Carlos Ruíz

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Carlos Ruiz
Carlos Ruiz
Personal information
Full name Carlos Humberto Ruíz Gutierrez
Date of birth September 15, 1979 (age 27)
Place of birth Guatemala City, Guatemala
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Nickname Pescadito (little fish)
Position Forward
Club information
Current club FC Dallas
Number 20
Youth clubs
1991-1995 CSD Municipal
Professional clubs*
Years Club Apps (goals)
1995-2002
2000
2002-2005
2005-
 CSD Municipal
PAS Giannina (loan)
Los Angeles Galaxy
FC Dallas
4 (0)
72 (50)
46 (24)
National team**
1998– Guatemala 66 (34)

* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 14 October 2006.
** National team caps and goals correct
as of 16 August 2006.

Carlos Ruíz (born September 15, 1979), nicknamed El Pescadito (the little fish), is a Guatemalan football forward who has played in Major League Soccer since 2002, currently a member of FC Dallas. He is the second-highest scorer in the history of the Guatemala national team.

Contents

[edit] Club career

Ruíz, born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, started his footballing career in local club CSD Municipal. In 2000, he traveled to Europe to play for a short time in Greek club PAS Giannina. He returned to Municipal and then signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy in January, 2002. Once in MLS, Ruíz shined immediately, although he also developed some reputation as a diver.[citation needed] In his debut season, he scored 24 goals (best in the league), leading Galaxy to the MLS Cup. He was named the MLS Most Valuable Player that year. In the playoffs, he scored eight goals and added two assists to set MLS record for playoff goals and points (18). In his second season, Ruíz and Galaxy cooled off significantly, but he still finished the season tied with Taylor Twellman for the league lead in goals with 15. He dropped off a bit again in 2004, scoring just 11. His playoff production went down as well, as Galaxy were knocked out on the first hurdle each time; he tallied just two and one goal in the two postseasons respectively.

In 2005, when Landon Donovan expressed his desire to come back to MLS, Galaxy traded Ruíz to FC Dallas for the #1 allocation in the MLS picking order, so that they could acquire Donovan. Ruíz finished his year in Dallas with 11 goals and two assists. During the postseason Ruíz scored 2 goals in the second leg match against the Colorado Rapids, but FC Dallas was eliminated in penalty shots.

In February 2006 the MLS fully bought Ruíz's contract rights from his former Club Municipal and FC Dallas were able to negotiate a multi year deal. In his MLS career, Ruíz has scored 74 goals in 118 regular season matches and 15 postseason goals, holding the record for the most post-season goals in Major League Soccer history.

In March 2006, a bicycle kick goal he scored against DC United was selected as the Goal of the Decade in MLS through online voting.[1]

[edit] National team

Ruíz was the focal point of the Guatemalan team in qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, leading the team in scoring as they made a surprising run to the final stage of the CONCACAF region. He has more than 50 caps for his country and he is 1 goal shy of tying Juan Carlos "El Pin" Plata's record of 35 goals with the Guatemalan national team.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Player bio. mlsnet.com, Major League Soccer. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.

[edit] External links


FC Dallas - Current Squad

00 Cassar | 1 Hislop | 3 Vanney | 4 Gbandi | 5 Saragosa | 7 Thompson | 8 Mulrooney | 9 Miña | 10 Núñez | 11 Goodson | 12 Alvarez | 13 McCarty | 14 Moor | 16 Wagenfuhr | 17 Valakari | 19 Rhine | 20 Ruiz | 21 Yi | 22 Dello-Russo | 23 Wagner | 24 Moore | 25 Oduro | 27 Pitchkolan | 30 Burse | 33 Cooper | 48 Sala | - Serioux | Coach: Vacant


Persondata
NAME Ruiz, Carlos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Carlos Humberto Ruiz, Pescadito Ruiz
SHORT DESCRIPTION Professional soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Guatemala City, Guatemala
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/a/r/Carlos_Ru%C3%ADz_3106.html"
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