Raúl Díaz Arce
Raúl Díaz Arce (born February 1, 1970 in San Miguel, El Salvador) is a retired Salvadoran footballer who played as a forward. He is El Salvador's most prolific goal scorer, with 39 goals in just 68 appearances.[1]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Raúl Ignacio Díaz Arce | ||
Date of birth | February 1, 1970 | ||
Place of birth | San Miguel, El Salvador | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1988–1990 | Dragón | ||
1991–1996 | Luis Ángel Firpo | ||
1996–1997 | D.C. United | 50 | (38) |
1998 | New England Revolution | 32 | (18) |
1999 | San Jose Clash | 18 | (4) |
1999–2000 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 22 | (13) |
2000–2001 | D.C. United | 18 | (6) |
2001 | Colorado Rapids | 12 | (3) |
2002 | Charleston Battery | 24 | (5) |
2002 | Águila | 24 | (5) |
2003 | Charleston Battery | 26 | (6) |
2004 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 15 | (7) |
Total | 241 | (105) | |
National team‡ | |||
1987–2003 | El Salvador | 68 | (39) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 March 2010 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2010 |
Playing career
Early career
From 1988 to 1991, Arce played for Dragon in the Salvadoran second division, where he was the league's leading scorer in the 1991/92 season with 21 goals. Playing for Dragon, in two seasons in first division, Ignacio Raul scored 34 goals (89/90 = 13 90/91 = 21), in the second season he was the scoring champion of the regular season when he played four laps. He then moved up to play for C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo of the Salvadoran first division from 1991 to 1996. Here he would go on to win the league's top scorer three season in a row (1993–1996) with 24, 21 and 25, respectively. In Luis Ángel Firpo he scored in five seasons with a total of 119 goals. These early achievements earned him a spot in the national team and employment in the U.S. Soccer.[2]
D.C. United
In 1996, Diaz Arce signed with Major League Soccer, and was drafted tenth overall in the MLS Inaugural Player Draft by D.C. United. He quickly established himself as a dangerous striker in the league, scoring 23 goals in his first season with United, second in the league behind Roy Lassiter, and still the fifth best single-season mark in MLS history. Diaz Arce was also the first player in MLS history to score a hat-trick in postseason play. He scored 3 against the Tampa Bay Mutiny on October 10, 1996. DC United won 4-1 and would go on to become the first MLS Champions. Diaz Arce continued to light things up in his second season, registering 15 goals, and helping D.C. United to win their second consecutive MLS Cup.
New England Revolution
Salary cap pressures, and reported conflicts between Diaz Arce and Marco Etcheverry, resulted in D.C. trading one of the league's most prolific scorers to the New England Revolution in the offseason of 1997. Diaz Arce continued to excel in New England, scoring 18 goals and 8 assists for his new team.
End of MLS career
Nevertheless, Diaz Arce was traded again, and would eventually play for the Tampa Bay Mutiny and San Jose Clash, as well as being briefly owned by the MetroStars, registering 13 goals and 7 assists in the 1999 season. Diaz Arce would continue to be shuttled around in 2000, playing for Tampa Bay and D.C. again in 2000, and scoring a career low 9 goals. Diaz Arce continued to decline in 2001, playing only briefly for D.C. United before being traded again to the Colorado Rapids, with whom he would end his career in MLS. Diaz Arce left MLS second in career goals scored with 82, behind only Roy Lassiter, although he has fallen to sixth as Jason Kreis, Jaime Moreno, Ante Razov and Jeff Cunningham have surpassed both of their totals.
Charleston & Puerto Rico
For the 2002 season, Diaz Arce played for the Charleston Battery of the A-League, scoring 6 goals and 4 assists in 1319 minutes. He was not the success Charleston had hoped for, however, and left following the year. In 2004, Diaz Arce joined the struggling expansion Puerto Rico Islanders, and gave the team a significant boost, scoring two goals in his first game and a total of 7 in 1233 minutes, and helping the team attain a level of respectability. He is now the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Director at the Chicago Magico Soccer Club.
International career
Diaz Arce made his debut for El Salvador in an April 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup qualification match against Nicaragua in which he scored two goals. Over his career, he earned a total of 68 caps, scoring a record 39 goals. He represented his country in 28 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[3] and played at several UNCAF Nations Cups as well as at the 1996[4] and 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cups.[5] His final international was a September 2000 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Honduras.
International goals
- Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each El Salvador goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 April 1991 | Dennis Martínez National Stadium, Managua, Nicaragua | Nicaragua | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup qualification | |
2 | 3–2 | ||||||
3 | 24 April 1991 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | 2–0 | 2–0 | |||
4 | 29 May 1991 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica | Costa Rica | 1–0 | 1–7 | 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup | |
5 | 6 December 1992 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | Jamaica | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
6 | 18 February 1993 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States | Russia | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly | |
7 | 7 March 1993 | Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras | Panama | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1993 UNCAF Nations Cup | |
8 | 12 March 1993 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | Bolivia | 1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly | |
9 | 2–1 | ||||||
10 | 23 March 1993 | United States | 1–0 | 2–2 | |||
11 | 9 May 1993 | Honduras | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
12 | 3 May 1994 | Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States | 1–0 | 3–1 | Miami Cup | ||
13 | 2–0 | ||||||
14 | 3–0 | ||||||
15 | 29 November 1995 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | Belize | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup | |
16 | 10 December 1995 | Costa Rica | 1–0 | 2–1 | |||
17 | 10 January 1996 | Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, United States | Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup | |
18 | 3–2 | ||||||
19 | 8 September 1996 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | Cuba | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
20 | 4–0 | ||||||
21 | 8 September 1996 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Panama | 1–1 | 1–1 | ||
22 | 10 November 1996 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | 1–1 | 3–2 | |||
23 | 1 December 1996 | Cuba | 2–0 | 3–0 | |||
24 | 4 May 1997 | Costa Rica | 1–0 | 2–1 | |||
25 | 29 June 1997 | United States | 1–1 | 1–1 | |||
26 | 14 September 1997 | Canada | 4–1 | 4–1 | |||
27 | 16 November 1997 | Foxboro Stadium, Foxboro, United States | United States | 2–3 | 2–4 | ||
28 | 8 October 1999 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States | Canada | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification | |
29 | 10 October 1999 | Cuba | 1–1 | 1–3 | |||
30 | 29 February 2000 | Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González, San Salvador, El Salvador | Panama | 2–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
31 | 3–1 | ||||||
32 | 5 March 2000 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | Belize | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
33 | 28 March 2000 | Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González, San Salvador, El Salvador | Haiti | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
34 | 2 April 2000 | Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Guatemala | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
35 | 16 April 2000 | People's Stadium, Orange Walk Town, Belize | Belize | 1–0 | 3–1 | ||
36 | 7 May 2000 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | Guatemala | 1–0 | 3–1 | ||
37 | 23 July 2000 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 5–1 | 7–1 | |||
38 | 6–1 | ||||||
39 | 7–1 |
Honours
Club
- Luis Ángel Firpo
- Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador (2): 1991/92, 1992/93
- D.C. United:
- MLS Cup (2): 1996, 1997
- MLS Supporters' Shield (1): 1997
- U.S. Open Cup (1): 1996
- Charleston Battery:
- USL First Division (1): 2003
- Southern Derby (1): 2003
On August 26, 2009, Díaz-Arce was announced as a new member in the DC United Hall of Tradition.
References
- Raúl Ignacio Díaz Arce - International Goals - RSSSF
- "Los goles hablan por él". elgrafico.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
- Raúl Díaz Arce – FIFA competition record
- CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 1996 - Full Details - RSSSF
- CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 1998 - Full Details - RSSSF
External links
- Raúl Díaz Arce at National-Football-Teams.com
- Charleston Battery Player Profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 2008-03-16)