Hugo Ernesto Pérez Granados (born November 8, 1963) 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 and coach who previously coached the El Salvador national from 2021 to 2023. Born in El Salvador, he represented the United States national team. During his fourteen-year career, he played professionally in the United States, France, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and his native El Salvador. Although born in El Salvador, he gained his U.S. citizenship as a youth and earned 73

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 ...

, scoring sixteen goals, with the U.S. national team between 1984 and 1994. He was a member of the U.S. team at both the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

and the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

. He was the 1991 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year and was inducted into the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

in 2008.

Early life

Pérez was born in El Salvador, where both his grandfather and father both played professionally for C.D. FAS, the club with which Pérez would finish his career. He migrated with his family to the United States when he was 11 and gained his U.S. citizenship in the mid-1980s. He chose to forego college.

Club career

In 1982, Pérez signed with the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974 ...

of the NASL. He also spent time with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

before ending up with the San Diego Sockers. In 1988, he was the championship MVP when the Sockers won the MISL championship. That summer he joined

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

during the team's pre-season. Ajax manager

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...

expressed an interest in signing him, but the Sockers refused to release Pérez. In 1989, he played for the

Los Angeles Heat The Los Angeles Heat was an American professional Association football, soccer team. The Heat joined the Western Soccer League, Western Soccer Alliance in 1986, then the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the WSL merged with the Ame ...

of the Western Soccer Alliance. Cruyff then attempted to work a transfer for Pérez to Italian club

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

in 1990, but Parma needed Pérez to play in the World Cup in order to get him a work permit. Pérez was part of the 1990 World Cup Roster, but when U.S. coach Gansler left Pérez off the U.S. team that traveled, due to a question of match fitness due to injury, this nixed the move to Italy. Instead, Pérez moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

where he played with Red Star Paris. From France, Pérez moved to Swedish First Division club Örgryte IS then Saudi Arabian First Division club Al-Ittihad. In 1994, he returned to the United States and played in the 1994 World Cup and after played for the Los Angeles Salsa of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

. Hugo played with the Salsa while negotiating a contract with C.D FAS. The Salsa folded at the end of the 1994 season and Pérez made his last move, to

Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador The Primera División de Fútbol Profesional de El Salvador (First Division of Professional Football of El Salvador), more commonly known as La Liga Mayor or La Primera, also known as Liga Pepsi for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional ...

club C.D. FAS, commonly known as C.D. FAS. In both of Pérez' years with the club, 1994–1995 and 1995–1996, C.D. FAS won the El Salvador championship. He retired in 1996 from professional soccer.

International career

Pérez was a member of the American squad that competed at the

1983 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship was the fourth edition FIFA World Youth Championship tournament, hosted from 2 June to 19 June 1983 in seven venues in Mexico — Guadalajara, Irapuato, León, Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla and Toluca — w ...

and

. He also helped the U.S. qualify for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

and the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

, which he missed when he tore ligaments in his leg playing for Red Star Paris, a French Second Division club. He was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1991. He played 73 international matches for the U.S. between 1984 and 1994, in which he scored thirteen goals. At the

, Pérez played in the second-round game against Brazil.

Retirement

After retiring from playing, Pérez moved to the San Francisco area where he has served as the principal for the Living Hope Christian School. On March 10, 2008, Pérez was elected to the

. He is the uncle of UD Ibiza and El Salvador U-23 player, Joshua Pérez.

Coaching career

In August 2002, he joined the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

as an assistant coach to its men's soccer team. On December 7, 2007, the California Victory, a

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

expansion franchise, announced that Pérez had joined its staff as an assistant coach.

United States U-15

Pérez was coach of the U15s from August 7, 2012, to August 23, 2014. He resigned afterwards. He stated "Yes, this is my last camp, I don't know hat is next for me that is up to U.S. Soccer. Obviously, I'm employed by them and whatever they do I am open to it. It's been an honor to work with these kids and an honor to get to know them."

El Salvador

After Albert Roca resigned as coach of

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

in July 2015, Pérez once again expressed his interest in coaching El Salvador. On August 21, 2015, it was announced that Pérez has been hired as the new assistant coach of El Salvador to Jorge Rodríguez. In April 2021, after having coached the El Salvador under-23 national team, Pérez was named head coach of the senior team, the first American to coach El Salvador after 91 years. Under this tutelage, El Salvador began recruiting players born in the United States to Salvadoran parents, who later made up a quarter of their World Cup qualifying roster in 2021. On September 11, 2023, Pérez was fired as the head coach of the El Salvador national team the day following a 2–3 loss to

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 ...

during the

2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League The 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League was the third season of the CONCACAF Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF. The group stage was held in ...

Personal life

His nephew Joshua Pérez is a professional soccer player who plays for American side

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pérez goal''.

Honors

San Diego Sockers *

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

: 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90 FAS *

: 1994–95, 1995–96 United States *

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 ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Individual * U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year: 1991 *

Fútbol de Primera Player of the Year The Fútbol de Primera Player of the Year, formerly known as the Honda Player of the Year, recognizes the best player on the United States men's national soccer team, United States Men's National Soccer Team, as chosen by the national sports media. ...

: 1991

References

* (article about Perez's attempts to join Ajax in July 1988, Sockers reaction)

External links

BigSoccer discussion board on Hugo Pérez

USSoccerPlayers bio of Pérez

Photo of Pérez at 1994 World Cup

California Victory Story

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Hugo 1963 births Living people Salvadoran emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States People from Morazán Department American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Los Angeles Aztecs players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Los Angeles Heat players Red Star FC players Örgryte IS players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players Los Angeles Salsa players C.D. FAS footballers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Western Soccer Alliance players American Professional Soccer League players Ligue 2 players Allsvenskan players Ettan Fotboll players Saudi Pro League players Salvadoran Primera División players National Soccer Hall of Fame members United States men's under-20 international soccer players Olympic soccer players for the United States United States men's international soccer players Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in France American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden American expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden American soccer coaches San Francisco Dons men's soccer coaches El Salvador national football team managers USL First Division coaches 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers American expatriate soccer coaches California Victory 20th-century American sportsmen