José Arturo Álvarez Hernández (born June 28, 1985) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who played as a winger and forward. Born in the United States, he represented the El Salvador national team.

Career

Professional

Álvarez did not play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Ki ...

; instead, he joined MLS in 2003, signing a

Project-40 Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

contract, and was selected thirteenth overall in the

2003 MLS SuperDraft The 2003 MLS Superdraft was held January 17, 2003 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was the fifth annual SuperDraft held by Major League Soccer. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 Generat ...

by the San Jose Earthquakes. In his first year, Álvarez scored his first MLS goal on June 14, 2003, against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

but would go on to get limited playing time. However, in January 2005 Álvarez was traded by San Jose with Richard Mulrooney and the #6 and #29 picks in the

2005 MLS SuperDraft The 2005 MLS SuperDraft, held in Baltimore, Maryland on January 14, 2005, was the sixth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Expansion club Real Salt Lake had the first pick as the result of a coin toss (fellow newcomers C.D. ...

to FC Dallas in exchange for Brad Davis, cash, and the #4 pick in the 2005 SuperDraft. During the

2007 MLS Cup Playoffs The 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs was the postseason to Major League Soccer's 2007 season, and it concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18, 2007 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. The Houston Dynamo were victorious for the sec ...

, in the second leg of FC Dallas' Conference semifinal match with the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establish ...

, Álvarez was sent off for "violent conduct" after he kneed Brad Davis in the groin while out of bounds in the forty-seventh minute. Dallas went on to lose the tie 4–1, and the match 4–2 on aggregate. Gareth Bale + Auturo Alvarez

Álvarez was traded to the new San Jose Earthquakes in July 2008 for allocation money and their first round draft pick in the

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 SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft w ...

. In his debut, he scored the first goal of the match against the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

in a match that ended 3–2. On November 24, 2010, Álvarez was selected in the tenth round of the

2010 MLS Expansion Draft The 2010 MLS Expansion Draft took place on November 24, 2010, and was a special draft for the Major League Soccer expansion teams Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Portland Timbers. Format Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at ...

but was immediately traded to

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

for a 2nd round

2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consiste ...

pick. The Salvadoran American made his debut with Real Salt Lake on March 15, 2011, when he entered in the 88th minuteof the first leg of the

2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League The 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League was the 3rd edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current format, and overall the 46th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of N ...

semifinals against

Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

After the 2011 season, Real Salt Lake did not re-sign Álvarez. He opted to participate in the

2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 5, 2011 (Stage 1) and December 12, 2011 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs participated. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the traditional Waive ...

and was selected by

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

on December 5, 2011. However, he instead signed a two-year contract with Portuguese first division club

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

. On March 18, 2012, he scored his first goal with his new team against Académica On February 7, 2013, he was loaned to Hungarian club Videoton. He played well enough with the team that in June 2013 he signed a two-year contract to stay in Hungary. He was released in 2015. On March 3, 2016, after a successful preseason trial with the club, Álvarez was signed by Chicago Fire to a one-year deal with one year option. On December 10, 2017, Álvarez was traded by Chicago to his home town club, the

, in exchange for a second-round selection in the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fir ...

. Álvarez was mainly used as a sub and helped the Dynamo win the 2018

US 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 of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

. He left the club again at the end of 2018. On March 1, 2019, Álvarez announced his retirement from playing professional soccer.

International

United States

Álvarez represented the United States in various youth levels – U-17, U-18, and U-20. He also participated in various matches and training camps with the U-23 team.

El Salvador

Though Álvarez played on various United States national squads at the youth level, he was never called up to the senior national team. Being of Salvadoran descent, Álvarez was invited to play for the El Salvador national team by coach Carlos de los Cobos. On August 12, 2009, Álvarez made his debut for El Salvador in a

World Cup qualifier The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. On September 5, 2009, Álvarez started in a World Cup qualifier against his home country at

Rio Tinto Stadium America First Field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium and referred to as The RioT) is an American soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, that serves as home stadium for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. The stadium opened on October 9, 2008, ...

in Sandy, Utah. El Salvador fell, 2–1. On September 9, 2009, Álvarez played his first home game in Estadio Cuscatlán, in San Salvador, El Salvador against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. El Salvador was victorious 1–0.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honors

Club

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

Videoton * Nemzeti Bajnokság I: 2014–15 Houston Dynamo *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Álvarez, Arturo 1985 births Living people Soccer players from Houston Salvadoran footballers El Salvador international footballers American soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players American sportspeople of Salvadoran descent Salvadoran expatriate footballers San Jose Earthquakes players FC Dallas players Real Salt Lake players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players Fehérvár FC players Major League Soccer players Primeira Liga players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Citizens of El Salvador through descent Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Hungary 2011 Copa Centroamericana players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2014 Copa Centroamericana players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks Association football wingers Houston Dynamo FC players Chicago Fire FC players