Mauricio Antonio Cruz Jiron (born 11 March 1957) is a former

Nicaraguan Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and ...

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 currently coaches CD Walter Ferretti in the Primera División de Nicaragua.

Club career

During his career he played for Diriangén and Honduran outfit Universidad.

International career

Cruz made his debut for

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

in the 1970s and represented his country in 2

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches, both in 1992 versus

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 ...

. Cruz represented Nicaragua at the 1975 Pan American Games. His final international was a July 1992

match against El Salvador.

Managerial career

He has been national team manager during 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and again during a short 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification spell in 2008. Cruz took charge of Diriangén again in summer 2008 after he had left them in 2006.Mauricio Cruz, último campeón
- El Nuevo Diario

Personal life

He has a brother named Donaldo Jiron.

References

External links

* ttps://www.nasljerseys.com/MISL/Players/C/Cruz.Maricio.htm MISL stats 1957 births Living people Nicaraguan men's footballers Nicaragua men's international footballers Diriangén FC players Nicaraguan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Honduras Nicaraguan expatriate sportspeople in Honduras Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Nicaraguan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Chicago Horizons players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Diriangén F.C. managers Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras players Nicaraguan football managers Nicaragua national football team managers Men's association football forwards {{Nicaragua-footy-bio-stub