Allan Enzo Cruz Leal (born 24 February 1996) is a Costa Rican 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, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Herediano and the Costa Rica national team.

Club career

Uruguay de Coronado

Born in

Nicoya Nicoya is a Districts of Costa Rica, district and head city of the Nicoya (canton), Nicoya canton, in the Guanacaste Province, Guanacaste province of Costa Rica, located on the Nicoya Peninsula. It is one of the country's most important tourism, ...

, in the province of Guanacaste, Cruz began his career with then Primera División club Uruguay de Coronado. On 29 August 2015, Cruz made his professional debut for the club in their 2–0 victory 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. Their colours are burgundy and white. It ...

. Prior to his debut, Cruz spent a short period on loan with Generación Saprissa. On 7 November, Cruz scored his first competitive goal for Uruguay de Coronado in the 11th minute of a 2–1 defeat against

Santos de Guápiles Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War Places *Santos, São Paulo, a municipality in São Paulo ...

Herediano

Prior to the 2017–18 season, Cruz joined Herediano. He made his debut during the club's first game of the season on 29 July 2017 against Guadalupe. He was a starter as Herediano drew the match 0–0. His first goal for the side came on 20 January 2018 against

in a 1–0 home victory. He ended his first season with Herediano having played in 46 matches and scoring 3 goals. On 20 February 2018, Cruz made his

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

debut in Herediano's 2–2 draw against

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

. The next season, Cruz helped Herediano reach the final of the

CONCACAF League The CONCACAF League was an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It was announced on 8 May 2017. The compet ...

, scoring in the first leg of the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against Honduran club

Motagua The Motagua River () is a river in Guatemala. It rises in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The Motagua River basin covers an area of and is the largest in Guatemala. The Motagua Rive ...

in a 2–0 victory. He then started in the second leg on 1 November as Herediano lost 2–1 but won 3–2 on aggregate. In December 2018, Cruz helped Herediano win the 2018 Apertura. He started for the club in the second leg of the final against

as Herediano drew the match 2–2 and won on aggregate 5–4.

FC Cincinnati

On 18 January 2019, it was announced that Cruz had signed with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

prior to their inaugural season. He made his debut for the club on 10 March 2019, starting in their 1–1 away draw against

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

. Cruz then scored his first goal for FC Cincinnati in their next match against the

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 ...

. His 61st-minute goal was the second in a 3–0 victory at

Nippert Stadium James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, located on the campus of University of Cincinnati. Primarily used for American football, it has been home to the Cincinnati Bearcats football, Cincinnati Bearcats ...

. Cruz ended his first season with FC Cincinnati with 7 goals in 22 matches. On 1 March 2020, Cruz scored FC Cincinnati's first goal of the 2020 season against the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

, however the club lost the match 3–2. On October 24, 2022, it was announced that Cruz was departing FC Cincinnati following the end of the 2022 season.

Herediano

In 2023, Cruz signed once again for Herediano.

International career

In September 2018, Cruz was called into the

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

squad which would take on

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in international friendlies. He started for Costa Rica as they lost 2–0 on 7 September 2018. On 20 November 2018, Cruz scored his first ever goal for his country in their 3–2 victory over

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

at the

Estadio de la UNSA Estadio de la UNSA (official name) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Arequipa, Peru. The stadium was built by the University of San Agustín in the early 1990s and named after the Virgin Chapi. Due to its size, the term ''Monumental'' is add ...

. On 5 June 2019, Cruz was included in

Gustavo Matosas Gustavo Cristian Matosas Paidón (born 25 May 1967) is an Argentine-born Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Playing career Club The son of former footballer Roberto Matosas, Gustavo was born in Buenos Aires, ...

' squad for the

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was p ...

. He scored Costa Rica's third goal in their opening 3–0 victory against

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Herediano * Primera División: 2018 Apertura *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Allan 1996 births Living people Footballers from Guanacaste Province Costa Rican men's footballers 21st-century Costa Rican sportsmen Men's association football midfielders C.S. Herediano footballers FC Cincinnati players FC Cincinnati 2 players Major League Soccer players Costa Rica men's international footballers Designated Players (MLS) Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in the United States 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players MLS Next Pro players