José Arturo Álvarez Hernández (born June 28, 1985) is a 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 winger and forward. Born in the United States, he played for the El Salvador national team.

Career

Professional

Álvarez did not play college soccer; instead, he joined MLS in 2003, signing a

Project-40 Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract, and was selected thirteenth overall in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by the San Jose Earthquakes. In his first year, Álvarez scored his first MLS goal on June 14, 2003, against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

but would go on to get limited playing time. However, in January 2005 Álvarez was traded by San Jose with Richard Mulrooney and the #6 and #29 picks in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft to FC Dallas in exchange for Brad Davis, cash, and the #4 pick in the 2005 SuperDraft. During the 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, in the second leg of FC Dallas' Conference semifinal match with the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

, Álvarez was sent off for "violent conduct" after he kneed Brad Davis in the groin while out of bounds in the forty-seventh minute. Dallas went on to lose the tie 4–1, and the match 4–2 on aggregate. Álvarez was traded to the new San Jose Earthquakes in July 2008 for allocation money and their first round draft pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. In his debut, he scored the first goal of the match against the

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

in a match that ended 3–2. On November 24, 2010, Álvarez was selected in the tenth round of the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft by

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

but was immediately traded to

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

for a 2nd round 2011 MLS SuperDraft pick. The Salvadoran American made his debut with Real Salt Lake on March 15, 2011, when he entered in the 88th minuteof the first leg of the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League semifinals against Saprissa. Team celebreates Oduro goal

After the 2011 season, Real Salt Lake did not re-sign Álvarez. He opted to participate in the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft and was selected by

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

on December 5, 2011. However, he instead signed a two-year contract with Portuguese first division club Paços de Ferreira. On March 18, 2012, he scored his first goal with his new team against Académica On February 7, 2013, he was loaned to Hungarian club Videoton. He played well enough with the team that in June 2013 he signed a two-year contract to stay in Hungary. He was released in 2015. On March 3, 2016, after a successful preseason trial with the club, Álvarez was signed by Chicago Fire to a one-year deal with one year option. On December 10, 2017, Álvarez was traded by Chicago to his home town club, the

, in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. Álvarez was mainly used as a sub and helped the Dynamo win the 2018 US Open Cup. He left the club again at the end of 2018. On March 1, 2019, Álvarez announced his retirement from playing professional soccer.

International

United States

Álvarez represented the United States in various youth levels – U-17, U-18, and U-20. He also participated in various matches and training camps with the U-23 team.

El Salvador

Though Álvarez played on various United States national squads at the youth level, he was never called up to the senior national team. Being of Salvadoran descent, Álvarez was invited to play for the El Salvador national team by coach Carlos de los Cobos. On August 12, 2009, Álvarez made his debut for El Salvador in a World Cup qualifier against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. On September 5, 2009, Álvarez started in a World Cup qualifier against his home country at

Rio Tinto Stadium America First Field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium and referred to as The RioT) is a soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, United States. It is the home of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Utah Royals of the National Women' ...

in Sandy, Utah. El Salvador fell, 2–1. On September 9, 2009, Álvarez played his first home game in

Estadio Cuscatlán The Estadio Cuscatlán is a football stadium located in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. It was inaugurated in 1976. It can hold 53,400 spectators, making it the Association Football stadium with the largest spectator capacity in Central A ...

, in San Salvador, El Salvador against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. El Salvador was victorious 1–0.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honors

San Jose Earthquakes *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

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 ...

Videoton *

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

: 2014–15 Houston Dynamo * US Open Cup:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Álvarez, Arturo 1985 births Living people Soccer players from Houston Salvadoran men's footballers 21st-century Salvadoran sportsmen El Salvador men's international footballers American men's soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players American sportspeople of Salvadoran descent Salvadoran expatriate men's footballers San Jose Earthquakes players FC Dallas players Real Salt Lake players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players Fehérvár FC players Major League Soccer players Primeira Liga players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Hungary 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks Men's association football wingers Houston Dynamo FC players Chicago Fire FC players