Óscar Pérez Rojas (born 1 February 1973) is a Mexican 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 lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Nicknamed ''El Conejo'' (The Rabbit), he is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Mexican football history. With a club career spanning 26 years in Mexico's top flight, most notably with

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

and

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

, Pérez won the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

on three occasions, as well as two league titles and one domestic cup. He holds the national record for most league appearances, with 740. Pérez earned 55

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Mexico national team between 1997 and 2010, winning three

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

titles and the

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fourth FIFA Confederations Cup, and the second organised by FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Mexico between 24 July and 4 August 1999. The tournament was won by Mexico, who beat Brazil 4–3 in the fina ...

. He also featured in the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

editions of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, in the two latter as first choice goalkeeper.

Club career

He was the starting goalkeeper for

since 1997 with the team winning the championship in the 1997 Winter Season. Pérez debuted for the team in 1993, facing Atlas which ended in a 0–0 draw. He quickly became the starting goalkeeper for Cruz Azul and won the 1997 Invierno Final, where Cruz Azul defeated

Club León Club León is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in León, Guanajuato, León, Guanajuato, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. The club was founded in 1944 ...

by a score of 2–1. In 2001, he helped steer Cruz Azul all the way to the final of the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

, a historic run for a Mexican club in the competition. With Pérez in goal, Cruz Azul was able to eliminate teams like

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

, River Plate and

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

, before playing

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

in the two-legged final. In the final, they lost at home, and won in Buenos Aires to take the final to a penalty-shootout but lost 1–3. In a league game away to

Estudiantes Tecos Tecos Fútbol Club, simply known as Tecos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco, and associated with the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG). It competes in Liga Premier, the third level division of Mexican ...

in 2006, Pérez scored by a header in stoppage time to equalise 1–1. In 2007, he was given an award for a record-making 400 appearances at Cruz Azul. He moved to

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

, starting 4 games in the Apertura 2008. Pérez's first game with Tigres was on 13 July 2008 in a friendly against his former team, Cruz Azul which ended in a draw 1–1. He was a great addition to Tigres as he maintained the least goal approaches of the Apertura 2008 tournament. After a year with Tigres, he moved to

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

on loan where he played in the 2009–10 season. For the Apertura 2010, Pérez moved to

Club Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...

. After leaving

Pérez joined with San Luis on loan. On 16 May 2013, For the Apertura 2013, Pérez was loaned to

after finishing a spell with San Luis. He was given the number 21. On 29 May 2016, Pérez won the Liga MX final with Pachuca. This broke his personal 19-year drought as well, making him the oldest champion in the league's history at 43-years-old and three months. After the season, Pachuca extended his loan for another year. On 29 April 2017, Pérez scored a header on the last minute of a match against Cruz Azul to salvage a 2–2 draw. He became the oldest player to score a goal in the

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

. After winning the

2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League The 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2016–17 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 9th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 52nd edition of the prem ...

with Pachuca, Pérez postponed his retirement until after Pachuca's participation at the

2017 FIFA Club World Cup The 2017 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2017 presented by Alibaba Cloud for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament betwee ...

. Following the tournament, Pérez announced he planned on playing professionally for six more months, effectively postponing his retirement until after the 2017–18 Liga MX season. On 23 July 2019, Pérez returned to his first club, Cruz Azul. On 27 July, at the age of 46, he announced his retirement from football effective immediately after Cruz Azul's second round match of the Torneo Apertura 2019 against

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

International career

Pérez scored his first and only international goal for the under-23 team in a friendly against South Korea under-23, scoring in injury time when Mexico were losing 1–0. Pérez was considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in Mexico and took over the spot for starting goalie during the 2002 World Cup Qualifiers, going on to play in the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

as the first-choice goalkeeper. Once Javier Aguirre left the national team, Ricardo La Volpe became coach, and Oswaldo Sánchez took over his spot.

Guillermo Ochoa Francisco Guillermo Ochoa Magaña (; born 13 July 1985), commonly known as "Memo Ochoa", is a Mexican professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Primeira Liga club AVS Futebol ...

was expected to be the starting keeper for Mexico at the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

but in a surprise move, Pérez was called up and played as the starting goalkeeper in the tournament. Following Mexico's loss in the Round of 16 to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, Pérez announced his retirement from the national team on 14 July 2010.

Personal life

In October 2017, Pérez helped found ''Asociación Mexicana de Futbolistas'' (Mexican Footballers Association).

Career statistics

International

Honours

Cruz Azul * Primera División: Invierno 1997 *

Copa México Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

: 1996–97 *

CONCACAF Champions' Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

* Selectivo Pre Pre-Libertadores: 2000, 2002 * Pre-Libertadores Tournament: 2000, 2002 *

runner-up:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Pachuca *

: Clausura 2016 *

: 2016–17 *

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

third place:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Mexico *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

runner-up:

; third place:

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

* Pan American Games Silver Medal:

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

* CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament:

Individual * Balón de Oro Fair Play: Apertura 2008 *

Best XI: Clausura 2016 *Medal of Sporting Merit: 2021https://www.debate.com.mx/deportes/Liga-MX-Oscar-Conejo-Perez-recibio-la-medalla-al-Merito-Deportivo-2021-20220705-0320.html * Salón de la Fama del Fútbol Internacional:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Records *Most

appearances: 746

Managerial Honours

Cruz Azul *

: Guardianes 2021 *

Campeón de Campeones Campeón de Campeones () is an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic super cup between the Liga MX champions of the ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' tournaments. It was initially a super cup match between the league and cup cha ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Supercopa de la Liga MX Supercopa can refer to: *Supercopa de España (disambiguation) *Supercopa do Brasil, a Brazilian football (soccer) competition. *Supercopa Honduras, a defunct Honduran football (soccer) competition. *Supercopa de Costa Rica, a Costa Rican Football ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Oscar 1973 births Living people Footballers from Mexico City Men's association football goalkeepers Mexico men's international footballers 1995 Copa América players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1999 Copa América players 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2001 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2004 Copa América players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players Liga MX players Cruz Azul footballers Tigres UANL footballers Jaguares F.C. footballers Club Necaxa footballers San Luis F.C. players C.F. Pachuca players Mexican men's footballers Cruz Azul non-playing staff Pan American Games silver medalists in football Pan American Games silver medalists for Mexico Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Footballers at the 1995 Pan American Games Association football goalkeeping coaches CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players