Gerson Levi Mayen Villavicencio (born 9 February 1989) is a 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 Primera División club Municipal Limeño. Born in the United States, he plays for the El Salvador national team at international level.

Career

Youth

Mayen attended

Manual Arts High School Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high sc ...

, and started playing soccer when he was young with a club named Gilbert Lindsay Youth Soccer Club, then with the club soccer with Alta Loma Arsenal where he won four Cal South State Cups, four Regional Championships and three National Championships. Mayen also won two Golden Boot awards. Rather than opting to play collegiate soccer, Mayen joined the

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 ...

U-18 team.

Professional

Mayen was signed to a full professional contract by

on 27 March 2008, after training with the club throughout preseason. He did not make an appearance with the first team in his rookie season, but made 12 appearances in the MLS Reserve Division, playing primarily as a defender and defensive midfielder. He made his professional debut on 29 March 2009, in Chivas's game against

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 ...

. On 6 August 2010, Chivas USA sent Mayen, along with teammate

Chukwudi Chijindu Chukwudi Ibegbunaneke 'Chuck' Chijindu (born February 20, 1986) is an American professional soccer player. Career Youth A native of Fontana, California, Chijindu attended Damien High School in La Verne, California, He was a 4-year Varsity lett ...

, on loan to

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

side

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...

. Mayen returned to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in July 2011 when he was loaned to NASL club

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

. Mayen was traded with Justin Braun to MLS expansion side Montreal Impact for James Riley and allocation money on 23 November 2011. However, Mayen was waived by Montreal on 1 March, prior to the start of the 2012 season.

International

United States

Mayen has made one appearance for the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' be ...

, in the Campos Verdes International Tournament in Portugal in 2008. Mayen was also named to the 2009 Under 20 World Cup in Egypt where he started and played 90 minutes against Germany.

El Salvador

On July 5, 2011, Mayen was given permission by the

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

to be part of the

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 ...

team. "After a thorough review of the documentation submitted by the Salvadoran Football Federation, the judge concluded that the player Gerson Mayen Villavicencio meets the objective conditions stipulated in Article 18, paragraph 1 of the Regulations Applicable Statutory of the

: in particular, the player Gerson Mayen has never played an international "A" match in an official competition representing the U.S. Soccer Federation," reads the resolution of

. Mayen made his international début at the

2013 Copa Centroamericana The 2013 Copa Centroamericana was the 12th Copa Centroamericana, the regional championship for men's national association football teams in Central America. It was organized by the ''Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol'' or UNCAF, and took place in ...

, coming on as substitute at the 86' minute in

1–1 draw with

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

Statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first.''

Honours

* Santa Tecla ** Primera División (2): Clausura 2015, Apertura 2016 * Aguila ** Primera División (1): Apertura 2023

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayen, Gerson 1989 births Living people American men's soccer players Salvadoran men's footballers 21st-century Salvadoran sportsmen Salvadoran expatriate men's footballers Chivas USA players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) players Fort Lauderdale Strikers players LA Laguna FC players C.D. FAS footballers C.D. Águila footballers Santa Tecla F.C. footballers Cafetaleros de Chiapas footballers C.S.D. Cobán Imperial players C.D. Municipal Limeño footballers American sportspeople of Salvadoran descent Major League Soccer players USSF Division 2 Professional League players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL League Two players United States men's under-20 international soccer players El Salvador men's international footballers 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Soccer players from California Men's association football midfielders 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Homegrown Players (MLS) Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in Mexico American expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico