Alexander López

Alex López
Personal information
Full name Alexander Agustín López Rodríguez
Date of birth (1992-06-05) 5 June 1992
Place of birth Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Olimpia
Youth career
1999–2009 Olimpia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Olimpia 68 (25)
2013–2015 Houston Dynamo 28 (0)
2016 Olimpia 19 (2)
2016–2017 Al-Khaleej 11 (2)
2017– Olimpia 5 (4)
National team‡
2008–2009 Honduras U17 9 (1)
2010–2011 Honduras U20 4 (3)
2011–2012 Honduras U23 9 (1)
2010– Honduras 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 March 2017 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:25, 21 July 2015 (UTC)

Alexander Agustín "Alex" López Rodríguez (born 5 June 1992 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras) is a Honduran footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for the Olimpia and the Honduran national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in Tegucigalpa, Distrito Central, Francisco Morazán, Alexander joined Olimpia's youth system at the age of 7. He remained in Olimpia's youth ranks until 2010, where he was finally able to make the breakthrough into the first team.

Olimpia

2010–2011

On 8 August 2010, López made his domestic league debut against Hispano coming in for Bani Lozano in the 70th minute, where he scored his second goal of the match to help seal a 2-0 victory, scoring his first goal for the club.[1] On 17 August 2010, he made his debut in the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League coming in for Bani Lozano in the 64th minute against Puerto Rico Islanders in a 1-1 draw. He impressed heavily for Olimpia in his first season, aged 19, where he provided 7 league goals in 22 games for the club, as well as providing 12 assists in the league. To add to this, the impressive López provided a further three assists in the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League, ending his debut season with a total of 8 goals and 15 assists.

2011–2012

At the start of the 2011-12 season, López continued his good run of form with Olimpia, providing 2 goals and 3 assists in the opening 6 games of the season, along with a goal and 2 assists in the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League, before a cruciate ligament injury effectively ended his season for Olimpia.

2012–2013

Following the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, López was continuously linked with a move to Europe, with Rosenborg and Wigan Athletic[2][3] being alleged suitors for the young playmaker. However, these transfer links came to nothing, and López remained at Olimpia for the following 2012–13 season. He continued the scintillating form that brought him to prominence in his inaugural season, netting 6 goals in the opening 12 games of the season and providing 9 assists from the apex of Olimpia's midfield three. Speculation continued to surround López in the January transfer window, however this time not from Europe but America. López claimed to have received an offer from Houston Dynamo,[4] an offer confirmed by his international teammate Oscar Boniek Garcia who claimed that Houston were tracking López [5] as well as attracting interest from both Toronto FC and the San Jose Earthquakes,[6][7][8] however, contrary to some reports in Honduran media,[9] López did not make the move to the MLS, instead choosing to stay with Olimpia, where he finished his season with 12 goals and 21 assists in 26 games.

Houston Dynamo

2013

Alexander López signed for Houston Dynamo on 6 August 2013, on a four-year deal worth $213,000 a year,[10] and was unveiled with the iconic number 10 shirt. López made his debut against Montreal Impact on 24 August, playing 60 minutes of the match. Despite impressing fans with demonstrations of his individual skill – most notably his 30-yard rabona chip for Jason Johnson[11] on his first start against the New York Red Bulls – López was unable to hold down a place in the Dynamo side for the remainder of the 2013 season, as issues with homesickness and fitness prevented Dominic Kinnear from giving the Honduran an extended run in the side.[12] He finished the season with 2 appearances, and providing 1 assist, playing no part in Dynamo's performance in the 2013 Eastern Conference finals.

2014–2015

López started pre-season for Dynamo by undertaking an intensive training programme – suggested by Dominic Kinnear – to build up his levels of fitness, and to strengthen his defensive capabilities.[13] Kinnear was keen to emphasise the importance of Dynamo's so-called "two-way system" of attack and defence, and stressed that López needed to cultivate his defensive abilities in order to carve a place out in the starting XI. López made his first appearance of the 2014 season on 3 May 2014 as a substitute against Chivas USA, and made a further appearance against D.C. United on the 21 May, suggesting a steady emergence back into the side.

International career

On 18 November 2008, he debuted for Honduras, playing the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship qualification match against Belize where he scored his first goal in the 53rd minute.[14] In 2009, he was included by Emilio Umanzor in Honduras's 21-man squad for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

López made his senior debut for Honduras in an October 2010 friendly match against Guatemala and has, as of January 2013, earned a total of 3 caps, scoring no goals. He has represented his country at the 2012 Summer Olympics[15] and played at the 2011 UNCAF Nations Cup.[16]

International goals

Under–17

Scores and results list Honduras's goal tally first.

Under–20

Career statistics

Club Season League Continental Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Olimpia 2010–11 22 7 12 7 1 3 29 8 15
2011–12 6 2 3 2 1 2 8 3 5
2012–13 23 11 19 3 1 2 24 12 21
Houston Dynamo 2013 2 0 1 3 0 1 5 0 2
2014 10 0 0 2 0 0 12 1 0
Career total 55 20 35 16 3 8 69 23 43

References

  1. ↑ "Comienza "rugiendo el león"". La Tribuna Deportiva. 9 August 2010.
  2. ↑ http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/transfer-news-juventus-say-they-dont-1178430
  3. ↑ http://www.diez.hn/Ediciones/2012/07/30/Noticias/En-Inglaterra-ponen-a-Alex-Lopez-en-el-Wigan#.UIclC9uF9Gx
  4. ↑ "Alexander López: No me he desesperado por salir al extranjero". La Tribuna. 5 January 2013. Archived from the original on 8 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "Boniek García: El Houston Dynamo va por Alexander López". La Tribuna. 4 January 2013. Archived from the original on 7 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "López, Garrido y Rojas Interesan en la MLS". El Heraldo. 11 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Toronto FC chasing Honduran Alexander Lopez?". Waking the Red. 3 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Is Victor Bernardez steering two Hondurans to San Jose?". MLSSoccer. 3 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "El 17 de enero se define el futuro del hondureño Alex López". Diez.hn. 10 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "Houston Dynamo Player Salaries Released by MLS Players Union". Dynamo Theory. Dynamo Theory. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "GOAL: JOHNSON FINISHES FROM CUTTING LOPEZ PASS". Ben Crook. Houston Dynamo. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Houston Dynamo young Designated Player Alex Lopez hoping for more productive 2014". Darrell Lovell. MLSSoccer.com. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "Houston Dynamo's Alexander Lopez working to enter lineup, hopes to go to Brazil". Darrell Lovell. Houston Dynamo. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "Sub 17 de Honduras masacra 9-0 a Belice". Honduras 504. 8 November 2008.
  15. ↑ Alexander López – FIFA competition record
  16. ↑ UNCAF (Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup) 2011 – Details – RSSSF
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