Héctor Alfredo Moreno Herrera (born 17 January 1988) is a Mexican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

club

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

. Moreno ascended the youth ranks of

Club Universidad Nacional Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., simply known as Pumas UNAM, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. Founded ...

, making his senior debut in 2006 at the age of 18. He moved abroad a year later, joining Dutch side

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...

, with whom he won his first league title. He joined Spanish side

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

in 2011, playing with the side for four years before returning to the Netherlands with

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

. In 2017, Moreno had a short spell with

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

before moving back to Spain with Real Sociedad. In 2019, he joined Qatari side

Al-Gharafa Al-Gharafa Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Ar Rayyan, Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its association football, football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The ...

. In 2021, he returned to Mexico to join

. Moreno was a member of the Mexico national under-17 team that won the 2005 World Championship held in Peru. He has also represented Mexico at the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, and

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, as well as the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was p ...

, the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario (, , ; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's soccer tournament that was hosted by the United States in 2016. The competition was a celebration of the centennial of CONMEBOL and the Copa Am� ...

, and the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the tenth and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's Association football, football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, ...

Club career

Club Universidad Nacional

Héctor Moreno joined

's youth system in 2003 at age 15, and made his way into the first team after winning the

FIFA U-17 World Championship The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...

with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 2005. Moreno made his professional debut during the Clausura 2006 tournament, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for

Gerardo Galindo Gerardo Gabriel Galindo Martínez (born 23 May 1978) is a Mexican former professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. Playing career Club Gerardo debuted in a victory 1–0 over Atlante. ''El Jerry'' was a vital part in UNAM Pum ...

in the 1–0 victory over

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

on 22 January. He played his first full 90 minutes on 12 February in a 2–0 win over

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, and scored his first goal the following week in a 1–3 defeat to

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

. Moreno would end the Clausura making six appearances in total. He would eventually secure his position as a regular starter. For the Apertura 2007, Moreno would play in his first, and only, league final with UNAM, losing to Atlante 2–1 on aggregate.

AZ

On 13 December 2007, it was announced Moreno was transferred to Dutch club AZ in a

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

4.5 million deal. He made his

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

debut on 1 March 2008 in a 1–1 draw against

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; ), shortly as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or simply Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. The c ...

, playing the full 90 minutes. In April 2009, Moreno won his first

title with AZ. On 22 April, it was reported Moreno had signed a contract extension with AZ which would tie him to the club until 2014. On 25 July, AZ won the

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

after defeating

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

5–1 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Moreno made his debut in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

on 16 September in a 0–1 defeat to

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

. On 7 February 2010, Moreno gave Alkmaar a 2–1 victory over

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

by scoring a header from a corner-kick in the 87th minute. He scored his third goal of the season in a 6–2 victory over

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Waalwijk. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie i ...

on 13 March 2010. He would score his fourth goal in a 3–0 victory over Willem II on 18 April.

Espanyol

On 22 June 2011, it was announced Moreno would transfer to Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee. On 28 August, he made his debut in La Liga against

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. On 26 September, he scored his first goal in a 1–3 loss to Levante. On 3 December, he would score his second league goal in a 1–2 loss to

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. Moreno scored his third goal of the season in a 3–1 home win against

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

. On 4 October 2012, Moreno was named Espanyol's Player of the Year for the 2011–12 season, his debut season, playing 35 league matches (for a total of 3,295 minutes played) and scoring three goals with one assist. Prior to the start of the 2014–15 season, it was announced Moreno would be out of action for up to six months due to a broken left tibia he suffered while playing for Mexico at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, which would require surgery and rehabilitation. It was rumoured the injury prevented him from signing for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

during the summer transfer window. Moreno made his return after four months on 14 November in a friendly against

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, replacing

Felipe Caicedo Felipe Salvador Caicedo Corozo (born 5 September 1988) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Barcelona S.C. A full international from 2005 to 2017, Caicedo represented Ecuador at the Copa América in 2007 and 20 ...

in the 68th minute in an eventual 2–1 win. Moreno made his official return with Espanyol on 2 December, coming off the bench to replace

Álvaro Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists * Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwrit ...

in the 73rd minute in the 2–0 victory over Alavés in the first leg of the round of 32 of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

PSV

On 15 August 2015,

announced the signing of Moreno. Upon his return to the Eredivisie, Moreno signed a four-year contract for €5 million with the club. Moreno was handed a starting berth on his debut and played all 90 minutes in the 6–0 win over Cambuur on 12 September. Three days later, during PSV's opening

2015–16 UEFA Champions League The 2015–16 UEFA Champions League was the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona were th ...

match against Manchester United, Moreno broke the leg of

Luke Shaw Luke Paul Hoare Shaw (born 12 July 1995) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left-back for club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the England national football team, England national team. Ori ...

as the result of a two-footed challenge. He was not sanctioned for the tackle on Shaw, and Moreno went on to score the 47th-minute equaliser for PSV as they defeated Manchester United 2–1 in the match. He was later named

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. On 17 January 2016, Moreno scored in PSV's 2–0 win over

. A week later, he scored his first double as PSV defeated

Twente Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...

4–2 with assists provided by fellow Mexico national teammate,

Andrés Guardado José Andrés Guardado Hernández (; born 28 September 1986) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Popularly known as ''Principito'' (Spanish for '' Little Prince''), Guardado came through the youth ranks at ...

. On 8 May, Moreno played all 90 minutes in PSV's defeat of

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

3–1 on the final matchday to be crowned

2015–16 Eredivisie The 2015–16 Eredivisie season was the 60th season of the Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. Defending champions PSV retained their title. Teams A total of 18 teams took part in the league: the top 15 teams from the 2014–15 seaso ...

champions. On 31 July, PSV won the 2016 Johan Cruyff Shield but Moreno was not present on the field or bench. The following season, Moreno played in 39 matches across all competitions, and scored seven goals, a career-high tally, though PSV failed to defend the league as they finished in third place.

Roma

On 13 June 2017, Moreno joined Italian side

on a four-year contract. He made his

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

debut on 16 September in Roma's 3–0 win over

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

, replacing

Kostas Manolas Konstantinos "Kostas" Manolas (; ; born 14 June 1991) is a Greek footballer who plays for Kyklades FCA First Division club Pannaxiakos. A defender throughout his career, Manolas has been playing as a striker for Pannaxiakos since 2024. Clu ...

in the 73rd minute.

Real Sociedad

On 31 January 2018, Spanish club

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

announced the transfer of Moreno from Roma for €6 million, signing with the club until 2021. On 15 February, he made his competitive debut for ''La Real'' against Red Bull Salzburg in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, playing 76 minutes in the team's 2–2 draw. During midweek training, however, Moreno suffered a grade 1 injury to his internal obturator, meaning he would be ruled out for an undisclosed period of time. He returned and made his debut in La Liga with Real Sociedad on 1 March in a scoreless draw against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

. Three days later, he scored his first goal against

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

, giving his team the lead at the 6th minute, in an eventual 2–1 victory.

Al-Gharafa

He transferred to

in July 2019, making him the first Mexican international player to play in

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

. He made his debut the following month on 22 August in a 3–0 victory over Al-Shahania. On 9 November, he would score his first goal for the team in a 2–0 victory over

Umm Salal SC Umm Salal Sport Club () is a Qatari professional association football, football club based in Umm Salal, that competes in the Qatar Stars League, the highest tier of Football in Qatar, Qatari football. Previously called Al-Tadamun Sport Club, Umm ...

Monterrey

On 7 June 2021, Moreno joined

as free agent. In October 2021, Monterrey won the

2021 CONCACAF Champions League The 2021 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2021 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 56th edition of the premier footbal ...

, defeating América in the

. In December 2022, following the departure of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

César Montes, Moreno was named captain for the 2023 Clausura.

International career

Youth

Moreno was called up to participate at the

2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the eleventh edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura and Iquitos in Peru from 16 September to 2 October 2005. Players born after 1 January 1988 could participate i ...

in Peru. Mexico would go on to win the tournament, beating

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the final 3–0. Moreno participated at the

2006 Toulon Tournament The 2006 Toulon Tournament was the 34th edition of the Toulon Tournament, and was held from 15 May to 24 May. It was won by France, after they beat Netherlands in the final. Results Group A ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- Semi-finals ...

, where Mexico finished third in the group stage. During Mexico's first match at the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...

against Gambia, Moreno played as a defensive midfielder and scored Mexico's third goal in a 3–0 victory. Mexico would win their group but would be eliminated in the quarter-finals by

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Senior

Moreno made his senior national team debut on 17 October 2007 under

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who played as a Forward (association football), forward. A prolific goalscorer known for ...

in a friendly against

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. Moreno was included by

Javier Aguirre Javier Aguirre Onaindía (; born 1 December 1958), nicknamed ''El Vasco'' (The Basque), is a Mexican football Manager (association football), manager and former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently manag ...

to be a part of the 23-man squad that would participate in the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. He made his debut in the Group A match against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 17 June, which Mexico won 2–0. Moreno would also start against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Moreno was called up by

José Manuel de la Torre José Manuel de la Torre Menchaca (born 13 November 1965), popularly nicknamed ''Chepo'', is a Mexican former professional footballer and a manager. As a player, de la Torre played as an attacking midfielder. Playing career "Chepo" came up t ...

to be part of the national team that won 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 Jun ...

. He played in all of Mexico's matches, as well as the

against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, which Mexico won 4–2. On 12 June 2012, Moreno scored the winning goal for Mexico in a 2–1 game over

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match, the first of his career. He was called up for the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourn ...

. He appeared in every match as Mexico finished 3rd in the group stage. On 5 June 2014, national team coach

Miguel Herrera Miguel Ernesto Herrera Aguirre (born 18 March 1968), popularly referred to by his nickname "Piojo" (Spanish for "louse"), is a Mexican professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of the Costa Rica national te ...

named Moreno in the final 23-man squad for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. On 29 June, in the

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

match against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Moreno suffered a fractured tibia after a collision with Dutch striker

Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger. Known for his Dribbling#Association football, dribbling skills, speed, and long-range s ...

inside his own penalty area. Moreno was stretchered off the field a few minutes before half-time and was substituted by Diego Reyes. It was later reported Moreno was expected to be ruled out of action for up to six months. On 27 June 2015, during Mexico's friendly match against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, Moreno was substituted off at half-time after complaining of pain. On 1 July, the

Mexican Football Federation The Mexican Football Federation (), abbreviated as FMF is the official governing body of football in Mexico. It administers the men's and women's national teams with all its youth teams, the national teams of futsal and beach soccer, Liga MX wit ...

announced Moreno would be ruled out of the upcoming

2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 13th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 23rd CONCACAF regional championship overall in the organization's fifty-four years of existence. It was held in the United States, with two matches bei ...

tournament after a successful surgery on his right foot, which stemmed from complications related to a procedure he underwent six years prior following an injury to his fifth metatarsal. He was replaced in the squad by

Oswaldo Alanís Oswaldo Alanís Pantoja (born 18 March 1989) is a Mexican professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), centre-back. Club career Estudiantes Tecos Since 2007, Alanís had been playing with Estudi ...

. As Mexico won the tournament, he was called up by interim manager

Ricardo Ferretti Ricardo Ferretti de Oliveira (born 22 February 1954), also known as Tuca, is a Brazilian-Mexican professional football manager and former player who currently works for ESPN Deportes and ESPN Mexico as an analyst. As a player, Ferretti was ...

to participate in the subsequent

CONCACAF Cup The CONCACAF Cup (officially the CONCACAF Cup presented by Scotiabank for sponsorship reasons) was an international soccer play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner Unit ...

– a play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the

– against the United States. Mexico won the match 3–2 during overtime. In May 2016, he was called up for the

Juan Carlos Osorio Juan Carlos Osorio Arbeláez (; born 8 June 1961) is a Colombian football manager and former footballer. Osorio began his playing career with Deportivo Pereira in 1982, and went on to play for Brazilian club Internacional in 1984 before re ...

. He was called up for the

. He would score the late equalizer in the 2–2 group-stage draw against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. He would go on to appear all five matches of the tournament. In May 2018, Moreno was named in Mexico's preliminary 28-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

World Cup 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 name is ...

, and in June, was ultimately included in the final 23-man roster. He would appear in all group stage matches but accumulated two yellow cards during the group stage, making him miss out on the round-of-16 0–2 loss against

. On 6 June 2019, Moreno was called up by coach

Gerardo Martino Gerardo Daniel "Tata" Martino (born 20 November 1962) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player who last coached Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. Martino played mostly for Newell's Old Boys in his native Rosario. He ...

to participate in the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

. Three days later, in a warm-up match against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, he would pick up an injury following a clearance. He would return to the field on 29 June in the quarter-final match against

, coming in as an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

substitute at the 106th minute and managing to score in the

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. On 2 July, Moreno played his 100th match with Mexico against

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, in a 1–0 win in the

semi-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

of the Gold Cup. The team would go on to win the tournament, defeating the United States 1–0 in the

. As ''Tri''

withdrew from the 2021 Gold Cup roster due to injury, Moreno was expected to wear the captain armband, but did not appear until the final group stage match due to being unfit. In the

against the United States, Moreno withdrew during the first half of the match due to injury, being replaced by

Carlos Salcedo Carlos Joel Salcedo Hernández (born 29 September 1993), also known as El Titán, is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga MX club Monterrey. Salcedo played for the youth academies of Guadalajara and Tigres UAN ...

. Mexico lost the match 1–0. In October 2022, Moreno was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man

for the

, and in November, was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.

Style of play

Moreno is a left-footed defender who is capable of starting attacks from the back and "with excellent passing that characterizes the modern center back". Writing for

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

, Allan Jiang described him as being able to "read and quickly react in adverse situations", as well as having positional awareness. He described Moreno's playing style as retaining the dominant defensive position, jockeying and forcing the opposing player into a mistake.

Personal life

In January 2021, Moreno signed a sponsorship deal with Mexican sports brand,

Charly Charly may refer to: People * Charly (name) Places * Charly-sur-Marne, in the Aisne department * Charly, Cher, in the Cher department * Charly, Rhône, in the Rhône department * Charly-Oradour, in the Moselle department Other * Operation ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Moreno goal.''

Honours

AZ *

: 2008–09 *

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

PSV *

: 2015–16 *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Monterrey *

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Mexico U17 *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Mexico *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

runner-up: 2019–20; third place:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual * CONCACAF Best XI:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

* AD

Best XI: 2015–16 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

CONCACAF Men's Team of the Decade: 2011–2020 *

Mexican Players All-Time XI

References

External links

Espanyol official profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno, Hector 1988 births Living people Mexican men's footballers Footballers from Culiacán Footballers from Sinaloa Men's association football defenders Liga MX players Club Universidad Nacional footballers Eredivisie players AZ Alkmaar players PSV Eindhoven players La Liga players RCD Espanyol footballers Serie A players AS Roma players Real Sociedad footballers Qatar Stars League players Al-Gharafa SC players Mexico men's international footballers Mexican expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Mexico men's under-20 international footballers Mexico men's youth international footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Italy Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Qatar 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players FIFA Men's Century Club CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players 21st-century Mexican sportsmen C.F. Monterrey players