Claudio Suárez

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Claudio Suárez
Claudio Suarez.jpg
Suárez in 2012
Personal information
Full name Claudio Suárez Sánchez
Date of birth (1968-12-17) 17 December 1968 (age 52)
Place of birth Texcoco, Mexico
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1996 UNAM 204 (19)
1996–2000 Guadalajara 144 (10)
2000–2005 UANL 143 (15)
2006–2009 Chivas USA 64 (9)
Total 555 (53)
National team
1992–2006 Mexico 177 (7)
Honours
Representing  Mexico
Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 1998
Winner FIFA Confederations Cup 1999
Runner-up Copa America 1993
Third place Copa America 1997
Third place Copa America 1999
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Claudio Suárez Sánchez (locally [ˈklawðjo ˈswaɾes ˈsantʃes]; born 17 December 1968) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Nicknamed El Emperador (The Emperor), he has the record for most caps with the Mexico national team, as well as fourth place all-time, after Egyptian midfielder Ahmed Hassan, Spaniard defender Sergio Ramos and Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Deayea.

Club career[]

Born in Texcoco, State of Mexico and nicknamed El Emperador ("The Emperor"), Suárez began his club career with UNAM Pumas, where he played from 1988 to 1996 where he became champion in 1991. He moved to Guadalajara as an important piece for the 1996 Apertura, and remained there for 3 years, through the 1999 Clausura where he became champion in the Verano 1997 tournament, and was called to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. After being in the All Mexican Team, as an important and solid defender he was transferred to Tigres.

Suárez then moved on to UANL Tigres, where he played from 1999 to the end of 2005. He led the team's defense during that time, and was league runner-up twice, in 2001 and 2003. His last game with Tigres, and in the Mexico league, was a semi-final Clásico Regiomontano in which he was sent off in a controversial referee decision. Previous to this incident, he already had disagreements with the team's management. Tigre's directive organization had asked Suarez to retire for years and join the management, but Suarez had refused. Other differences in defensive style were also cause for conflict with the team's management. The semi-final was the last excuse for separation.

In 2006, he moved to Major League Soccer to play for Chivas USA.

On 8 March 2009, after negotiations with his contract fell, Suarez announced his retirement. However, on 20 March 2009, he decided to return to professional soccer for another year. He was the last active soccer player left from Mexico's 1994 FIFA World Cup squad until he announced his retirement on 26 March 2010.[2]

On 5 September 2010, Suárez came out of retirement to play for the Carolina Railhawks in an exhibition game with the Pumas Morelos.[3]

International career[]

Claudio was a member and starter for the Mexico national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States as well as the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. He missed 2002 FIFA World Cup due to injury before the tournament began, but was picked to go to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. This FIFA World Cup meant his third World Cup in his career. Despite being picked for the squad he saw no action, but he did wear his legendary number 2 jersey.

Claudio captained the Mexico national team for many years and officially represented Mexico 177 times (178 in Mexican record keeping) making him the player with the most caps in history for the Mexico National Team as well as giving him the FIFA world record for most caps by a field player (since surpassed by Ahmed Hassan in 2012), as well as the North American record (which he still holds).[4]

On 25 March 2007, Suárez along with former national team and Chivas USA teammate Ramón Ramírez were honored in a friendly against Paraguay at Estadio Universitario.[5]

Personal life[]

Suárez currently resides in Southern California with his wife and three children,[6] and works as a commentator for Fox Deportes.

Career statistics[]

Club[]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup North America Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
UNAM 1988–89 Primera División 5 0 2 0 7 0
1989–90 17 0 2 0 1 0 20 0
1990–91 40 3 7 2 1 0 48 5
1991–92 40 0 4 0 44 0
1992–93 13 4 0 0 7 0 20 4
1993–94 20 3 0 0 20 3
1994–95 37 4 1 0 38 4
1995–96 32 5 1 0 33 5
Total 204 19 17 2 9 0 230 21
Guadalajara 199697 Primera División 39 6 4 0 43 6
199798 32 1 1 0 12 0 45 1
199899 39 1 4 0 43 1
199900 34 2 0 0 34 2
Total 144 10 9 0 12 0 165 10
UANL 200001 Primera División 29 3 0 0 29 3
200102 33 5 0 0 33 5
200203 18 3 0 0 18 3
200304 37 1 3 0 40 1
200405 20 3 2 0 2 0 24 3
2005 6 0 0 0 6 0
Total 143 15 5 0 2 0 150 15
Chivas USA 2006 Major League
Soccer
20 6 0 0 20 6
2007 25 3 0 0 25 3
2008 14 0 0 0 2 0 17 0
2009 5 0 0 0 2 0 7 0
Total 64 9 0 0 4 0 68 9
Career total 555 53 31 2 27 0 613 55

International goals[]

Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Suárez goal.[7]
List of international goals scored by Claudio Suárez
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 November 1992 Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown, Saint Vincent  Saint Vincent 2–0 4–0 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
2 22 November 1992 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Costa Rica 2–0 4–0 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
3 27 January 1993 Estadio Insular, Las Palmas, Spain  Spain 1–0 1–1 Friendly
4 14 December 1994 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Hungary 3–1 5–1 Friendly
5 11 October 1995 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States  Saudi Arabia 1–1 2–1 Friendly
6 31 January 2001 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States  Colombia 1–0 2–3 Friendly
7 1 May 2001 Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico  Brazil 1–0 3–3 Friendly

Honours[]

UNAM

Guadalajara

UANL

Chivas USA

Mexico

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Claudio Suárez". worldfootball.net.
  2. ^ "Claudio Suárez le dijo adiós a las canchas". www.mediotiempo.com.
  3. ^ "Mexican legend debuts in Railhawks 3-0 win over Pumas Morelos". carolinarailhawks.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  4. ^ Baum, Robert (17 February 2020). "11 of the most capped Mexico players". SoccerGator. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. ^ México, El Universal, Compañia Periodística Nacional. "Preparan homenaje para Claudio Suárez y Ramón Ramírez".
  6. ^ "Chivas USA: Roster, Player Bio". Archived from the original on 19 June 2009.
  7. ^ "Claudio Suárez - Century of International Appearances". www.rsssf.com.

External links[]

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