Hector Osvaldo Jiménez (born November 3, 1988) is an American professional

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 ...

player who plays as a defender for

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 ...

club

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 ...

College and amateur career

Hector played two years at

Bell Gardens High School Bell Gardens High School is a public high school in Bell Gardens, California, part of the Montebello Unified School District. History The campus was built in the 1930s and 1940s. After years of development and construction, BGHS's new three story ...

from 2004 to 2006 where he established himself as one of the team's leaders and caught the eye of various soccer programs across the country. Jiménez is a product of the

University of California Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

where he played between 2006-2010. He was three-time First Team All-Pac-10 (2008–2010), NSCAA Second Team Far West Region, no. 2 on Cal’s all-time assist list, ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 8 team, NSCAA First Team Far West All-Region and was three-time Second Team Pac-10 All-Academic. During his college years, Jiménez also played with the

Bay Area Ambassadors Bay Area Ambassadors was an American soccer team based in Hayward, California, United States. Active from 2009 to 2012, the team played in National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer ...

of the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

Professional career

LA Galaxy

On January 14, 2011, Jiménez was drafted in the second round (34th overall) in the

2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consiste ...

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 ...

. He played three seasons with the Galaxy, recording four goals and six assists in 43 appearances while helping the Galaxy win titles in

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 ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Columbus Crew SC

On January 14, 2014, Jiménez was traded to the Columbus Crew for a Second Round

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center ...

selection (42nd overall) and allocation money. He made his club debut on March 8, 2014 in a 3–0 victory over

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. His first goal for the Crew came on April 19, 2014, also against D.C. United. Jiménez's 90th-minute goal earned the Crew a 1–1 draw and would be nominated for MLS AT&T Goal of the Week honors. He went on to appear in both legs of the Crew's playoff series against the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

. Jiménez made 23 appearances in 2015, including his 75th professional appearance on May 16 against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. He notched four assists on the season while playing at four different positions. However, he did not appear in the playoffs as Crew SC made a run to

MLS Cup 2015 MLS Cup 2015 was the 20th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS). The soccer match was to determine the champion of MLS' 2015 season. The championship was contested on December 6, 2015 between the Columbus C ...

, where they would fall 2–1 to the

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 ...

. Jiménez racked up 25 appearances in 2016, playing five different positions. He made his 100th career appearance on July 3, in a 3–2 defeat to

Sporting KC Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

. During the 2017 season, Jiménez made 23 appearances for Columbus. However, in 2018, the signing of Milton Valenzuela, a young

Designated Player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

, saw Jiménez's time on the field significantly decrease, with him only making 12 total appearances. However, during the 2019 season Valenzuela suffered a long-term injury which again saw Jiménez seize the starting left back position and he made a total of 23 appearances. In his last season with Columbus, Jiménez made a total of 10 appearances. One of these appearances was during the 2020 MLS Cup where Columbus beat the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...

3–0. On December 14, 2020, Columbus declined their contract option on Jiménez following their 2020 season ending his time with the club.

Austin FC

On December 21, 2020, Jiménez joined

as a free agent ahead of their inaugural season in 2021. He made his first start for Austin on May 15 against former club

LA 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 pl ...

, but was removed on a stretcher in the first half. His next appearance came on June 24, replacing injured right-back

Nick Lima Nicholas Lima (born November 17, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. Career College and amateur Lima played four years of college soccer at the Universit ...

. Jiménez scored the final goal of Austin's 4–1 win over

on July 1, the club's first win at

Q2 Stadium The Q2 Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located in the North Burnet section of North Austin, Texas, United States. It is the home of Austin FC, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team that began play in 2021. The stadium hosted its first event on J ...

Career statistics

Club

Personal life

Both of Jiménez's parents are

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

immigrants, who met in the United States.

Honors

LA Galaxy *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

Supporters' Shield:

Western Conference Championship:

Columbus Crew SC *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Hector 1988 births Association football utility players Living people American soccer players American people of Mexican descent California Golden Bears men's soccer players LA Galaxy players Columbus Crew players Soccer players from California LA Galaxy draft picks Major League Soccer players People from Bell Gardens, California Association football defenders Association football midfielders People from Huntington Park, California Austin FC players