 Gomez warming up for theUnited States in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Herculez Gomez[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1982-04-06)April 6, 1982 (age 43) | ||
| Place of birth | Oxnard, California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2002 | Cruz Azul | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002 | San Diego Gauchos | 17 | (17) |
| 2002–2006 | LA Galaxy | 53 | (16) |
| 2003 | →Seattle Sounders (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2004 | →San Diego Sockers (loan) | 10 | (5) |
| 2007–2008 | Colorado Rapids | 37 | (6) |
| 2008–2009 | Kansas City Wizards | 34 | (1) |
| 2010 | Puebla | 15 | (10) |
| 2010–2011 | Pachuca | 29 | (5) |
| 2011 | Tecos | 16 | (7) |
| 2012–2013 | Santos Laguna | 45 | (13) |
| 2013–2015 | Tijuana | 21 | (0) |
| 2014 | →Tigres UANL (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2015 | →Puebla (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2015 | Toronto FC | 7 | (1) |
| 2016 | Seattle Sounders FC | 21 | (0) |
| Total | 350 | (85) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2013 | United States | 24 | (6) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Herculez Gomez (born April 6, 1982) is an American former professionalsoccer player who played as aforward. He currently works as a commentator in both English and Spanish forESPN.
Gomez, the oldest of five children, was born and raised inOxnard, California,[2][3][4] toMexican-American parents.[5] He grew up inLas Vegas, Nevada,[6] and played on the soccer team atLas Vegas High School.[7]
Gomez started his career in 2001 withCruz Azul of theMexican Primera División on their second-division squad, and transferred to second-division team Aguilas Blancas de Puebla later that year. The following season, he returned to the Primera División withDurango. However, playing opportunities were scarce for him there. TheLos Angeles Galaxy staff noticed him during a friendly match and he joined the team in September.[8]
Gomez broke his foot while on loan to theSeattle Sounders of theUnited Soccer Leagues, and recovery took a long time. When he was able to play again, he joined theSan Diego Sockers of theMajor Indoor Soccer League.[9] He returned to the Galaxy for the 2005 season on a developmental contract, and played well enough to make it to the first team. His big chance came whenLandon Donovan was called up to thenational team. Donovan's absence gave Gomez many more starts at striker, and he was able to shine as a breakout goal-scorer.[10]
He scored the game-winning goal in the 2005U.S. Open Cup Final, then helped the Galaxy to a rare Cup 'double' when they also won the 2005MLS Cup. Gomez ended the 2005 season with eighteen goals scored for the Galaxy (in all matches), and was voted by the local L.A. media as the year's Most Valuable Player.[11]
Early in the 2006 season, Gomez was moved to the bench with then-coachSteve Sampson. Sampson used Gomez as a midfielder to see if he could score goals running at defenses. After Sampson's firing, however, Gomez scored several times under new coachFrank Yallop, and ended that season with five goals.[12]
In December 2006, Gomez was traded to the Colorado Rapids along withUgo Ihemelu in exchange forJoe Cannon.[13] He scored the first goal in the history ofDick's Sporting Goods Park in his first game for Colorado, a 2–1 win overD.C. United on April 7, 2007. Gomez tore hisACL during training with the Rapids in September of that year and underwent a lengthy recovery process.[14]
Gomez was traded toKansas City Wizards in exchange for allocation money, a fourth round2009 MLS SuperDraft pick and a first round 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft pick in September 2008.[15] His only goal for the Wizards was an injury time winner againstSan Jose Earthquakes, a must win game in their 2008 play-offs push.[16]
After being released by Kansas City in late 2009, Gomez signed with Mexican clubPuebla in January 2010.[17] He scored ten goals in the 2010 Mexican season[18] to tie for the lead for most goals; this feat marked the first time any American player led a foreign league in goals.[19] He moved toPachuca in the summer 2010 window.
Pachuca placed Gomez, along with its entire squad, on the transfer list.[20] During the transfer window he moved along with teammateBraulio Luna toEstudiantes Tecos.[21] Gomez scored his first goal for his new club in the second game of the Mexico Apertura season, coming in a 2–1 loss to San Luis.[22] On August 19, Gomez scored the winner as a sub against his former club Pachuca.[23]
Cash-strapped Estudiantes Tecos were forced into selling Gomez to league rivalsSantos Laguna in December 2011.[24] Gomez scored 11 goals in his first 12 appearances for the team across all competitions.
With Santos Laguna's2012 Clausura victory, Gomez became the first player to have won both the MLS Cup and the Primera División championship.[25] In 2013, he moved toClub Tijuana. After struggling with Tijuana, he was loaned toTigres UANL for the 2014–15 season.[26] However, he ended the season poorly with only one goal. His loan was not extended.
In August 2015, Gomez joinedToronto FC.[27]
After his release from Toronto at the beginning of the2016 MLS season, Gomez joinedSeattle Sounders FC.[28] He won MLS Cup for the second time in his career. He retired following the season and joinedESPN as an analyst.[29]
Gomez was named to theUnited States roster for the2007 Copa America and earned his first cap as a second-half substitute againstArgentina, with his first start coming againstColombia.[30]
After a lengthy absence from the national team, Gomez was named to the provisional 30-man U.S. squad for the2010 FIFA World Cup after a highly productive club season in Mexico. He scored a goal for the U.S. national team in a 4–2 friendly defeat to theCzech Republic on May 25; the next day he was named to the final 23-man squad.[31] Gomez played in 3 out of the 4 games for the United States at the World Cup, including theround of 16 game againstGhana.
Gomez made his return to the national team in 2012, appearing in friendlies againstScotland andBrazil and scoring a goal against the latter. Later in 2012, he scored goals in World Cup qualifying againstAntigua and Barbuda andJamaica
His last national team appearance came during the2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[32][33]
In January 2017, Gomez announced his retirement from professional soccer, and joined the broadcasting team atESPN. He typically appears as a studio analyst / pundit forESPN FC, MLS games, and U.S. National Team games.[34] Also, he is the co-host of several podcasts, most notably the Max and Herc podcast withMax Bretos, where they discuss news aroundMajor League Soccer and theUnited States national team, and the Two on Tri podcast withSebastian Salazar, where they discuss theLiga MX, theMexico national team, and Mexican players abroad.
He and Salazar also host"Fútbol Americas" onESPN+.
Herculez is the brother ofMMA fighterUlysses Gomez.[35]
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| USA | League | Cup | League Cup | CONCACAF | Total | |||||||
| 2003 | LA Galaxy | Major League Soccer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | Seattle Sounders | A-League | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| 2005 | LA Galaxy | Major League Soccer | 22 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 18 |
| 2006 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 | ||
| 2007 | Colorado Rapids | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 | |
| 2008 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | ||
| 2008 | Kansas City Wizards | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| Mexico | League | Cup | League Cup | CONCACAF | Total | |||||||
| 2009–10 | Puebla | Liga MX | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 10 | ||
| 2010–11 | Pachuca | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 5 | |||
| 2011–12 | Tecos | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 7 | |||
| Santos Laguna | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 6 | 23 | 13 | |||
| 2012–13 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 3 | 43 | 11 | |||
| 2013–14 | Tijuana | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 3 | 25 | 3 | ||
| 2014–15 | Tigres UANL (loan) | 15 | 0 | 7 | 5 | – | – | 22 | 5 | |||
| Puebla (loan) | 13 | 1 | 7 | 2 | – | – | 20 | 3 | ||||
| Canada | League | Cup | League Cup | CONCACAF | Total | |||||||
| 2015 | Toronto FC | Major League Soccer | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 8 | 1 | |
| USA | League | Cup | MLS Cup | CONCACAF | Total | |||||||
| 2016 | Seattle Sounders FC | Major League Soccer | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 25 | 1 | |
| Total | USA/Canada | 169 | 25 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 192 | 33 | |
| Mexico | 131 | 37 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 165 | 56 | ||
| Career total | 300 | 62 | 25 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 20 | 12 | 357 | 90 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | |||
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2013 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 24 | 6 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 25, 2010 | Rentschler Field,East Hartford, United States |  Czech Republic | 2–2 | 2–4 | Friendly |
| 2 | June 5, 2010 | Ruimsig Stadium,Roodepoort, South Africa |  Australia | 3–1 | 3–1 | |
| 3 | May 30, 2012 | FedExField,Landover, United States |  Brazil | 1–2 | 1–4 | |
| 4 | June 8, 2012 | Raymond James Stadium,Tampa, United States |  Antigua and Barbuda | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | September 11, 2012 | Columbus Crew Stadium,Columbus, United States |  Jamaica | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 6 | July 5, 2013 | Qualcomm Stadium,San Diego, United States |  Guatemala | 1–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
LA Galaxy
Santos Laguna
Puebla
Seattle Sounders FC
United States
Individual
United States squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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