Ronald Osvaldo Cerritos Flores (born January 3, 1975, in

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

) is a Salvadoran former 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 le ...

who played as a striker. Cerritos is the all-time leader in assists of the

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 ...

team, 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 ...

, with 47.

Club career

Cerritos has spent the bulk of his career playing in MLS, being signed by the league on March 21, 1997, and allocated to the San Jose Clash. While with San Jose he achieved great success, being named in the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

in his first year with the club. In the offseason after 2001, however, Cerritos was traded to the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

for Ariel Graziani. He never was able to settle in Dallas, having trouble earning a starting spot, and struggling with injuries. After a year and a half at Dallas, during which he scored seven goals, Cerritos was traded to

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 ...

for

Ali Curtis Ali Curtis (born December 18, 1978) is a sports executive and former American soccer player. He was the 1999 Hermann Trophy and 2000 MAC Award winner before playing in Major League Soccer from 2001 to 2004. Curtis became the first African Americ ...

and a first-round pick in the

2004 MLS SuperDraft The 2004 MLS SuperDraft, held in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 16, 2004, was the fifth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The draft was most notable at the time for the selection of one of the youngest athletes in Am ...

. Cerritos again was largely unproductive in D.C. and was cut midway through the 2004 season because his performances were not justifying his large salary, and returned to play for Alianza in his native El Salvador. After the season with Alianza he returned to MLS and his original team, with San Jose acquiring him from DC for a draft pick. During his returning season, Cerritos scored an additional 6 goals. He is 2nd on San Jose's all-time scoring list, with 61 goals and also has the honor of having the most assists, with 47. Shortly after his return to the Earthquakes, however, Cerritos was moved to Houston for the 2006 season along with his teammates. Despite his success with San Jose his resulting stint with the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

was short-lived, as he was released in August 2006. He was later signed by San Salvador F.C. on a two-year deal and became an outstanding performer week in and week out, soon being recalled to the El Salvador national team to participate in 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 from ...

in the United States. In November 2007, Cerritos signed a two-year contract with expansion

Real Maryland FC Real Maryland F.C., commonly known as the Real Maryland Monarchs, was an American Association football, soccer team based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the four ...

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 ( ...

. He played fifteen games, scoring two goals, but was released by the team after their 6–0 loss to the Richmond Kickers, a game in which he did not play. On July 31, 2008, Cerritos signed with the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division. He finished the season with the RailHawks, but was not signed by the team for the 2009 season. At half time of the match between the San Jose Earthquakes and Chicago Fire on September 29, 2010, Cerritos became the second player inducted into the San Jose Earthquakes Hall of Fame.

International career

Cerritos has been a mainstay in the El Salvador national team, having made over 60 appearances. He made his debut for the national team against the United States men's national soccer team, USA on 5 December 1993 and scored his first goal for El Salvador in a 3–2 victory over Trinidad and Tobago national football team, Trinidad and Tobago on January 10, 1996, in a 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup match. On March 5, 2000, in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification - CONCACAF Central American Zone, FIFA World Cup qualification match against Belize national football team, Belize, Cerritos scored El Salvador's 400th goal in all senior international matches.

International goals

:''Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Cerritos is Married to Brenda Cerritos, Cerritos son, Alexis Cerritos, is also a professional footballer who plays for the El Salvador national football team. In his spare time, Cerritos enjoys playing cards and playing basketball with his friends. He enjoys spending time with his two sons. He currently lives Maryland. He now has his own Soccer Club named Cerritos Soccer Academy, youth kids from 5-19 years old.

Honors

San Jose Earthquakes * MLS Cup: MLS Cup 2001, 2001 Individual *

: 1997 Major League Soccer season, 1997 * Inducted to San Jose Earthquakes Hall of Fame: 2010

References

External links

*
MLS Career Statistics

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerritos, Ronald 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from San Salvador Association football forwards Salvadoran footballers El Salvador international footballers 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players San Jose Earthquakes players FC Dallas players D.C. United players Alianza F.C. footballers Houston Dynamo FC players San Salvador F.C. footballers Real Maryland F.C. players North Carolina FC players USL First Division players USL Second Division players Salvadoran expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in the United States Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars D.C. United non-playing staff