Jorge Ivan Becerra (born May 22, 1984) is a Mexican former 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.

Early life and education

Becerra was born May 22, 1984, in

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

, Mexico. He and his family would move to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

before Becerra's 6th birthday. He attended

San Fernando High School San Fernando High School (SFHS) is a high school of the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is located in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles, in the northeastern San Fernando Valley, California. It is near and also serves the City of Sa ...

, where he played soccer and football. Becerra played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

Los Angeles Mission College Los Angeles Mission College is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District and it is accredited by the WASC Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. Histor ...

from 2002 to 2003, scoring 34 goals and 19 assists during his two seasons there. He then transferred to the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

, where he played two seasons for the

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of the ...

team. As a forward in his first year playing behind Drew McAthy, Becerra appeared in 14 games and tallied 2 assists, but failed to score. In his final year in Santa Barbara, Becerra played in 20 games, starting 18 of them, where scored 12 goals and 2 assists. He was named the 2005–06 Male Athlete of the Year by the ''

Daily Nexus The ''Daily Nexus'' is a campus newspaper at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). ''Daily Nexus'' lineage can be traced to the Santa Barbara State College student newspaper, ''The Eagle'', of the 1930s. After the college becam ...

''.

Playing career

Becerra was drafted in the third round (27th overall) of the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft by

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

. Crew head coach

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American soccer coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his fam ...

converted Becerra to a central defender once on the team due to Columbus already having 4 forwards ahead of Becerra on the depth chart. He did not appear in a first-team match with the Crew in league play (although he did make one appearance in the US Open Cup) and was subsequently sent on loan to then-

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer (t ...

side Cincinnati Kings. He made his professional debut on July 21, 2006. He featured as a starter for Cincinnati and appeared in four games with the Kings, the last being August 13, 2006, before returning to the Crew. Despite appearing in 6 MLS Reserve League matches for the Crew, he was waived in March 2007 as the team sought to become roster-compliant in preseason. Becerra signed for

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the ...

of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

for the 2009 season. He made his debut for the team on May 30, 2009, in a game against

Bakersfield Brigade Bakersfield Brigade was an American soccer team based in Bakersfield, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after whi ...

. Becerra would ultimately appear for the Fusion 4 times en route to winning the 2009 PDL Championship and scoring a goal in the championship game. At the end of the 2009 PDL season, Becerra signed for Portland Timbers. He played one regular season game before being released in December 2009. After returning to Ventura County Fusion in 2010 and appearing in 3 games with 1 goal scored, Becerra signed with

Wilmington Hammerheads FC Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. History ...

in March 2011 for the 2011 USL Pro season. He served as the team's co-captain and appeared in 23 games and scored 3 goals.

Managerial career

Becerra was named the head coach of

Bishop Garcia Diego High School A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in October 2011. He also coaches youth soccer with Santa Barbara SC.

Honors

Ventura County Fusion

Champions (1): 2009

References

External links

*
Kickers SC biography
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Becerra, Ivan 1984 births Living people San Fernando High School alumni Mexican expatriate footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football defenders UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer players Columbus Crew players Cincinnati Kings players Ventura County Fusion players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players USL First Division players USL League Two players USL Second Division players Expatriate soccer players in the United States USL Championship players Columbus Crew draft picks Footballers from San Luis Potosí Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the United States Mexican footballers