 Peláez in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Peláez Linares | ||
| Date of birth | (1963-03-14)14 March 1963 (age 62) | ||
| Place of birth | Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft1+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1987 | América | 17 | (8) |
| 1987–1997 | Necaxa | 352 | (138) |
| 1997–1998 | América | 33 | (17) |
| 1998–2000 | Guadalajara | 42 | (15) |
| Total | 444 | (171) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989–1999 | Mexico | 43 | (16) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ricardo Peláez Linares (born 14 March 1963) is a Mexican former professionalfootballer who currently works forESPN Deportes andESPN Mexico as an analyst.
Peláez began his professional career withClub América, subsequently transferring toNecaxa two years later. He emerged as a pivotal player for the team, amassing more than 300 appearances and netting 158 goals, which established him as the club's all-time top scorer. He had a short return to Club América before concluding his career atGuadalajara. Peláez represented theMexico national team at the1998 FIFA World Cup.
Following his retirement, Peláez has assumed the role of football executive and sports analyst.
Ricardo Peláez Linares started his career as an accountant. After finishing his studies in accounting, Ricardo started to work doing public accountancy which he believed was something extremely boring and tiresome. Football being his hobby and passion, he decided to go for trials at Club América. He was 23 when the club headhunters recognized his talents and decided to place him in the first team.
He made his debut with Club America in 1985, winning theProde 85 title.
His best years came with Necaxa, with whom he won the league twice, in1994-95 and1995-96. He also won the Campeón de Campeones in 1994-95 and the Campeón de Copa in 1995-96. All of this led to Necaxa being named Team of the Decade.
Pelaez scored 158 goals for Necaxa, many of them headers (his best quality), making him the club's all-time leading scorer. After a brief return to Club América between 1997 and 1998, Peláez decided to join Guadalajara, with whom he finished as runner-up to Necaxa in the Torneo Invierno 98. He retired from professional football in 2000.
Peláez was part of the Mexico national team at the1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring two goals in the tournament.[1] Peláez scored the equalizer againstSouth Korea in a 3–1 win. Peláez scored his second goal of the tournament in a 2–2 draw against theNetherlands. Overall Peláez capped 43 times for Mexico and scored 16 goals.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | August 10, 1989 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,Los Angeles, United States |  South Korea | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1989 Los Angeles Cup |
| 2. | 2–0 | |||||
| 3. | 3–0 | |||||
| 4. | 4–2 | |||||
| 5. | March 20, 1990 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States |  Uruguay | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 6. | April 17, 1990 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States |  Colombia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 7. | January 11, 1996 | Jack Murphy Stadium,San Diego, United States |  Saint Vincent | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 8. | 4–0 | |||||
| 9. | May 29, 1996 | Hakatanomori Football Stadium,Hakata-ku,Japan |  Japan | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1996 Kirin Cup |
| 10. | September 15, 1996 | Arnos Vale Stadium,Kingstown,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Saint Vincent | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11. | 2–0 | |||||
| 12. | November 20, 1996 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States |  El Salvador | 2–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 13. | May 20, 1998 | Bislett Stadium,Oslo,Norway |  Norway | 1–2 | 2–5 | Friendly |
| 14. | 2–4 | |||||
| 15. | June 13, 1998 | Stade de Gerland,Lyon, France | South Korea | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
| 16. | June 25, 1998 | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard,Saint-Étienne, France |  Netherlands | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
On 8 November 2011, following the departure of Michel Bauer as president,[2] Peláez was named the new Sporting President ofClub América as part of a complete organizational restructuring.[3] His first act as president was the signing ofMiguel Herrera as the club's new manager.[4]
A year prior to the2014 FIFA World Cup, he was appointed Sporting Director of the Mexico national team, later returning to Club América at the end of the tournament. He left his role as Sporting President in April 2017.
Under Peláez's leadership, Club América consistently achieved qualification for the playoffs, reaching the finals four times and securing two league titles, in addition to twoCONCACAF Champions Cup titles.[5]
Peláez was announced as Director of Football forCruz Azul on 7 May 2018, replacingEduardo de la Torre. Peláez signed a two-year contract with the club and was presented on 9 May 2018.[6][7] In his first season with Cruz Azul, the team reached theCopa MX final, defeatingMonterrey 2–0 to win the cup.[8]
Following much speculation, Peláez was announced asGuadalajara's new Director of Football beginning in the2020 Clausura. On October 11, 2022 Chivas terminated the contract of sporting director Ricardo Pelaez after a 5-4 loss on penalties to Puebla in the first round of the Liga MX playoffs.[9]
In 2004, Peláez became a commentator for football matches on Mexican television stationTelevisa. Peláez has also lent his voice alongside commentator Enrique Bermúdez to be theSpanish language commentators for theFIFA videogames for the editions from2006 to2012.[10]
From September 2017 until May 2018, he worked as an analyst forESPN Deportes andESPN Mexico.[11]
América
Necaxa
Mexico
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