Armando Enrique Cooper Whitaker (born 26 November 1987) is a Panamanian 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, rugby lea ...

who played 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 ...

Club career

Cooper began his career in the youth ranks of Panama's Árabe Unido. In 2006, he debuted for the professional side, and went on to help the team to achieve various domestic titles in the

Liga Panameña de Fútbol The Liga Panameña de Fútbol (LPF; ) is the top division football league in Panama. Until 2009, the league was named ''Asociación Nacional Pro Fútbol (ANAPROF)''. Competition format The league's season is divided into two tournaments called t ...

. In July 2011, he signed with Argentine club Godoy Cruz. For the 2013-14 season, he was loaned out to Romanian club Otelul Galati. In February 2015, Cooper joined 2. Bundesliga side

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...

, only to return to Árabe Unido in September 2015 after playing a mere 125 minutes for the German club. Cooper was loaned to

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 ...

side

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

on 18 August 2016. He scored his first goal with Toronto FC on 30 November as Toronto FC beat Montreal Impact 7–5 on aggregate to advance to the 2016 MLS Cup Final. After the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs, Cooper signed full-time with

. On 14 December 2017, Cooper's contract option was declined by Toronto, and he subsequently left the club.

International career

Cooper was part of the Panama U-20 squad that participated in the 2007 U-20 World Cup held in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He made his debut with the full national team on 7 October 2006 against the national team of

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. On 16 January 2011, he scored his first goal for Panama in a 2–0 victory over

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 ...

in a

2011 Copa Centroamericana The 2011 Copa Centroamericana () was the eleventh edition of Copa Centroamericana (formerly known as the UNCAF Nations Cup), an international association football, football championship for national teams affiliated with the Central American Footb ...

match played at

Estadio Rommel Fernández The Estadio Olímpico Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez, named after the Panamanian football star Rommel Fernández (1966–1993), is a multi-purpose stadium in Panama City. It is used for different sports, but mainly football (soccer) games. It was ...

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

. In May 2018, he was named in Panama's preliminary 35 man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in l ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Cooper played in Panama's first two games against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, but after receiving yellow cards in both games he was suspended for the final match against

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Style of play

Cooper is known for his energy on the pitch, as well as his creativity and

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

skills. A versatile midfielder, he is capable of playing in several midfield positions, although he usually favours a more offensive role.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cooper goal.''

Honours

Toronto FC *

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

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

; runner-up

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

* Eastern Conference Championship (Playoffs):

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

* Trillium Cup: 2017 Panama *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

third place:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

References

External links

* * *
possofutbol.com ProfileConcacaf Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Armando 1987 births Living people Footballers from Colón, Panama Men's association football midfielders Panamanian men's footballers 21st-century Panamanian sportsmen Panamanian expatriate men's footballers Panama men's international footballers FIFA Men's Century Club C.D. Árabe Unido players Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba footballers ASC Oțelul Galați players FC St. Pauli players Toronto FC players Club Universidad de Chile footballers FC Dinamo București players Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players Liga Panameña de Fútbol players Chilean Primera División players Liga I players 2. Bundesliga players Israeli Premier League players Major League Soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Chile Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Israel 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players