Marcelo Saragosa (born 22 January 1982) is a Brazilian 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 ...

. He is the Director of Soccer Operations for

Austin Bold FC Austin Bold FC (ABFC) was an American professional association football, soccer team located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2017, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. In 2021, Austin Bold FC announced it would be moving to Fort ...

in the

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 ...

Career

Professional

Born in

Campo Grande Campo Grande (, ) is a city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, central and western Regions of Brazil, region of Brazil, Capital city, capital of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Historically a Fortification, stronghold of Separatism, separatists ...

, Saragosa began his career with Brazilian team

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, having signed with their youth team at the age of 13. He was sent on loan to the

Los Angeles 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 ...

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 ...

in 2004 where he started in 24 of 26 games for the Galaxy. He then returned to São Paulo, before being signed to a permanent deal by the Galaxy in August 2005. After starting in 10 of the first 15 games of the 2006 season for the Galaxy, Saragosa was traded to

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 July 19, 2006, in exchange for a fourth round supplemental draft pick in 2007. 2007 was a season riddled with injuries; he suffered a sprained right

medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), also called the superficial medial collateral ligament (sMCL) or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint and occurs in ...

on April 14, 2007, which kept him out four weeks and appeared in only 13 games for

before having surgery to repair a

torn meniscus A tear of a meniscus is a rupturing of one or more of the fibrocartilage strips in the knee called menisci. When doctors and patients refer to "torn cartilage" in the knee, they actually may be referring to an injury to a meniscus at the top of ...

on September 25, 2007. In 2008, Saragosa appeared in 25 games for

and scored the second goal of his MLS career on October 18, 2008, in a 3–1 loss versus

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

. Shortly before the last game of the regular season, Saragosa had surgery to repair a

in his right knee on October 21, 2008. Saragosa was traded to

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 ...

in exchange for

Atiba Harris Atiba Erasto Harris (born 9 January 1985) is a Saint Kitts and Nevis, Kittitian association football, football administrator and former professional footballer. He captained the Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team, Saint Kitts and Nevi ...

on July 17, 2009. While with Chivas Saragosa appeared in 22 league matches. After the

2010 MLS season The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 15th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 32nd with a national first-division league. Negotiations between the league an ...

Chivas USA declined Saragosa's contract option and Saragosa elected to participate in the

2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 8, 2010 and December 15, 2010. The Stage 1 Draft of the Re-Entry Process took place on Wednesday, December 8, at 2 p.m. ET via teleconference. The Stage 2 Draft took place on Wednesday, ...

. Saragosa became a free agent in Major League Soccer when he was not selected in the Re-Entry draft. In November 2010, Saragosa's blog announced he was suffering from cancer. On February 16, 2012, it was announced that Saragosa had returned to Major League Soccer signing with

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. Saragosa's club option declined following the 2013 season. After taking 2014 off, Saragosa signed with

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 ...

side

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 ...

on February 3, 2015. During an April 1 season kickoff event at the

Mahaffey Theater The Mahaffey Theater – Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts facility and concert hall located on the downtown waterfront in St. Petersburg, Florida. The facility first opened on May 6, 1965. The 2,031-seat facility fe ...

, Saragosa was named captain of the 2015 Rowdies. Saragosa was released by Tampa Bay in November 2015. On April 18, 2019,

announced that Saragosa would be moving from his role as player to be the club's Director of Soccer Operations.

Career statistics

Personal life

Saragosa's best friend is fellow Brazilian legend

Kaká Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime at A.C. Milan, AC Mil ...

. They each served as best man at the other's wedding. Marcelo Silveira Saragosa, 43, was arrested in Greenbrier County, West Virginia on June 20 2025. He is charged with one count of sexual abuse first degree, forcible compulsion, and one count of abduction of person for illicit purpose https://www.wvva.com/2025/06/23/former-brazilian-soccer-player-facing-felony-charges-related-alleged-sexual-assault/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLGYclleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFqeml6ekFXWjBORGxkakxkAR6IAs_9HIlfkgYCB2IdVuDT1_VFjiVgoNG79OhKJhq8fKbpFUho45ZHTPNobQ_aem_5K_jseIiI4mRKeF23b9rSA

Honours

Club

;

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 ...

: *

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

MLS Cup:

Western Conference Championship:

: 2013 DC United

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saragosa, Marcelo 1982 births Living people Footballers from Campo Grande Men's association football midfielders Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers São Paulo FC players LA Galaxy players FC Dallas players Chivas USA players Ravan Baku FK players D.C. United players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Austin Bold FC players USL Championship executives 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen