Efraín Juárez

Efraín Juárez Valdez (born 22 February 1988) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current assistant manager of New York City FC.

Efraín Juárez
Juárez while playing for Celtic
Personal information
Full name Efraín Juárez Valdez
Date of birth (1988-02-22) 22 February 1988
Place of birth Mexico City, Mexico
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, right back
Club information
Current team
 New York City FC (assistant)
Youth career
2001–2006 UNAM
2006–2008 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 UNAM 66 (0)
2010–2012 Celtic 13 (0)
2011 → Real Zaragoza (loan) 15 (1)
2012–2014 América 6 (0)
2013–2014 → Monterrey (loan) 22 (1)
2014–2018 Monterrey 74 (2)
2018 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 16 (0)
2019 Vålerenga 19 (0)
Total 231 (4)
National team
2005 Mexico U17 5 (1)
2007 Mexico U20 4 (1)
2009–2012 Mexico 39 (1)
Teams managed
2020– New York City FC (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Juárez and the second or maternal family name is Valdez.

Club career

Club Universidad Nacional

Juárez joined the Pumas youth system at the age of thirteen. After winning the 2005 under-17 World Championship, playing a key role in defense, he was snapped up by Barcelona along with national teammate Jorge Hernández in 2006. Without very much support and very few minutes given in the Barcelona B team, he returned to Pumas Morelos and it took some time for coach Ricardo Ferretti to call him to Pumas. Competing for a position in the right wing with Fernando Espinoza, he quickly became a starter in Ferretti's team. With Ferretti's decision to give continuity to its team, Juárez renewed his contract facing the Clausura 2009 tournament. Pumas finished champions, beating Pachuca.[1]

Celtic

On 17 July 2010, Pumas accepted a bid for Juárez from Scottish Premier League club Celtic.[2] On 26 July a £2 million transfer was agreed and Juárez signed a four-year contract with The Hoops, making him the first ever Mexican player to play in the SPL.[3][4] Juárez made his Celtic debut in a 3–0 Champions League defeat away to Braga.[5] He scored his first goal for the club in the return fixture at Celtic Park with a header.[6] He then scored his second goal, again at Celtic Park, in a Europa League qualifying first leg match against Utrecht two weeks later.[7] Juárez was close to agreeing a loan move to Serie A side Brescia Calcio in the January 2011 transfer window but the deal fell through.[4] He had fallen out of favour with the first team and his agent admitted that Juárez would need to move on in the summer of 2011 in order to play first team football.[4]

Real Zaragoza (loan)
Juarez during his tenure at Zaragoza

On 26 July 2011, after weeks of speculation, Juárez was loaned out to La Liga side Real Zaragoza,[8][9] where he was reunited with former Mexico national team coach Javier Aguirre. He made his debut for Zaragoza in a 6–0 loss against Real Madrid.[10] He then scored his first goal for the club in a 4–3 defeat to Real Betis.[11]

América

On 5 June 2012 it was announced that Juárez had transferred to América in Mexico for an undisclosed fee, after failing to cement his place in the starting line-up for Celtic, and after his disappointing stint for Real Zaragoza.[12] He made his first appearance for América on 27 June in a 0–2 preseason loss against Jaguares.[13][14] He made his league debut on 21 July in a 0–0 draw against Monterrey.[15] On August 22 2012, Efrain suffered a broken arm during a cup game against Correcaminos in the 39th minute which he had to miss a few months. He was considered a flop in America not doing a lot for the club. He has won a league title with America in Clausura 2013 when America faced Cruz Azul in the league final.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Juárez signed with Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer on 18 January 2018.[16] On 1 February 2019, Juárez and Vancouver mutually agreed to part ways.[17]

International career

On 28 June 2009, Juárez made his first international cap with the Mexico senior team against Guatemala.[18] Juárez played a part of the team that won the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. In the Gold Cup, he mainly played at right back. He started and completed all games played in the competition. Thanks to his great performance, he quickly gained a spot on the national team. Juárez scored for Mexico against Costa Rica during a penalty shootout.[19]

On 11 June 2010, Juárez became the first player to be booked at the 2010 World Cup in Mexico's opening match against South Africa.[20][21] He also played in Mexico's 2–0 victory over France on 17 June, when he was replaced by Javier Hernandez on 55 minutes, who later himself went on to score.[22]

On 22 September 2010, it was announced that Juarez and Mexico teammate Carlos Vela banned from international duty for six months for their involvement in a party in Monterrey following a game with Colombia two weeks earlier.[23]

Juarez scored his first goal for the national team in the 5–0 win against El Salvador in the opening match of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup on 5 June.[24]

International goals
Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result CompetitionRef
1.5 June 2011Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, United States El Salvador1–05–02011 CONCACAF Gold Cup

International appearances

As of 29 February 2012

Career statistics

Club
As of 9 November 2013[25][26]
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Mexico League Cup League Cup North America Total
2008–09UNAMPrimera División41021431
2009–1025040290
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
2010–11CelticSPL130102042212
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2011–12ZaragozaLa Liga15100–––151
Mexico League Cup League Cup North America Total
2012–13AméricaLiga MX603090
Mexico League Cup League Cup North America Total
2013–14MonterreyLiga MX1100010120
Total Mexico 830300071931
Scotland 130102042202
Spain 151000000151
Career total 111130201131274

International
As of 29 February 2012
National teamYearAppsGoals
Mexico 200990
2010160
2011141
201200
201300
Total391

Honours

Club
Club Universidad Nacional
América
Monterrey

International
Mexico U-17
Mexico

References
  1. Mexican Primera Division Tables – 2008/2009 Clausura Soccerway
  2. Mexican star Juarez joins Bhoys in Seattle Archived 20 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine Celtic FC, 17 July 2010
  3. New Bhoy Juarez makes Paradise bow Archived 28 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine Celtic FC, 26 July 2010
  4. "Efrain Juarez could be set for move away from Celtic, admits agent". Daily Record. 19 March 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  5. Braga 3 – 0 Celtic BBC Sport, 28 July 2010
  6. Celtic 2–1 Braga (agg 2–4) BBC Sport, 4 August 2010
  7. "Celtic 2 – 0 FC Utrecht". BBC Sport. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  8. "Efrain Juárez joins Real Zaragoza on loan". Celtic FC Official Website. Retrieved 26 July.
  9. "Celtic hizo oficial la salida de Efraín Juárez al Zaragoza". Medio Tiempo. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  10. "Zaragoza 0–6 Real Madrid: Ronaldo hat-trick secures huge opening win for Los Blancos". A different league. 28 August 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  11. "Real Betis takes Spanish league lead with 4–3 win over Zaragoza". Washington Post. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  12. "Efrain Juarez moves from Celtic to Club America in his homeland". BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  13. "América pierde ante Jaguares en duelo de pretemporada". Récord. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  14. "Derrota Jaguares 2–0 al América". ESPN Deportes. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  15. "Monterrey 0–0 América… Un simple debut". Medio Tiempo. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  16. "Whitecaps FC acquire versatile Mexican midfielder Efraín Juárez from Club de Futbol Monterrey". 18 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  17. https://www.whitecapsfc.com/post/2019/02/01/whitecaps-fc-and-midfielder-efrain-juarez-mutually-agree-part-ways
  18. "México 0–0 Guatemala... Tri se peleó de nuevo con el gol". Medio Tiempo. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  19. "Costa Rica 1–1 Mexico". Soccernet. 23 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  20. Mexico's Juarez gets World Cup's first booking The Hindustan Times, 11 June 2010
  21. FT: South Africa 1 Mexico 1 Sky Sports, 11 June 2010
  22. Mexico subs shoot down France FIFA.com, 17 June 2010
  23. "Carlos Vela and Efrain Juarez banned by Mexico". BBC Sport. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  24. "Five-Star starts for Ticos, Mexico" FIFA.com, 6 June 2011
  25. "Efraín Juárez stats". Medio Tiempo. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  26. "Efraín Juárez stats". ESPN Deportes. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
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