Jorge Enrique Cruz-Cruz (born January 24, 1966) is a former Colombian footballer and current scout/coach who played professionally for clubs in Colombia and Argentina. He holds a United States

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

A Coaching License with a

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...

National Goalkeeper License, a Brazilian B License, and an Asian Football Confederation A License. Cruz currently coaches the

Central Texas Lobos FC Hill Country Lobos, formerly known as Central Texas Lobos is a central Texas team operating in the Gulf Coast Premier League, a USASA-affiliated league. The Lobos' regular kit colors are purple, gold, and black. The Lobos are based in Austin, Tex ...

of the Gulf Coast Premier League and has served the

on the Development Academy and Olympic Development sides.

College career

Professional career

Cruz began to develop at

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful footba ...

in his native

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

before moving to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas, USA to pursue an indoor soccer career. He was lured back to Colombia and featured for

Racing de Córdoba Club Atlético Racing (usually referred as Racing de Córdoba) is an Argentine football club from the city of Córdoba. The team currently plays in Federal A, the regionalised third division of the Argentine football league system. History ...

in 1989/90 amassing 6 goals in 24 games. Cruz went on short stints with both

Independiente Santa Fe Club Independiente Santa Fe, known simply as Santa Fe, is a Colombian professional football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Santa Fe is one of the th ...

and

Chaco For Ever Club Atlético Chaco For Ever, usually just Chaco For Ever, is an Argentine Football club, their home town is Resistencia, in the Province of Chaco in Northern Argentina. They currently play in the Primera Nacional, the second tier of Argentine ...

impressing in the National B which led to a transfer to

Huracán Huracan (; es, Huracán; myn, Hunraqan, "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ people, Kʼicheʼ Maya mythology, Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in ...

in 1992 where Cruz went on to score 25 goals in 65 matches. This fine form caught the attention of the managers of Colombia (Francisco Maturana) as well as USA (Bora Milutinović), but Cruz was unable to squeeze into a position at the

World Cup 1994 The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

for either nation. A short spell followed at Quilmes from 1994 to 1995 (B Nacional, 8 matches, 2 goals) before Cruz returned to the US to pursue a career in coaching. Cruz, often referred to by the double last name 'Cruz-Cruz' was a barreling, right-footed forward who was also good in the air. He is endeared at

for not only an exciting goal-scoring race of 1993 with

Alberto Acosta Alberto Federico 'Beto' Acosta Tabizzi (born 23 August 1966) is an Argentine retired footballer who played as a striker. In a professional career which spanned 18 years (nearly 700 official games and more than 250 goals), he played for San L ...

but also helping the team to a runner-up finish in the 1994 Clausura. Cruz's made a common practice of thanking God for goals and good performances.

Coaching career

Cruz has been a United States Soccer Development Academy Scout since 2008 and also an Assistant Coach for the U14, U15, and U17 USA Girls National Teams. Cruz served as an Assistant Coach of the Jordan Women's National Team under Michael Dickey from 2017 to 2018. Cruz worked as a Professional Match Evaluator 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 ...

from 2010 to 2017 and has been on the Olympic Development Program staff since 2005.

References

External links

*
Futbolistas Extranjeros profile

Houston Baptist profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz-Cruz, Jorge 1966 births Living people Colombian men's footballers Colombian expatriate men's footballers Club Atlético Banfield footballers Quilmes Atlético Club footballers Club Atlético Huracán footballers Chaco For Ever footballers Independiente Santa Fe footballers Argentine Primera División players Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Men's association football forwards Colombian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate football managers in Jordan Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States Houston Christian Huskies men's soccer players Colombian expatriate football managers