Miguel Ángel Ibarra Andrade (born March 15, 1990) is an American 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 plays for

AV Alta FC AV Alta Football Club, commonly referred to as AV Alta FC or Alta, is an American professional soccer team based in Lancaster, California. First announced in 2023, the team plays in the USL League One since 2025. Their home field is Lancaster M ...

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

College and amateur

Ibarra played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Taft College Taft College is a Public college, public community college in Taft, California. It is a part of the California Community Colleges system and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The college is one of only ...

from 2008 to 2009, and then at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

from 2010 to 2011. During his time at Taft, Ibarra was named as Central Valley Conference MVP and at Irvine was named as Named Big West Co-Offensive Player of the Year and All-Big West First Team in 2011. During his time at college, Ibarra played with

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

club Lancaster Rattlers between 2008 and 2010, and later with

Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an amateur American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of th ...

in 2011.

Professional career

Ibarra was selected in the second round of the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft (27th overall) 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 not signed by the club.

Minnesota United FC

Ibarra signed with NASL club

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

on March 13, 2012. He made his professional debut on April 8, 2012, in a 0–0 draw against

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

. He was named to the NASL Best XI in 2013 and 2014. He was named NASL Player of the Month for September 2014 and was awarded the 2014 Golden Ball as the league's best player at the conclusion of the season.

Club León

Ibarra signed with

Club León Club León is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in León, Guanajuato, León, Guanajuato, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. The club was founded in 1944 ...

on June 10, 2015, for a fee reported to be near $1 million.

Return to Minnesota

Ibarra returned to Minnesota in January 2017 for their inaugural season in MLS. The Portland Timbers previously owned his MLS rights but sent them to Minnesota United as part of a trade for goalkeeper

Jeff Attinella Jeff Attinella (born September 29, 1988) is an American former professional soccer player who previously played as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers. Career College and amateur Attinella is a product of the University of ...

. His option was declined at the end of the 2019 season, releasing him from the club.

Seattle Sounders FC

On February 20, 2020, Ibarra signed with

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 ...

San Diego Loyal

On May 28, 2021, Ibarra joined

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

club

San Diego Loyal SC San Diego Loyal Soccer Club was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the USL Championship. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan; it made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team. ...

for the 2021 season. Ibarra scored his first goal for San Diego on June 29, 2021, the winner in a 1–0 victory over

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Oakland, California. The club competes in the USL Championship (USLC) as a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference. F ...

Charlotte Independence

On March 30, 2022, Ibarra signed with

club

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memoria ...

. Ibarra scored his first goal for Charlotte on April 16, 2022, in a 2–1 win over

Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Windsor, Colorado. The club was founded in 2021, and made its competitive debut in 2022. The team is owned by the Katofsky family and the Futur ...

AV Alta FC

On December 9, 2024, Ibarra became the first player for USL League One expansion team

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...

. He signed a two-year contract to play for the team in his hometown.

International career

Ibarra was called up to

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 ...

for an October 2014 friendly against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, becoming the first American second division player called up to the national team since 2005. He earned his first cap against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

on October 14, 2014. Ibarra received a second call up to the national team for the final two games of the 2014 campaign but did not see playing time in either game. His first start came on February 8, 2015, in a USMNT friendly against Panama.

Personal life

Ibarra was born in the United States to Mexican parents. Ibarra was teammates with former Minnesota Stars player Amani Walker while at UC Irvine. While at Minnesota they were roommates and carpooled to practice together. During the 2014 season, Ibarra was joined in Minnesota by former

teammate Christian Ramirez. The two became roommates and formed a fruitful partnership on the field. Ibarra was nicknamed "Batman" and Ramirez "Superman" by the fans.

Career statistics

Honors

Individual * NASL Golden Ball: 2014 * NASL Best XI: 2014 * NASL Player of the Month – September 2014 * NASL Best XI: 2013

References

External links

UC Irvine profile

Club profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibarra, Miguel 1990 births Living people American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent American expatriate men's soccer players UC Irvine Anteaters men's soccer players FC Santa Clarita players Orange County Blue Star players Sportspeople from Lancaster, California Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Club León footballers Minnesota United FC players Seattle Sounders FC players San Diego Loyal SC players Charlotte Independence players Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Los Angeles County, California Portland Timbers draft picks Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico USL League Two players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Liga MX players Major League Soccer players United States men's international soccer players All-American college men's soccer players USL Championship players USL League One players 21st-century American sportsmen AV Alta FC players