Román Aureliano Torres Morcillo (; born 20 March 1986) is a Panamanian 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, rugb ...

who plays as a defender for the Dallas Sidekicks in the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

, and the Panama national team. He represented the Panama national team and captained them in their first ever

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 concept i ...

, where he was regarded as the 'star player' for the national side.

Club career

Torres started his career at Chepo and played alongside compatriot Anthony Basile at Colombian side

Cortuluá Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. and previously known as Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá, is a Colombian football club from the municipality of Tuluá in the Valle del Cauca. It was founded in 1967 and plays in the Cat ...

from January 2006. In January 2007 he moved to

La Equidad Club Deportivo La Equidad Seguros, also known as La Equidad, is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Metropolitano de Techo stadium. History ...

, where he was joined by compatriot Orlando Rodríguez. His performances gained him notice with several clubs, particularly with English Championship sides

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

and

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

during the winter transfer market in 2010. However, a move to England never materialised. He was also on trial for the Championship team Nottingham Forest in December 2011–January 2012, impressing manager,

Steve Cotterill Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the manager of side Shrewsbury Town. Cotterill had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albion, Wimbledon, ...

. However, this move also failed to materialize.

Millonarios FC

More recently, his continued good form at

Millonarios FC Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students ...

caused Roman to be linked with a move to Brazilian side

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

, though this too failed to materialize. He was a champion of the Colombian national football tournament

Liga Postobón Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga ...

II 2012 with Millonarios FC, for whom he played over 100 matches.

Seattle Sounders FC

On 12 August 2015, Torres signed with American club

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

. He made his debut for the club on 18 August, during a 4–0 win over

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the US ...

in Seattle. During a match on 12 September 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 ...

, Torres suffered a knee injury that resulted in him being substituted at half-time. It was later revealed to be an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

, forcing Torres to miss the rest of the season for surgery and rehabilitation. Torres returned to team training in June 2016 and made his full return on 28 August during a match against 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 ...

. On 10 December 2016, Torres scored the Cup-winning penalty in a shoot-out against

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

to win the

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 Conferen ...

, the first in Sounders history. On 2 August 2019, Torres was suspended for ten matches after testing positive for a

performance-enhancing substance Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

by the league. He was also fined one-fifth of his salary.

Inter Miami

On 29 December 2019, it was announced that Torres had joined

Inter Miami Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 202 ...

ahead of their inaugural season in

MLS 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 ...

in 2020.

Return to Seattle Sounders

On September 28, 2020, Torres was traded back to

Cartagines, Costa Rican League

In January 2021, Torres signed with Costa Rican club C.S. Cartaginés.

Dallas Sidekicks

Torres signed with the Dallas Sidekicks of the

on 3 February 2023.

International career

Torres was a member of the Panama U-20 squad that took part in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Cup in the Netherlands. Torres has made 119 appearances for the full Panama national team, including qualifying matches for the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

and

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

. He made his debut at the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean ( CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorio ...

against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

on 17 July 2005. He also made three appearances at the

2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the ninth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean ( CONCACAF), and was won by the United States over Mexico. It was contested in the United States fr ...

. While captaining the Panamanian squad in the semi-final match of the

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 bein ...

Torres scored the first goal of the match on a header. His team, down a man based on a red card awarded by the referee, lost the match in extra time after Torres was called for a handball late in regulation. On 10 October 2017, during the final qualifying match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Torres scored the game-winning goal against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

with three minutes left in the game, which combined with 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

' loss to

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, helped Panama qualify for their first ever World Cup, making him a national hero. Torres was named in Panama's 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. Before Panama's final game in the 2018 World Cup against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, Torres announced his official retirement from the national side. Torres achieved his dream of helping Panama reach the country's first ever World Cup. However he has since backtracked from his statement, accepting a call-up for a friendly against

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in September 2018, and was included in Panama's squad for the

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

Career statistics

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Torres earned a U.S. green card in February 2018, which also qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes. He has a son named, Adriano Torres who was born in 2008. Currently, his son is going to middle school as of 2019.

Honours

Chepo *

Copa Rommel Fernández The Copa Rommel Fernández is the third level of Panama's national club championship. It was founded in 1996 and it is a seasonal tournament that lasts 2 months in which the champion is promoted to Liga Nacional de Ascenso. The tournament is nam ...

: 2003 San Francisco * Liga Panameña de Futbol: 2005 Clausura, 2006 Apertura La Equidad *

Copa Colombia The Copa Colombia ( en, Colombia Cup, link=yes); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs of DIMAYOR and is the nation's domestic cup competition, equiva ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Atlético Junior *

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor (between 2015 and 2019 ''Liga Águila'') due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a Colombian professional league for association football clubs. It is the ...

: 2010 Apertura Atlético Nacional *Categoría Primera A: 2011 Apertura Millonarios *Categoría Primera A: 2012 Finalización Seattle Sounders FC *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Panama *

Copa Centroamericana The Copa Centroamericana (, Spanish for "Central American Cup") was the main association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ''Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol'' ( UNCAF), the sport's Central A ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

; runner-up:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

runner-up:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Individual * CONCACAF Best XI:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Roman 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Panama City Association football defenders Panamanian footballers Panama international footballers Panamanian expatriate footballers Chepo FC players San Francisco F.C. players Cortuluá footballers La Equidad footballers Atlético Junior footballers Atlético Nacional footballers Millonarios F.C. players Seattle Sounders FC players Tacoma Defiance players Inter Miami CF players Expatriate footballers in Colombia Expatriate soccer players in the United States Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in the United States 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 Copa Centroamericana players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 Copa Centroamericana players 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2014 Copa Centroamericana players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Liga Panameña de Fútbol players Categoría Primera A players Major League Soccer players FIFA Century Club 2018 FIFA World Cup players USL Championship players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players