Hector Osvaldo Jiménez (born November 3, 1988) is an American retired 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 played as a defender. He is currently an assistant coach with

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 ...

club Chicago Fire.

College and amateur career

Hector played two years at

Bell Gardens High School Bell Gardens High School is a public high school in Bell Gardens, California, part of the Montebello Unified School District. History The campus was built in the 1930s and 1940s. After years of development and construction, BGHS's new three stor ...

from 2004 to 2006 where he established himself as one of the team's leaders and caught the eye of various soccer programs across the country. Jiménez is a product of the

University of California Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley ...

where he played between 2006 and 2010. He was three-time First Team All-Pac-10 (2008–2010), NSCAA Second Team Far West Region, no. 2 on Cal's all-time assist list, ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 8 team, NSCAA First Team Far West All-Region and was three-time Second Team Pac-10 All-Academic. During his college years, Jiménez also played with the Bay Area Ambassadors of the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

Professional career

LA Galaxy

On January 14, 2011, Jiménez was drafted in the second round (34th overall) in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft by

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 ...

. He played three seasons with the Galaxy, recording four goals and six assists in 43 appearances while helping the Galaxy win titles in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Columbus Crew SC

On January 14, 2014, Jiménez was traded to the Columbus Crew for a Second Round

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Rounds three ...

selection (42nd overall) and allocation money. He made his club debut on March 8, 2014, in a 3–0 victory over D.C. United. His first goal for the Crew came on April 19, 2014, also against D.C. United. Jiménez's 90th-minute goal earned the Crew a 1–1 draw and would be nominated for MLS AT&T Goal of the Week honors. He went on to appear in both legs of the Crew's playoff series 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 ...

. Jiménez made 23 appearances in 2015, including his 75th professional appearance on May 16 against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

. He notched four assists on the season while playing at four different positions. However, he did not appear in the playoffs as Crew SC made a run to

MLS Cup 2015 MLS Cup 2015 was the 20th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS). The association football, soccer match was to determine the champion of MLS' 2015 Major League Soccer season, 2015 season. The championship wa ...

, where they would fall 2–1 to the

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 ...

. Jiménez racked up 25 appearances in 2016, playing five different positions. He made his 100th career appearance on July 3, in a 3–2 defeat to Sporting KC. During the 2017 season, Jiménez made 23 appearances for Columbus. However, in 2018, the signing of Milton Valenzuela, a young Designated Player, saw Jiménez's time on the field significantly decrease, with him only making 12 total appearances. However, during the 2019 season Valenzuela suffered a long-term injury which again saw Jiménez seize the starting left back position and he made a total of 23 appearances. In his last season with Columbus, Jiménez made a total of 10 appearances. One of these appearances was during the 2020 MLS Cup where Columbus beat

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

3–0. On December 14, 2020, Columbus declined their contract option on Jiménez following their 2020 season ending his time with the club.

Austin FC

On December 21, 2020, Jiménez joined

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q ...

as a free agent ahead of their inaugural season in 2021. He made his first start for Austin on May 15 against former club

LA 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 ...

, but was removed on a stretcher in the first half. His next appearance came on June 24, replacing injured right-back Nick Lima. Jiménez scored the final goal of Austin's 4–1 win over

on July 1, the club's first win at

Q2 Stadium Q2 Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located in the North Burnet section of North Austin, Texas, United States. It is the home of Austin FC, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team that began play in 2021. The stadium hosted its first event on June ...

Coaching career

On January 8, 2025, it was announced that Jiménez had joined the coaching staff for

club Chicago Fire as an assistant coach.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

Personal life

Both of Jiménez's parents are Mexican immigrants, who met in the United States.

Honors

LA Galaxy *

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 ...

Supporters' Shield:

Western Conference Championship:

Columbus Crew SC *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Hector 1988 births Men's association football utility players Living people American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent California Golden Bears men's soccer players LA Galaxy players Columbus Crew players LA Galaxy draft picks Major League Soccer players People from Bell Gardens, California Soccer players from Los Angeles County, California Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders People from Huntington Park, California Austin FC players Chicago Fire FC non-playing staff