Erick Estéfano Torres Padilla (born 19 January 1993) is a Mexican 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 striker. He is nicknamed "''El Cubo''" (The Cube) due to his large, cubical shaped head.

Club career

Guadalajara

Born in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

, Mexico, Torres came into the

first team in 2010 and was a promising young player at the club. After being captain of the Chivas U-17 team, taking them to the championship game of the Bicentenario 2010, He made his official debut in the Mexican Primera División in November 2010 against

C.F. Monterrey Club de Fútbol Monterrey Rayados, A.C., simply known as Monterrey or by its nickname Rayados, is a Mexican professional association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León, that plays in Liga MX, the top d ...

, where he scored 21 minutes into the second half. Chivas would go on to tie the game 1–1. He scored a brace against

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

, where Chivas would win the match 4–1. He scored in his first "Super Clasico" on 10 April 2011 against arch-rivals América in a shock 3–0 victory. After the Clausura 2011 season, he finished with 6 goals in 19 appearances, and the club's second top goal scorer, behind

Marco Fabián Marco Jhonfai Fabián de la Mora (; born 21 July 1989) is a Mexican professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder. He is an Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tou ...

Chivas USA (loan)

Erick Torres was loaned to sister club

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

from

on 10 July 2013, and was signed as a designated player. Torres made his debut with Chivas in July 2013 against

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 ...

scoring the winning goal during the 79th minute. He played all 90 minutes. On 29 June 2014 Torres scored his 17th career goal with

and became

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 ...

's all-time Mexican-born scoring leader. On 20 July 2014, Torres tied

Ante Razov Ante Razov (born March 2, 1974) is an American soccer coach and former player who is an assistant coach for Los Angeles FC. A prolific forward, Razov is one of the leading goal scorers in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the all- ...

's club record of 14 goals in a single season while being in a 6 match goal streak. On 5 August 2014, Torres was chosen for the MLS All Star team facing against Bayern München. Torres came in off the bench for

Obafemi Martins Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he played for a number of L ...

in the 60th minute. The match resulted in 2–1 win. Torres finished the 2014 MLS season with 15 goals scored in 29 games. During his time with Chivas he scored a total of 22 goals in 45 games before the club was dissolved in 2014.

Houston Dynamo

On 18 December 2014,

announced that

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional 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 sanctioned by the United ...

made the purchase clause effective to move Torres permanently to the MLS under the condition that Guadalajara acquire Torres on loan for six months. On 23 December 2014,

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

announced that they had signed Torres to a Designated Player contract. The contract is for five years.

Guadalajara (loan)

Torres was loaned back to

for six months as part of the agreement made with

. He made his return debut for the club at home against

Pumas UNAM Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., simply known as Pumas UNAM, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1954 as Club Deportivo Universidad, and they play ...

coming in as a substitute for

Ángel Reyna Ángel Eduardo Reyna Martínez (born 19 September 1984) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer who played as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder. Club career Early career Reyna came out of Club ...

. Guadalajara won the match by a score of 2–1. On 14 March 2015, Torres scored his first two and only league goals of the season coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute for

Israel Castro Israel Castro Macías (born 20 December 1980) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career Pumas UNAM He joined the Pumas youth system and worked his way through the ranks to debut in 2002; he ...

against

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

. Torres played mostly in the

Copa MX Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

where he scored three goals and helped Guadalajara reach the final where they lost 4–2 to

Cruz Azul (loan)

On 3 September 2016,

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

announced that Torres would join the club on loan for the remaining season of the

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

with an option to buy.

Return to Houston Dynamo

After spending six months on loan with

, Torres returned to

to make his debut with the team. He made his debut for Dynamo in the

2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 102nd edition of the U.S. Open Cup, oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. The tournament had teams from all three tiers of men's professional soccer, plus teams from the top amateur leagues in t ...

on 21 July 2015, when he came off the bench as a sub in the 63rd minute in a 3–1 loss to Sporting Kansas City. He made his official league debut as a sub once again for

Will Bruin William Christopher Bruin (born October 24, 1989) is an American former professional association football, soccer player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Bruin spent six seasons playing for the Houston Dynamo FC, Housto ...

in the 69th minute on 25 July 2015, against

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

in a 3–0 win. After going 22 games without scoring a single goal, Houston Dynamo decided to loan Cubo to

for the remainder of the year. After returning from Cruz Azul, Torres made his appearance back with Houston Dynamo in their first game of the

2017 Major League Soccer season The 2017 Major League Soccer season was the 22nd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2017 and concluded on October 22, 2017. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on O ...

on 5 March 2017. He turned out to score his first goal with the Houston Dynamo in their 2–1 away win against

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. On 1 April 2017, Torres scored a hat-trick against

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 ...

on their 4–1 home win. The

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

was his first of his career and it made him the second ever Mexican player to score a hat-trick in the MLS. On August 23, 2017, in a match against rivals

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

, Torres set a club record for most goals in a season, 14, beating

Brian Ching Brian Ching (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional soccer player who played for twelve years in Major League Soccer and represented the U.S. national team for eight years. Ching's professional career began when he was the 16th ...

's previous record of 13.

UNAM

On 24 January 2018, Torres joined Mexican club

in a reported $2 million deal.

Tijuana

On 5 June 2018, Torres was sold to

Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, simply known as Tijuana or Xolos, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Tijuana, Baja California, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. The club ...

Atlanta United

On 31 July 2020, Torres returned to

, joining

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 ...

as a Season-Ending Injury Replacement Player for the injured

Josef Martínez Josef Alexander Martínez Mencia (born 19 May 1993) is a Venezuelan professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes and the Venezuel ...

. On August 22, 2020, Torres made his debut against

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Nashville, Tennessee. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team spent two seasons in the USL Championship before joining ...

, which resulted in a 2–0 win for Atlanta. Torres entered the match as a substitute in the 80th minute for Atlanta teammate Adam Jahn. Following the 2020 season, Torres was released by Atlanta on 24 November 2020. On 3 February 2021, it was announced that Torres had re-signed with Atlanta United, occupying a supplemental roster spot for the season, as well as also taking on an undefined role in the club's academy. Following the 2021 season, Atlanta declined their contract option on Torres.

Orange County SC

On 13 January 2022, Torres signed with

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 ...

club

Orange County SC 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 ...

Las Vegas Lights FC

On 7 March 2023, Torres signed with

club

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 ...

International career

Youth

Erick Torres participated In the 2010 Milk Cup at the age of 16. He was the starting forward of the under-17 squad, finalizing 4th place in the tournament. Torres participated in the

2011 Toulon Tournament The 2011 Toulon Tournament was the 39th edition of the tournament and took place from June 1 to 10. Ivory Coast were the defending champions, but they failed to win a single match and were eliminated in the group stage. Colombia won the tourname ...

with Mexico, finalizing in 4th place after losing to Italy on penalties in the Third Place Match. Erick Torres was included in the squad that represented Mexico at the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil national under-20 football team, Brazil w ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, he was listed as the youngest player in the team at the age of 18, And wore the number 10. Mexico reached 3rd place in the tournament. In 2012 Torres Participated in the

2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament The 2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the thirteenth edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted association football, footb ...

with the Mexico U23 national team, appearing 3 times and scoring one goal against Panama in extra time winning the match 1–0. Mexico won the Tournament defeating Honduras in the Final. However Erick did not make the final cut for those players participating in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

where Mexico won its first olympic gold medal in football. On 18 September 2015 Erick Torres was selected by coach Raul Gutierrez to play in the

2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship The 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the fourteenth edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted association football, foot ...

Senior

Erick Torres was in the preliminary list of players participating in the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international association football, football tournament for national ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

under coach

Luis Fernando Tena Luis Fernando Tena Garduño (born 20 January 1958) is a Mexican professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the Guatemala national team. Coaching career After retiring as a player, Tena began his coaching career in ...

. He was listed as the youngest player on the list at only 18 years old, but didn't make it to the final cut. On 21 August 2014, Torres received his first call-up to the senior national team under coach

Miguel Herrera Miguel Ernesto Herrera Aguirre (born 18 March 1968), popularly referred to by his nickname "Piojo" (Spanish for "louse"), is a Mexican professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of the Costa Rica national te ...

, for two matches against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

on 6 September and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

on 9 September. On 12 October 2014, Torres scored his first goal with the national team in a friendly versus

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

in Queretaro on a mistake from the Panamanian goalkeeper. Torres was also assisted with a header by

Oribe Peralta Oribe Peralta Morones (born 12 January 1984) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is an Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament, Olympic ...

. It was the game-winning goal in the 89th minute of the match. After a two-year absence, Torres was called up to replace the injured

Alan Pulido Alan Pulido Izaguirre (born 8 March 1991) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Guadalajara. Pulido began his career at Tigres UANL, having his professional debut in 2009. Contractual disagreements with ...

for the

2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF, and 24th CONCACAF regional championship ove ...

. He would go on to play three games in the tournament.

Style of play

He has been compared to

Javier Hernández Javier Hernández Balcázar (; born 1 June 1988), commonly known by the nickname Chicharito (, Mexican Spanish: ''little pea''), is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Guadalajara. He is known for his c ...

due to their similarity in their style of playing and his rapid success months after his debut, but he has mentioned that it is only the beginning of his career and he has to make his own path in football. On the Chivas official website, he was described as having a good presence in the area and an outstanding shot at goal. An article written on Goal.com described Torres as "having quick feet, good positional sense and plenty of skill. He shares one trait particularly in common with Hernandez in that he likes to move the ball quickly, playing one and two touch football and then, like Chicharito, comes alive in the penalty area." Erick Torres was nominated as ''La nueva Promesa (The New Pledge) for the year 2012 during the

2012 Premios Juventud The 9th Annual Premios Juventud (Youth Awards) were broadcast by Univision on July 19, 2012. Performers Presenters *Miguel Cotto *Pamela Silva Conde *Alejandro Berry *Antonietta Collins *Amaria Rocco *Blanca Soto *Da Zoo *El Batallon *Giselle ...

but lost to Boxer

Saúl Álvarez Saul is a masculine given name of Hebrew origin. It is the English form of ''שָׁאוּל‎'', the Hebrew name of the Biblical King Saul. The name translates to "asked for/borrowed". People named Saul include: * Saul Adadi (1850–1918), Se ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Mexico Youth *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

third place:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

* CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship:

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 ...

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 ...

Individual *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

* CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship Best XI:

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Erick 1993 births Living people Liga MX players Mexican expatriate men's footballers Mexican men's footballers Footballers from Guadalajara, Jalisco C.D. Guadalajara footballers Chivas USA players Houston Dynamo FC players Club Tijuana footballers Atlanta United FC players Orange County SC players Las Vegas Lights FC players Major League Soccer players Designated Players (MLS) Major League Soccer All-Stars Mexico men's youth international footballers Mexico men's under-20 international footballers Mexico men's international footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the United States Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Mexico Men's association football forwards 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in football Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games A.D. Guanacasteca players Liga FPD players 21st-century Mexican sportsmen