Hispanic/Latino American Greatest All-Time Team (USA)
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
African American Players
German Americans/American Germans
USA All-Time Team
USA 2010
This is my selection of a 23 member all-time team for Hispanic/Latino American players. The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.
The national origins classified as Hispanic or Latino by the U.S. Census Bureau are the following: Spain, Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Hispanic/Latino-Americans contributed enormously to soccer in the United States. They are very enthusiastic toward the sport. Some of greatest American soccer players such as Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna, Marcelo Balboa, etc are Hispanic/Latino Americans. At one point, the MLS even had a team Chivas USA for Hispanic fans. However, the number of Hispanic/Latino American players are not proportional to the population of Hispanic/Latinos in the United States.
Please see also:
USA All-Time Team
African-American Players
German-Americans/American Germans
Team
GK: Nick Rimando
Rimando's father is of Filipino descent and his mother is of Mexican descent. He played for Miami Fusion, DC United and Real Salt Lake. He is one of the best keeper in MLS. At the time of writing, he was capped 21 times for the United States. He is mainly a backup to Tim Howard.
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| Nick Rimando |
After playing for University of Portland, he went to play for Kaiserslautern and then, Karlsruher in Germany. In 2012, he returned to MLS playing for NY Red Bulls. At the time of writing, he is capped twice.
GK: Austin Guerrero
Guerrero played for portland in NCAA soccer. He later played for Tigres UANL, Altamira, Puebla FC. he was capped once by the US Under-20 team.
CB/RB/LB: Michael Orozco
Orozco made his professional debut for San Luis during the Apertura 2006 tournament. He played in 106 league matches for the club until its move to Chiapas. In January 2010, he went to Philadelphia Union on loan and to Puebla on loan in 2013-2015. He moved to Tijuana in 2015. At the time of writing, he was capped 29 times.
CB: Marcelo Balboa
A son of an Argentine footballer. he started his career with San Diego State. Later, he went to play in various teams in the United Sates before the launch of MLS in 1996. He spent a season with Leon in Mexico before joining Colorado Rapids. He was capped 128 times in the 1990's and was the captain of USMNT. he played in three WC Finals.
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| Marcelo Balboa |
Bocanegra also played professionally in England, Scotland, France, and Spain. His two longest stints were with Chicago Fire and Fulham. He earned over 100 caps with the United States, serving as captain for six years. He played in the WC Finals in 2006 and 2010.
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| Carlos Bocanegra |
CB: Omar Gonzalez
A college soccer player for the Maryland Terrapins, he joined the LA Galaxy in the 2009 and went on to play 180 regular season games for them, winning the MLS Cup in 2011, 2013 and 2014. He was named the MLS Rookie of the Year in 2009 and the MLS Defender of the Year in 2011. He now plays for Pachuca. Capped over 30 caps at this moment. He went to Brazil 2014.
CB: Carlos Llamosa
He began his professional football career in 1986 with Colombian third division club Colmena. In 1990, he moved to Colombian first division side Huila. In 1991, Llamosa emigrated to the United States to join the rest of his family. In the US, he gave up the sport for a few years before playing in the A-League. In 1997, he joined the MLS, notably played for Bruce Arena with DC United. He later played for New England Revolution and Chivas USA. Capped 29 times. He appeared at the WC Finals in 2002.
LB: Fernando Clavijo
Originally from Uruguay, he was also a successful indoor player. He did play briefly for San Jose Earthquakes in the NASL. He was an all-star. In the 1990's, he was a regular member of the USMNT. He played in USA 1994 as their starting left back.
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| Fernando Clavijo |
He was a son of a Mexican mother and a Jewish father. Drafted by Chivas USA, he also played for Tigres de la UANL. Now, he is with Queretaro in Mexico. Capped over 30 times. He went to South Africa 2010.
DM: Chris Armas
A Puerto Rican-American. He played in USISL before joining LA Galaxy. He joined Chicago Fire in 1998, where he became a star player there. He won the MLS Cup in 1998. He was capped by Puerto Rico in non-FIFA recognised games. He switched his eligibility to the USA in 1998. He earned 66 caps. He won two Gold Cups. An injury kept him out of World Cup 2002.
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| Chris Armas |
DM: Martin Vasquez
Vasquez moved to the US at the age of 12. After college soccer, he played indoor soccer before heading to Mexico. He played for Cachorros de la Universidad de Guadalajara, Puebla FC, CD Veracruz and F.C. Atlas. He played in MLS for Tampa Bay Mutiny and San Jose Clash. The next year, he played for the Orange County Zodiac in the USL A-League. He was capped three times for Mexico in matches not sanctioned by FIFA. In 1996, he switched to play for the USA and earned 7 caps.
DM: Palbo Mastroeni
Mastroeni moved to the United States from Argentina with his family at the age of four. He played for North Carolina State University. In MLS, he played for Miami Fusion, Colorado Rapids and LA Galaxy. He earned 65 caps. He played in the WC Finals in both 2002 and 2006.
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| Palbo Mastroeni |
CM: Ringo Cantillo
Cantillo began his professional soccer career with the Cincinnati Comets of the American Soccer League in 1972. He played seven seasons in the American Soccer League where he was the league MVP as a rookie. He won MVP honors a total of three times in the ASL. He also played in the NASL. He earned 11 caps for the USA.
CM: Claudio Reyna
Born in New Jersey, his father was from Argentina. He played for Virginia in NCAA soccer before embarking on a successful career in Germany, Scotland and England before returning to the USA to play for NY Red Bulls. Capped 112 times. He is considered one of the greatest players ever in the US. He was a non-playing member in USA 1994, but played in the WC Finals in 1998, 2002 and 2006. He was on the World Cup All-Star team in 2002.
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| Claudio Reyna |
CM: Jose Francisco Torres
Torres was recruited by Pachuca while he was still attending high school in Texas. He broke into the starting lineup during the 2008 Apertura season in central midfield. He appeared in all three matches at the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup for Pachuca. In 2012, he was transferred to Tigres UANL. Capped 26 times at this moment. He was a member of 2013 Gold Cup winning team.
CM: Angelo DiBernardo
DiBernardo, a native of Argentina, moved to the United States with his family when he was sixteen. He played with Los Angeles Aztecs, who drafted DiBernardo, of the North American Soccer League. He played the 1979 season with the Aztecs before they traded him to the New York Cosmos. He would remain with the Cosmos from 1980 until 1984 when the NASL collapsed. In addition to playing outdoors with the Cosmos, DiBernardo played the 1983-1984 NASL indoor season. In May 1984, the Cosmos asked DiBernardo to take a 20% pay cut. He refused and the team placed him on waivers seven games into the season. After NASL, he played indoor soccer. Capped 20 times.
CM: Alejandro Bedoya
Both his father and grandfather played professionally in Colombia. After college, he went to play in Europe. He played for Örebro SK, Rangers, Helsingborgs IF and Nantes before returning to MLS in 2016. At the time of writing, he plays for Philadelphia Union. Capped over 50 times. He played in the WC finals in 2014.
AM: Tab Ramos
Ramos was considered one of the greatest soccer players from the USA and was elected to the Hall of Fame. He played professionally in Spain and Mexico before becoming the first player ever to sign with Major League Soccer. He spent the last seven years of his career with the MetroStars. Ramos was the star of USMNT in the early 1990's. He played in three WC Finals: 1990,1994 and 1998.
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| Tab Ramos |
AM: Hugo Perez
Born in El Salvador, he moved to the US at a young age. He played professionally in the United States, France, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and his native El Salvador. He was one of the few American professional players before the 1990's. He had 73 caps. He missed the 1990 WC Finals due an injury, but was selected to the 1994 team.
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| Hugo Perez |
FW: Herculez Gomez
Gomez started his career with Cruz Azul in Mexico, but he played for in both the US and Mexico. He won the MLS Cup in 2005 with LA Galaxy. In 2010, he signed with Mexican club Puebla F.C. where he emerged as a top-scorer at the Mexican league. He won the 2012 Primera División championship with Santos Laguna, and became the first player to have won both the MLS Cup and the Primera División championship. Capped 24 times. He played for the USA in World Cup 2010.
FW: Chico Borja
Born in Ecuador, his family moved to the US. He spent time in the several U.S.-based leagues including the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and the American Soccer League. He played for NY Cosmos and Team America in the early 1980's. Capped 11 times. He represented the USA at the 1983 Olympics.
FW: Juan Agudelo
He moved to the US as an early age from Colombia. He started with New York Red Bulls, Chivas USA and New England Revolution before heading to Stoke City. He was sent on loan to FC Utrecht in Holland. He returned to New England Revolution in 2015. At the time of writing, he has over 20 caps.
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| Juan Agudelo |
Honorable Mention
Edgar Castillo, Ramiro Corrales, Efrain “Chico” Chacurian, Santino Quaranta, Ventura Alvarado, Alfredo Morales, Ruben Mendoza, Alfredo Morales, Paul Arriola.
Squad Explanation
-- The national origins classified as Hispanic or Latino by the U.S. Census Bureau are the following: Spain, Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
-- Haitians are not classified as Hispanic or Latino. So Jozy Altidore and Joe Gaetjens are not included.
-- Richard Sanchez, Cirilo Saucedo and Jesse Gonzalez were born in the US, but were capped by Mexico. This team is for players who are eligible for the US national team. Gonzalez, however, is switching to play in the United States. At the time of writing, he has not played for the US senior team. I won't put him here before he keeps his final commitment,
-- William Yarbrough was born in Mexico, but he is not a Hispanic or a Latino. I could not decide about his eligibility for this team. So I just left him off the squad for now. Austin Guerrero perhaps is my only other choice for the third keeper.
-- The team has many leftbacks or players who have played there. I have to leave out Edgar Castillo and Ramiro Corrales. Bornstein has a Mexican mother.
-- The rightback position is difficult. Michael Orozco is the only player of note who played as a rightback. I am not sure if Alfredo Morales played there. Kellyn Acosta has a Spanish surname, but I do not know if he is Hispanic. Ventura Alvarado has played as a rigttback.
-- John Souza and Ed Souza are Portuguese-Americans.
Formation
The formation is 4-3-2-1. I tried to field the most famous players on the same field. Hugo Perez played as a forward against Brazil at the WC Finals in 1994.
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