Efraín Antonio Burgos Jr. (born 14 August 1988), better known as Junior Burgos, is a Salvadoran 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 for the El Salvador national team.

Career

College and amateur

Burgos grew up in

San Bruno, California San Bruno () is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States census. The city is between South San Francisco, California, South San Francisco and Millbrae, Cali ...

, attended

Westmoor High School Westmoor High School is a public high school in Daly City, California, Daly City, California, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD). It generally serves the residents of Daly Ci ...

, and played two years of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

before transferring to

California Polytechnic State University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

San Luis Obispo, California ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

as a junior in 2008. He scored seven goals in 28 appearances as a Mustang before graduating in the fall of 2010. Burgos became the first Cal Poly player in history to ever be drafted in the

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...

. During his college years Burgos also played in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, for the San Francisco Seals,

Bakersfield Brigade Bakersfield Brigade was an American soccer team based in Bakersfield, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which ...

and

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. ...

Professional

On 13 January 2011, Burgos was selected in the third round of the

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 consi ...

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 ...

. He signed with

on 21 March 2012. Burgos made his debut for Toronto as a second half sub for

Julian De Guzman Julian Bobby de Guzman (born March 25, 1981) is a Canadian association football, soccer executive and former professional player and coach who currently serves as the Sporting Director for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. A midfie ...

against

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

on March 31, 2012. Burgos was released by Toronto FC on 28 June 2013. He spent time training abroad including places such as Germany with

FC Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus (Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, Energie played six seasons i ...

of the 2. Bundesliga and Chile with

Club Deportivo Universidad Católica Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, known as Universidad Católica, is a professional association football, football club based in Santiago, Chile. Founded in 1937 they play in the Chilean Primera División, Primera División, the top flight o ...

. On 26 February 2014, he signed with

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. Burgos led the Silverbacks with 3 goals and 3 assists in the club's historic 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, eliminating Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids before being eliminated by Chicago Fire in the quarterfinal stage. On 4 February 2015 it was announced that Burgos had signed to Colombian club

Jaguares de Córdoba Jaguares de Córdoba is a professional Colombian football team based in Montería, that plays in Categoría Primera B. They play their home games at the Jaraguay stadium. History The team was created on 5 December 2012 at a meeting held by t ...

, which plays in the

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Colombians highest league, where he would rejoin former Silverbacks teammate

Junior Sandoval Junior Josué Sandoval López (born October 13, 1990) is a Honduran footballer who currently plays for Kalonji Pro-Profile in the United Premier Soccer League. Career Youth and College Sandoval grew up in Alpharetta, Georgia and attended Cent ...

. He decided to part ways with the Colombian side after the club refused to meet the terms of the signed contract between both parties. Shortly after, he signed temporarily with

Orange County Blues FC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier ...

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in April 2015, as a transition move before the summer window opened up. After appearing in 4 games for Orange County Blues, Burgos rejoined

on 7 July 2015. Burgos, went on to score 4 goals and 6 assists making it a successful return to Atlanta. Burgos free kick goal vs San Antonio was nominated as the 2015 NASL Goal of the year. He was presented with an award during half time at the NASL Championship match. On 2 February 2016 it was announced that Burgos 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 ...

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

, becoming the second signing in the club's history, ahead of their 2017 MLS debut. Burgos was loaned out to the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

for the 2016 campaign in the North American Soccer League. On 4 March 2020, Burgos joined

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

side

Las Vegas Lights FC Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field. The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...

ahead of the 2020 season. Burgos joined Chalatenango on 25 February 2021.

International

Burgos is a member 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 ...

's national team. He made his international debut on 30 August 2014 vs Dominican Republic, where he assisted on the 2–0 win. Burgos a member of the 2009 World Cup qualifier roster that saw him feature in the Hexagonal stage vs United States, Panama and Costa Rica becoming the youngest member of the National team to be rostered in their road to the 2010 South Africa World Cup. In September 2014, Burgos was named to the UNCAF cup 21 men roster, where he featured in the 1–0 win over Honduras. Burgos featured in two CONCACAF Gold Cups in 2015 and 2017, El Salvador would go on to the quarterfinal stage Vs the United States after defeating Curacao and Jamaica. Burgos went on to represent his country in 32 international games including games vs Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Ivory Coast. His last international game was Vs Iceland in a 1-0 win in 2020.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Burgos has one older sister, Sofia, and two younger siblings, Gerardo and Fatima. His mother is Morena Del Carmen de Burgos and his father is Salvadoran international Efrain Burgos, who played professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for 16 years, mainly for Salvadoran clubs.

Honours

Toronto FC

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 ...

(1):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

References

External links

Cal Poly bioSan Jose State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgos, Junior 1988 births Living people Footballers from Santa Ana, El Salvador Salvadoran men's footballers 21st-century Salvadoran sportsmen Men's association football midfielders Toronto FC draft picks Toronto FC players C.D. FAS footballers Salvadoran Primera División players El Salvador men's international footballers 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Salvadoran expatriate men's footballers Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Salvadoran emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States People from San Bruno, California Soccer players from San Mateo County, California San Jose State Spartans men's soccer players Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer players San Francisco Seals (soccer) players Bakersfield Brigade players Chicago Fire U-23 players Atlanta Silverbacks FC players Orange County SC players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Reno 1868 FC players New York Cosmos (2010) players Las Vegas Lights FC players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL Championship players American sportspeople of Salvadoran descent American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada