Byron Álvarez (born October 21, 1978) is a Mexican 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 le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He was the 2010–2011 MISL Most Valuable Player.

Early life

Alvarez began playing football at sixteen. He appeared with a string of minor league Mexican clubs including Reboceros de La Piedad, Jaiba Brava de Tamaulipas, Astros de Ciudad Juárez, and C.F. Tambico.

Club career

In 2002, he signed with the MetroStars of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. In 2003, he moved to the

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 P ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

. On September 29, 2004, the Chicago Storm of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) traded Kevin Sakuda to the San Diego Sockers for the rights to Alvarez. On October 18, 2004, the Storm signed him on loan from the Timbers and he played the 2004–2005 and 2005–2006 indoor seasons in Chicago. Following the 2006 USL-1 season, Alvarez became a free agent and on April 3, 2007, signed with the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

of USL-1. He played twenty-two games and scored eight goals. On July 9, 2007, the

Monterrey La Raza Monterrey La Raza refers to one of two different indoor soccer franchises: *Monterrey La Raza (1992–2001) The original Monterrey La Raza ( es, La Raza de Monterrey) was a professional indoor soccer team based in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexi ...

of MISL selected Alvarez in the MISL expansion draft. The LaRaza went to the MISL championship series, but fell to the Baltimore Blast. Following the end of the indoor season, he contacted Gavin Wilkinson, coach of the Timbers, about the possibility of rejoining the Timbers. Alvarez signed with the Timbers on July 14, 2008. He played only nine games with the Timbers and returned to the LaRaza which was now playing in the newly created National Indoor Soccer League. On April 7, 2009, he was announced as the 2008-09 NISL Most Valuable Player. Alvarez has also played for the Mexican national

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

team. On October 25, 2010, The Missouri Comets announced they had signed Byron Alvarez to play in their first season back in the

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

. Alvarez was vital to the Comets run to the MISL playoffs, leading the team and the league in scoring with 80 points. Alvarez also led the league in goals scored (33), hat tricks (5) and tied for the league-lead in game-winning goals with five. Alvarez scored at least one point in 17 games this season and he also posted the longest goal-scoring streak of the year (nine games) and point-scoring streak (15 games). He capped off this great season by being named 2010–2011 MISL MVP.

References

External links

Portland Timbers profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Byron 1977 births Living people Footballers from Mexico City Men's association football forwards Yakima Reds players C.F. La Piedad footballers C.D.S. Tampico Madero footballers Indios de Ciudad Juárez footballers New York Red Bulls players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Chicago Storm players Charleston Battery players Monterrey La Raza players Missouri Comets players Mexican expatriate footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Major League Soccer players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players USL League Two players Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) players Wichita B-52s Mexican men's futsal players Mexican footballers