Alejandro Enrique Moreno Riera (born July 8, 1979) is a

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 ...

n former

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 played as a forward, and who is currently a television commentator for

ESPN FC ESPN FC (formerly ESPN SoccerNet) is a website and a U.S. television studio program covering soccer that is broadcast daily over the streaming service ESPN+. ESPN FC's origin was a website owned by ESPN Inc. Originally established in 1995 as S ...

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ''ESPN Sports'') is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications ( ...

and ESPN Latin America. Moreno won three

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 ...

s during his professional career. Moreno was chosen in 2021 to work as a commentator in the 2020 European Championship.

Career

College

Moreno spent a year in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

at age 12 and spent succeeding summers there before earning a scholarship for four years of

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 Ki ...

UNC Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

. He finished his college career fourth on the team's all-time scoring lists, with 65 goals and 25 assists, having been named first team NSCAA All-South all four years with the team.

Professional

After completing his career at Greensboro, Moreno was drafted 27th overall in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft by the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

. He played sparingly in his rookie season, but developed into an excellent sparkplug coming off the bench in his second season, when he registered six goals and two assists in 1,117 minutes of playing time. Although Moreno exhibited a good deal of promise in 2003, he was not able to earn a consistent starting role with the Galaxy because of a logjam at the forward position, which included Guatemalan star Carlos Ruiz and former US international

Jovan Kirovski Jovan Kirovski ( mk, Јован Кировски; born March 18, 1976) is an American former soccer player who is the Technical Director for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer. Kirovski is the first American to win the UEFA Champions Le ...

, as well as recent acquisition Joseph Ngwenya. In 2004, Moreno again registered six goals and two assists, this time in 1,297 minutes. He was traded to

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 ...

in the offseason in a four-player deal. In his lone season with the Quakes, Moreno scored eight goals with four assists. Along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, he moved to Houston for the 2006 season. Moreno was traded to

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 ...

on May 10, 2007, in exchange for Joseph Ngwenya. He scored the first goal in the 2008 MLS Cup for Columbus, who eventually won the game 3-1 against

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. Moreno was selected by

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...

in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on 25 November 2009. On November 24, 2010, Moreno was selected by

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft, but was immediately traded to

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

, along with Alan Gordon, in exchange for allocation money and an international roster spot. Moreno remained with Chivas USA through the 2012 season. After the conclusion of the 2012 season, Chivas USA declined the 2013 option on Moreno's contract and he entered the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Moreno became a free agent after he went undrafted in both rounds of the draft. In February 2013, he joined the

as a television commentator, ending his playing career.

International

Moreno's performances in MLS saw him receive call-ups for the Venezuela national team. He made his first appearance for the senior team on February 18, 2004, against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Due to his high quality of form during the 2008 MLS season, Moreno was again called up to the Venezuelan team for some 2010 World Cup Qualifiers, scoring against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

on October 15, 2008, in a 3-1 win.

International goals

, - , 1. , , August 20, 2008 , ,

José Antonio Anzoátegui José Antonio Anzoátegui (1789–1819) was a Venezuelan brigadier general in the Battle of Boyacá, helping to lead a republican army of Colombians and Venezuelans against Spanish royalist forces during the Venezuelan War of Independence. He is c ...

, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela , , , , 4–0 , , 4–1 , , Friendly , - , 2. , , October 15, 2008 , ,

Estadio Olímpico José Antonio Anzoátegui A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela , , , , 2–1 , , 3–1 , ,

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

, - , 3. , , March 25, 2011 , , Catherine Hall Stadium,

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, h ...

, Jamaica , , , , 0–2 , , 0–2 , , Friendly

Media career

In 2013,

hired Moreno as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

and analyst. He frequently covers

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

and

Mexico national football team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified con ...

games on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

's English-language networks. In 2014, he served as color commentator for 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 Cana ...

Honors

Los Angeles Galaxy *

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since ...

San Jose Earthquakes * Supporters' Shield:

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 ...

Houston Dynamo * MLS Cup:

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 ...

Columbus Crew * MLS Cup:

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; ...

* Supporters' Shield:

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 ...

References

External links

* *
ESPN staff bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno, Alejandro 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Barquisimeto Venezuelan footballers Venezuelan expatriate footballers Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in the United States LA Galaxy players San Jose Earthquakes players Houston Dynamo FC players Columbus Crew players Philadelphia Union players Chivas USA players Expatriate soccer players in the United States UNC Greensboro Spartans men's soccer players Venezuela international footballers 2011 Copa América players Major League Soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks Association football forwards Major League Soccer broadcasters