Diego Gutiérrez (soccer, Born 1972)
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Diego Gutiérrez (born November 3, 1972) is a former professional
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
player, who spent his career between Chicago Fire and
Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in downtown K ...
, both of
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
, and is currently a radio commentator for ESPN Deportes Kansas City. Born in Colombia, he played for the United States national team.


Early life and education

Born in Colombia, Gutiérrez was part of the country's youth teams. He came to the United States to attend the
University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Carnegie Hall of Moores Hill College, Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton Manor, Harlaxton College ...
and
Rockhurst University Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...
. He was a 1994 First Team NAIA All American at Rockhurst.


Club career

The then- Kansas City Wiz selected Gutiérrez in the second round of the
1996 MLS College Draft The 1996 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on March 4, 1996, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. History As Major League Soccer prepared for its first season, the league began stocking teams with players. As the teams were being created at the ...
. Gutiérrez spent two seasons in Kansas City, but missed all of 1997 with an ACL injury. Gutiérrez was one of the pioneer players in MLS, playing over 400 professional games. Gutiérrez's career took off after he was taken by the Chicago Fire in the 1997 MLS Expansion Draft. He helped the expansion club to the 1998
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 ...
and
US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...
double, scoring his first goal as a professional in the 2-0 MLS Cup win over D.C. United. Usually a left back, but equally adapts at both defense and midfield, he spent four seasons in Chicago, winning a second Open Cup in 2000. Prior to the 2002 season, Gutiérrez was re-acquired by Kansas City, winning his third Open Cup in 2004. After the 2005 season, he was traded back to Chicago for Will John and a draft pick. In his MLS career, Gutiérrez has scored ten regular season goals and 39 assists, adding that MLS Cup goal and two assists in the playoffs. With the season-ending injury of former Fire defender Jim Curtin, the versatile professional filled in as a defender, joining fellow "Fire Original" C.J. Brown on the backline. In his new defending role, Gutierrez recorded an assist in the October 6 match against the
New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...
, ranking him fourth overall in Fire career assists leaders with 30 assists through six seasons. Gutierrez appeared in 23 league matches for Chicago through the 2007 season, starting in 22. Gutiérrez ranks among career leaders for total games played, playoff games played and assists. On February 4, 2008, Gutierrez, the 2007 U.S. Soccer Federation/MLS Humanitarian of the Year, announced that the 2008 season would be the last of his professional playing career.


International career

Gutiérrez became a United States citizen in 2000, and received one cap with the U.S. national team, coming on December 9, 2001, against
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. He represented the United States at the international level, as a member of the U.S. National Team from 2001 through 2005.


Off field activity

He was asked to be the keynote speaker at his own citizenship ceremony, on July 4, 2000. He was invited to the join President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and First Lady
Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...
at the White House on April 25, 2007, for
World Malaria Day World Malaria Day (WMD) is an international observance commemorated every year on 25 April and recognizes global efforts to control malaria. Globally, 3.3 billion people in 106 countries are at risk of malaria.World Health Organizatio''World Mala ...
, and he was invited to participate as a forum speaker in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Malaria Forum in October 2007. He traveled to
Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
in December 2007 for a United Nation's Foundation trip to observe the distribution of insecticide treated bed nets and speak about leading healthy lifestyles. For all his community work, in 2006 he was named Chicago Fire Humanitarian of the Year, and in 2007 he was named both Chicago Fire and Major League Soccer Humanitarian of the Year. In 2008, because of his service and his performance on the field, Gutiérrez received the Commissioner's Award, the highest honor in Major League Soccer. In 2009 Dr. Gutierrez was Inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, only the second soccer player ever inducted, after the great Pele. On January 6, 2009, the White House issued a press release from President George W. Bush appointing Gutiérrez to the Presidential Council for Physical Fitness and Sports, an appointment that he continued to serve under President Obama until May 2010. Gutiérrez was named Head of Scouting and Player Development for MLS side Philadelphia Union on December 16, 2010. He joined
Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...
as its lead television commentator ahead of the 2014 season while continuing to call
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
matches for
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. Gutiérrez received his undergraduate degree in psychology from
Rockhurst University Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...
, an MBA from Rockhurst University's Helzberg School of Management, and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Creighton University's Heider School of Business.  Dr. Gutiérrez is currently a faculty member at Rockhurst University's College of Business and resides in Kansas City, MO with his wife Ginna and their children, Mia, Lina, and Javier.


References


World Sport Humanitarian Hall of Fame Official Press Release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Diego 1972 births Living people Footballers from Bogotá American men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players Colombian men's footballers American sportspeople of Colombian descent Colombian emigrants to the United States Sporting Kansas City players Chicago Fire FC players MLS Pro-40 players Evansville Purple Aces men's soccer players Rockhurst University alumni Colombian expatriate men's footballers Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars A-League (1995–2004) players Sporting Kansas City draft picks Men's association football midfielders 20th-century American sportsmen