Ramiro Corrales

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Ramiro Corrales (born March 12, 1977,in Salinas, California) is an American soccer player of Mexican heritage, who currently plays left midfielder for Hamarkameratene of the Norwegian Premier League.

Ramiro did not play college soccer. Rather, at age 18, he opted to become a professional and enter the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. This was before the advent or Project-40, so Corrales forfeited any opportunity to guarantee a college scholarship. Ramiro was drafted 81st by the Columbus Crew but was then immediately traded to the San Jose Clash (later to be renamed "Earthquakes") for a second-round selection in the MLS supplemental draft.

In his rookie season for the San Jose Clash, he garnered a goal and an assist playing 11 matches. He started in 11 games the following season. In November 1997, Corrales was drafted 16th by the Miami Fusion in the 1997 Expansion Draft. He was traded again in June 1998, this time to the MetroStars in exchange for Carlos Parra. With the Metros, Ramiro was second on the team in minutes in 1999.

In 2001, Corrales was traded back to San Jose for the rights to Paul Grafer. There, he was integral part of coach Frank Yallop's team that would win the 2001 and 2003 MLS Cups. In nine years in MLS, Corrales scored nine goals and 19 assists. Ramiro provided excellent depth as he is able to play left back, left midfield, and central midfield.

After the 2004 season, Corrales signed with Norwegian club Hamarkameratene where he's mainly been played as left back. He was selected the club player of the year in the 2006 season by both local newspaper Hamar Arbeiderblad and as voted by the fans on the clubs official homepage^[1].

Ramiro has earned a fair share of appearances for the United States national team, playing for the U-20 and U-23 teams along with four caps for the senior team (his first coming October 16, 1996 against Peru). He also appeared in two games at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, helping the United States reach the semifinals.