Alejandro Moreno
{{short description|Venezuelan footballer (born 1979)}}
{{for multi|the Mexican volleyball player|Alejandro Moreno (volleyball)|the politician|Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas|the wrestler|Alejandro Muñoz Moreno}}
{{family name hatnote|Moreno|Riera|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Alejandro Moreno
| image = Alejandro Moreno 2011 Chivas USA.jpg
| caption = Moreno with Chivas USA in 2011
| fullname = Alejandro Enrique Moreno Riera
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|7|8}}
| birth_place = Barquisimeto, Venezuela
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=9}}
| position = Forward
| currentclub =
| youthyears1 = 1993–1998
| youthclubs1 = Dallas Texans
| collegeyears1 = 1998–2001
| college1 = UNC Greensboro Spartans
| years1 = 2002–2004
| clubs1 = Los Angeles Galaxy
| caps1 = 61
| goals1 = 12
| years2 = 2005
| clubs2 = San Jose Earthquakes
| caps2 = 31
| goals2 = 8
| years3 = 2006–2007
| clubs3 = Houston Dynamo
| caps3 = 34
| goals3 = 3
| years4 = 2007–2009
| clubs4 = Columbus Crew
| caps4 = 74
| goals4 = 20
| years5 = 2010
| clubs5 = Philadelphia Union
| caps5 = 26
| goals5 = 2
| years6 = 2011–2012
| clubs6 = Chivas USA
| caps6 = 46
| goals6 = 7
| totalcaps = 272
| totalgoals = 52
| nationalyears1 = 2004–2012
| nationalteam1 = Venezuela
| nationalcaps1 = 41
| nationalgoals1 = 3
| medaltemplates =
}}
Alejandro Enrique Moreno Riera (born July 8, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional footballer who played as a forward, and who is a television commentator for ESPN FC, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Latin America. Moreno won three MLS Cups during his professional career. Moreno was chosen in 2021 to work as a commentator in the 2020 European Championship.
Club career
=College=
Moreno spent a year in Texas at age 12 and spent succeeding summers there before earning a scholarship for four years of college soccer at UNC Greensboro. He finished his college career fourth on the team's all-time scoring lists, with 65 goals and 25 assists, having been named first team NSCAA All-South all four years with the team.
=Professional=
After completing his career at Greensboro, Moreno was drafted 27th overall in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft by the Los Angeles Galaxy. He played sparingly in his rookie season, but developed into an excellent sparkplug coming off the bench in his second season, when he registered six goals and two assists in 1,117 minutes of playing time.
Although Moreno exhibited a good deal of promise in 2003, he was not able to earn a consistent starting role with the Galaxy because of a logjam at the forward position, which included Guatemalan star Carlos Ruiz and former US international Jovan Kirovski, as well as recent acquisition Joseph Ngwenya. In 2004, Moreno again registered six goals and two assists, this time in 1,297 minutes. He was traded to San Jose Earthquakes in the offseason in a four-player deal.{{cite web |url=http://www.ktvu.com/news/sports/quakes-acquire-moreno-aloisi-in-trade-with-galaxy/nKkhp/ |title=Quakes Acquire Moreno, Aloisi In Trade With Galaxy | www.ktvu.com |access-date=2014-11-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104143952/http://www.ktvu.com/news/sports/quakes-acquire-moreno-aloisi-in-trade-with-galaxy/nKkhp/ |archive-date=2014-11-04 }} In his lone season with the Quakes, Moreno scored eight goals with four assists. Along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, he moved to Houston for the 2006 season.
Moreno was traded to the Columbus Crew on May 10, 2007, in exchange for Joseph Ngwenya.{{cite web |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news?slug=houstoncolumbusdeal |title=Dynamo pick up F Ngwenya in trade with Crew - MLS - Yahoo Sports |access-date=2017-01-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305104613/http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news?slug=houstoncolumbusdeal |archive-date=2016-03-05 }} He scored the first goal in the 2008 MLS Cup for Columbus, who eventually won the game 3-1 against New York Red Bulls.
Moreno was selected by the Philadelphia Union in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on 25 November 2009.[http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20091125&content_id=7718268&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp Union select 10 players in expansion draft] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128081229/http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20091125&content_id=7718268&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp |date=November 28, 2009 }}
On November 24, 2010, Moreno was selected by Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft, but was immediately traded to Chivas USA, along with Alan Gordon, in exchange for allocation money and an international roster spot.{{cite web|url=http://www.whitecapsfc.com/news/2010/11/whitecaps-fc-select-ten-players-mls-2010-expansion-draft-trade-four-selections-three-ml |title=Whitecaps FC select ten players in MLS 2010 Expansion Draft - Trade four selections to three MLS clubs |publisher=Whitecapsfc.com |date=2010-11-23 |access-date=2012-08-16}}
Moreno remained with Chivas USA through the 2012 season. After the conclusion of the 2012 season, Chivas USA declined the 2013 option on Moreno's contract and he entered the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Moreno became a free agent after he went undrafted in both rounds of the draft. In February 2013, he joined the Philadelphia Union as a television commentator, ending his playing career.{{cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thegoalkeeper/Philadelphia-Union-hire-Alejandro-Moreno-as-new-color-analyst-for-local-television-broadcasts.html|title=Philadelphia Union hire Alejandro Moreno as new color analyst for local television broadcasts|publisher=Philadelphia Media Network (Digital), LLC|date=February 7, 2013|access-date=December 9, 2017}}
International career
Moreno's performances in MLS saw him receive call-ups for the Venezuela national team. He made his first appearance for the senior team on February 18, 2004, against Australia. Due to his high quality of form during the 2008 MLS season, Moreno was again called up to the Venezuela national team for some 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, scoring against Ecuador on October 15, 2008, in a 3–1 win.
Media career
In 2013, ESPN FC hired Moreno as a color commentator and analyst. He frequently covers Liga MX and Mexico national football team games on ESPN's English-language networks.{{cite web|url=http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/alejandro-moreno/|title=Alejandro Moreno|publisher=ESPN|access-date=December 9, 2017}} In 2014, he served as color commentator for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer.
Career statistics
=Club=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition{{cite web|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/alejandro-moreno/stats/|title=Alejandro Moreno|website=MLS Soccer|access-date=29 April 2024}}{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} | ||||||||||
| rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season !colspan=3|League !colspan=2|MLS Cup Playoffs !colspan=2|U.S. Open Cup !colspan=2|International cup !colspan=2|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="4"|LA Galaxy
|2002 |rowspan="3"|MLS |12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | 20 | 1 | ||
| 2003
|24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1{{efn|name="CCC"|Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions Cup}} | 0 | 30 | 9 | |
| 2004
|25 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 28 | 6 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!61 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 78 | 16 | |
| San Jose Earthquakes
|2005 |MLS |31 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 35 | 8 | ||
| rowspan="3"|Houston Dynamo
|2006 |rowspan="2"|MLS |30 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | colspan="2"|— | 37 | 6 | ||
| 2007
|4 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 3{{efn|name="CCC"}} | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!34 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 6 | |
| rowspan="4"|Columbus Crew
|2007 |rowspan="3"|MLS |25 | 7 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 25 | 7 | ||||
| 2008
|27 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 33 | 10 | ||
| 2009
|22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5{{efn|name="CCC"}} | 0 | 29 | 4 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!74 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 87 | 21 | |
| Philadelphia Union
|2010 |MLS |26 | 2 | colspan="2"|— | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 27 | 2 | |||
| rowspan="3"|Chivas USA
|2011 |rowspan="2"|MLS |24 | 5 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 24 | 5 | ||||
| 2012
|22 | 2 | colspan="2"|— | 3 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 25 | 2 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!46 | 7 | colspan="2"|— | 3 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 49 | 7 | |||
| colspan="3"|Career Total
!272 | 52 | 20 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 320 | 60 |
{{notelist}}
=International=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year{{NFT player|id=7202|name=Alejandro Moreno|access-date=29 April 2024}} | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="8"|Venezuela | 2004 | 3 | 0 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!42 | 3 |
:Scores and results list Venezuela's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Moreno goal.
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Alejandro Moreno |
| scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition !scope="col" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
|---|
| style="text-align:center"|1
|{{dts|20 August 2008}} |Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela |{{fb|Syria}} |style="text-align:center"|4-0 |style="text-align:center"|4-1 |
| style="text-align:center"|2
|{{dts|15 October 2008}} |Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela |{{fb|Ecuador}} |style="text-align:center"|2-1 |style="text-align:center"|3-1 |
| style="text-align:center"|3
|{{dts|25 March 2011}} |Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica |{{fb|Jamaica}} |style="text-align:center"|2-0 |style="text-align:center"|2-0 |Friendly |
Honors
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Alejandro Moreno}}
- {{MLS player|alejandro-moreno}}
- {{NFT player|7202}}
- [http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/alejandro-moreno/ ESPN staff bio]
{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{s-bef|before=Simon Elliott}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chivas USA captain|years=2012}}
{{s-aft|after=Dan Kennedy}}
{{s-end}}
{{Venezuela Squad 2011 Copa América}}
{{MLS on ESPN}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno, Alejandro}}
Category:Footballers from Barquisimeto
Category:Venezuelan men's footballers
Category:Venezuelan expatriate men's footballers
Category:Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Category:San Jose Earthquakes players
Category:Houston Dynamo FC players
Category:Columbus Crew players
Category:Philadelphia Union players
Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
Category:UNC Greensboro Spartans men's soccer players
Category:Venezuela men's international footballers
Category:2011 Copa América players
Category:Major League Soccer players
Category:LA Galaxy draft picks