Herculez Gomez (born April 6, 1982) is an American 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 played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He currently works as a commentator in both English and Spanish for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

Early life

Gomez, the oldest of five children, was born and raised in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...

, to

Mexican-American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

parents. He grew up in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Nevada, and played on the soccer team at

Las Vegas High School Las Vegas High School is a Public school (government funded), public high school in Sunrise Manor, Nevada, part of the Clark County School District. It is the oldest high school in Las Vegas and originally opened in 1905 on what was then the out ...

Club career

Early career

Gomez started his career in 2001 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 ...

of the

Mexican Primera División 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 Divi ...

on their second-division squad, and transferred to second-division team Aguilas Blancas de Puebla later that year. The following season, he returned to the Primera División with

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

. However, playing opportunities were scarce for him there. 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 ...

staff noticed him during a friendly match and he joined the team in September.

MLS

Gomez broke his foot while on loan to the Seattle Sounders of the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, and recovery took a long time. When he was able to play again, he joined the San Diego Sockers of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He returned to the Galaxy for the 2005 season on a developmental contract, and played well enough to make it to the first team. His big chance came when

Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional association football, soccer player and coach who was most recently the interim head coach of San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Often co ...

was called up to the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. Donovan's absence gave Gomez many more starts at striker, and he was able to shine as a breakout goal-scorer. He scored the game-winning goal in the 2005

U.S. 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 ...

Final, then helped the Galaxy to a rare Cup 'double' when they also won the 2005

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 ...

. Gomez ended the 2005 season with eighteen goals scored for the Galaxy (in all matches), and was voted by the local L.A. media as the year's Most Valuable Player. Early in the 2006 season, Gomez was moved to the bench with then-coach

Steve Sampson Mark Stephen Sampson (born January 19, 1957) is an American soccer coach. He is also the former head coach of both the United States men's national team and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. Collegiate career Sampson attended UCL ...

. Sampson used Gomez as a midfielder to see if he could score goals running at defenses. After Sampson's firing, however, Gomez scored several times under new coach

Frank Yallop Frank Walter Yallop (born 4 April 1964) is a British-Canadian professional soccer coach and former player. He played 13 years in England for Ipswich Town, including the club's first three seasons in the Premier League. He also played in Major ...

, and ended that season with five goals. In December 2006, Gomez was traded to the Colorado Rapids along with

Ugo Ihemelu Ugochukwu "Ugo" Ihemelu (born April 3, 1983, in Enugu) is a retired Nigerian-born American football player. Career College Ihemelu grew up in the United States, attended Cedar Hill High School in Cedar Hill, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and pl ...

in exchange for Joe Cannon. He scored the first goal in the history of

Dick's Sporting Goods Park Dick's Sporting Goods Park, also known as DSG Park, is a soccer-specific stadium in Commerce City, Colorado, that is home to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium seats up to 18,061 people for soccer matches, but can acco ...

in his first game for Colorado, a 2–1 win over D.C. United on April 7, 2007. Gomez tore his ACL during training with the Rapids in September of that year and underwent a lengthy recovery process. Gomez was traded to

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 ...

in exchange for allocation money, a fourth round

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009, in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, ...

pick and a first round 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft pick in September 2008. His only goal for the Wizards was an injury time winner against

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 ...

, a must win game in their 2008 play-offs push.

Mexico

After being released by Kansas City in late 2009, Gomez signed with Mexican club

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

in January 2010. He scored ten goals in the 2010 Mexican season to tie for the lead for most goals; this feat marked the first time any American player led a foreign league in goals. He moved to

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 ...

in the summer 2010 window. Pachuca placed Gomez, along with its entire squad, on the transfer list. During the transfer window he moved along with teammate

Braulio Luna Braulio Mauricio Luna Guzmán (; born 8 September 1974) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Luna made his professional debut in the Mexican League Division in 1994, playing for UNAM Pumas in a 3–3 draw ma ...

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 ...

. Gomez scored his first goal for his new club in the second game of the Mexico Apertura season, coming in a 2–1 loss to San Luis. On August 19, Gomez scored the winner as a sub against his former club Pachuca. Cash-strapped Estudiantes Tecos were forced into selling Gomez to league rivals

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

in December 2011. Gomez scored 11 goals in his first 12 appearances for the team across all competitions. With Santos Laguna's 2012 Clausura victory, Gomez became the first player to have won both the MLS Cup and the Primera División championship. In 2013, he moved to

Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, simply known as Tijuana or Xolos, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Tijuana, Baja California, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. The club ...

. After struggling with Tijuana, he was loaned 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 ...

for the 2014–15 season. However, he ended the season poorly with only one goal. His loan was not extended.

Return to MLS

In August 2015, Gomez joined

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. After his release from Toronto at the beginning of the

2016 MLS season The 2016 Major League Soccer season featured 20 total clubs (17 based in the United States, 3 based in Canada). The regular season began on March 6 and ended on October 23. The playoffs began on October 26 and ended on December 10. The defendin ...

, Gomez joined

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 ...

. He won MLS Cup for the second time in his career. He retired following the season and joined

as an analyst.

International career

Gomez was named to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

roster for the

2007 Copa America 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

and earned his first cap as a second-half substitute against

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 ...

, with his first start coming against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. After a lengthy absence from the national team, Gomez was named to the provisional 30-man U.S. squad for the

2010 FIFA 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. ...

after a highly productive club season in Mexico. He scored a goal for the U.S. national team in a 4–2 friendly defeat to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

on May 25; the next day he was named to the final 23-man squad. Gomez played in 3 out of the 4 games for the United States at the World Cup, including the

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

game against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. Gomez made his return to the national team in 2012, appearing in friendlies against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and scoring a goal against the latter. Later in 2012, he scored goals in World Cup qualifying against

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

His last national team appearance came during the

2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 12th CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 22nd CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's fifty years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition began on July 7, 2013, at the ...

Broadcaster

In January 2017, Gomez announced his retirement from professional soccer, and joined the broadcasting team at

. He typically appears as a studio analyst / pundit for

ESPN FC ESPN FC (formerly ESPN SoccerNet) is a website and a U.S. television studio program covering soccer that is broadcast daily over the streaming service ESPN+. ESPN FC's origin was a website owned by ESPN Inc. Originally established in 1995 as Soc ...

, MLS games, and U.S. National Team games. Also, he is the co-host of several podcasts, most notably the Max and Herc podcast with Max Bretos, where they discuss news around

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 the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

, and the Two on Tri podcast with Sebastian Salazar, where they discuss 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 ...

, the Mexico national team, and Mexican players abroad. He and Salazar also host "Fútbol Americas" on

ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...

Personal life

Herculez is the brother of

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

fighter

Ulysses Gomez Ulysses Gomez (born May 25, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the flyweight and bantamweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Gomez has mostly fought in PFC and Tachi Palace Fights and is also known for ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

LA Galaxy *

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 ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Western Conference Championship:

Santos Laguna *

: Clausura 2012 Puebla *

Copa MX 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 ...

: Clausura 2015 Seattle Sounders FC *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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 ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Individual *

Top scorer (Shared):

Golden Boot (Shared): Bicentenario 2010 *

Top scorer (Shared): Clausura 2015

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Herculez 1982 births Living people American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players 2007 Copa América players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players American expatriate men's soccer players Soccer players from Nevada United States men's international soccer players LA Galaxy players Toronto FC players Colorado Rapids players Seattle Sounders FC players Sporting Kansas City players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Club Puebla players C.F. Pachuca players Tecos F.C. footballers Santos Laguna footballers Club Tijuana footballers Tigres UANL footballers USL League Two players A-League (1995–2004) players Major League Soccer players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Liga MX players San Diego Gauchos players Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico American expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Men's association football forwards Las Vegas High School alumni Major League Soccer broadcasters