer players LA Galaxy players Tampa Bay Mutiny players Colorado Rapids players USISL Select League players Sacramento Scorpions players San Diego Flash players San Diego Toreros men's soccer players Major League Soccer players MLS Pro-40 players A-League (1995–2004) players Soccer players from Sacramento, California United States men's under-23 international soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks San Jose Earthquakes non-playing staff Men's association football forwards