Danny Cruz

{{About|the American soccer player|other people named Daniel Cruz|Daniel Cruz (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Danny Cruz

| image = 5 Danny Cruz 041710 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Cruz playing for Houston Dynamo in 2010

| fullname = Daniel Arthur Quimby Cruz{{cite web |title=FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009™: List of Players: United States|url=http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/01/10/28/62/fwyc_2009_squadlists.pdf |publisher=FIFA |page=22 |date=October 6, 2009 |access-date=July 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013164551/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/01/10/28/62/fwyc_2009_squadlists.pdf |archive-date=October 13, 2009 }}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|1|3}}

| birth_place = Petersburg, Virginia, United States

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=8}}

| position = Winger

| currentclub = Louisville City (head coach)

| collegeyears1 = 2007–2008

| college1 = UNLV Rebels

| collegecaps1 = 31

| collegegoals1 = 9

| years1 = 2008

| clubs1 = Des Moines Menace

| caps1 = 7

| goals1 = 3

| years2 = 2009–2011

| clubs2 = Houston Dynamo

| caps2 = 51

| goals2 = 4

| years3 = 2012

| clubs3 = D.C. United

| caps3 = 16

| goals3 = 1

| years4 = 2012–2015

| clubs4 = Philadelphia Union

| caps4 = 70

| goals4 = 7

| years5 = 2015

| clubs5 = → Bodø/Glimt (loan)

| caps5 = 15

| goals5 = 2

| years6 = 2016

| clubs6 = Minnesota United

| caps6 = 24

| goals6 = 0

| years7 = 2017

| clubs7 = San Francisco Deltas

| caps7 = 14

| goals7 = 1

| years8 = 2017

| clubs8 = Real Monarchs

| caps8 = 8

| goals8 = 0

| totalcaps = 205

| totalgoals = 18

| nationalyears1 = 2007

| nationalteam1 = United States U17

| nationalcaps1 = 3

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 2008–2009

| nationalteam2 = United States U20

| nationalcaps2 = 16

| nationalgoals2 = 2

| medaltemplates =

{{Medal|Country|{{USA}}}}

| manageryears1 = 2018

| managerclubs1 = Real Monarchs (assistant)

| manageryears2 = 2018–2021

| managerclubs2 = Louisville City (assistant)

| manageryears3 = 2020–2021

| managerclubs3 = Louisville City (technical director)

| manageryears4 = 2021

| managerclubs4 = Louisville City (interim)

| manageryears5 = 2021–

| managerclubs5 = Louisville City

}}

Daniel Arthur Quimby Cruz (born January 3, 1990) is an American soccer coach and former player who is currently the head coach of USL Championship club Louisville City FC.

Career

=Youth and college=

Cruz was born in Petersburg, Virginia. He attended junior high in Rohnert Park, California, and then moved to Glendale, Arizona, where he attended Ironwood High School, where he led his team to a 2006 State Championship. He played two years of college soccer at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He was the first UNLV player to earn MPSF Newcomer of the Year honors in his freshman year in 2007 and was named to the all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first team after scoring five goals in 2008.

During his college years he also played with Des Moines Menace in the USL Premier Development League.

=Professional=

Cruz was drafted in the third round (41st overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by the Houston Dynamo. He made his professional debut on March 28, 2009, coming on as a substitute in Houston's game against the San Jose Earthquakes.{{Cite web |url=http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=03282009_HOUSJ |title=Major League Soccer: Match Tracker: Main |access-date=2009-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401124510/http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=03282009_HOUSJ |archive-date=2009-04-01 |url-status=dead }} He scored his first goal for the Dynamo against DC United, he also had an assist in that game. In the 2011 season, Cruz was a big part of the Houston Dynamo team and scored a stunning goal at the end of the season against the Portland Timbers{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en/news/3738/goal-show/2011/10/17/2715366/sergio-almirons-curler-or-danny-cruzs-screamer-vote-for-your|title=Sergio Almiron's curler or Danny Cruz's screamer? - Vote for your goal of the week - Goal.com|date=October 17, 2011}} to help Houston get into the playoffs. He started in all four playoff games, including Houston's 1–0 loss to Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS Cup 2011.

In January 2012, Cruz was traded from Houston to D.C. United in exchange for allocation money.{{Cite web |url=http://www.dcunited.com/press-release/2012/01/danny-cruz-acquired-from-houston |title=Danny Cruz acquired from Houston | D.C. United |access-date=2012-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124114552/http://www.dcunited.com/press-release/2012/01/danny-cruz-acquired-from-houston |archive-date=2012-01-24 |url-status=dead }}

On August 16, 2012, Cruz was traded to the Philadelphia Union in exchange for Lionard Pajoy and an international roster spot.{{cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thegoalkeeper/166433766.html|title=Philadelphia Union trade Lionard Pajoy to D.C. United}}

On March 19, 2015, Cruz signed a loan deal with FK Bodø/Glimt.{{cite web |title=Philadelphia Union send winger Danny Cruz on season-long loan to Norwegian side FK Bodo/Glimt |url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2015/03/18/philadelphia-union-send-winger-danny-cruz-season-long-loan-norwegian-side-fk |website=MLSsoccer.com |access-date=July 10, 2019 |date=March 18, 2015}} He made his debut against Haugesund on April 30, 2015, in which Bodø/Glimt lost 1–2.

On February 15, 2017, Cruz signed with the San Francisco Deltas for their inaugural season in the NASL.{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@sfdeltas/team-news-player-announcement-602392431ac1#.hosxmsmv8|title=Danny Cruz, Saalih Muhammad join the Deltas|website=Medium.com|date=February 15, 2017|access-date=February 15, 2017}}

In August 2017, he joined Real Monarchs.{{cite web |title=Danny Cruz Transfers To Real Monarchs |url=http://www.nasl.com/news/2017/08/14/danny-cruz-transfers-to-real-monarchs |website=NASL |access-date=July 10, 2019 |date=August 14, 2017}}

=International=

Cruz represented the United States at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea, the Pan American Games in Brazil in 2007, appeared in seven international games for the United States U-20 national team in 2008, and played in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt in 2009.

Coaching career

=Real Monarchs=

In February 2018, Cruz was announced as promoted to assistant coach of the Monarchs for the 2018 season, under Mark Briggs.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsl.com/post/2018/02/09/real-monarchs-slc-name-danny-cruz-assistant-coach|title=Real Monarchs SLC name Danny Cruz Assistant Coach|publisher=Real Salt Lake|date=February 9, 2018|access-date=February 9, 2018}}

=Louisville City FC=

On April 27, 2021, after spending time as an assistant coach and technical director at Louisville City FC, Cruz was appointed as interim head coach of the club, replacing John Hackworth.{{cite web|url=https://www.loucity.com/news_article/show/1160516|title=CRUZ ASSUMES INTERIM HEAD COACHING POSITION WITH LOUCITY|publisher=Louisville City FC|date=April 27, 2021|access-date=April 27, 2021}} On October 11, Cruz was officially announced to have signed a multi-year agreement as the permanent head coach for Louisville.{{cite web|url=https://www.loucity.com/news_article/show/1187971 |title=LouCity Removes Interim Tag, Taps Cruz as Permanent Head Coach |website=loucity.com |date=October 10, 2021 |access-date=October 10, 2021}}

Career statistics

=Club=

colspan=3 \| Club performance ! colspan=2 \| League ! colspan=2 \| Cup ! colspan=2 \| League Cup ! colspan=2 \| Continental ! colspan=2 \| Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Season	Club	League ! Apps	Goals ! Apps	Goals ! Apps	Goals ! Apps	Goals ! Apps	Goals
colspan=3 \| United States ! colspan=2 \| League ! colspan=2 \| Open Cup ! colspan=2 \| League Cup ! colspan=2 \| North America ! colspan=2 \| Total
2009	rowspan="3"\|Houston Dynamo	rowspan="7"\|Major League Soccer	6	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
2010	25	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	27	2
2011	20	2	1	0	4	0	0	0	25	2
rowspan="2"\|2012	D.C. United	16	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	1
rowspan="3"\|Philadelphia Union	12	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	1
2013	32	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	33	3
2014	26	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	31	3
rowspan=1 \| Total ! colspan=2 \| United States !137\|\|12\|\|12\|\|0\|\|4\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|153\|\|12
colspan=3 \| Norway ! colspan=2 \| League ! colspan=2 \| Cup ! colspan=2 \| League Cup ! colspan=2 \| Champions League ! colspan=2 \| Total
2015	rowspan="1"\|Bodø/Glimt	rowspan="1"\|Tippeligaen	15	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	16	2
rowspan=1 \| Total ! colspan=2 \| Norway !15\|\|2\|\|1\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|16\|\|2
colspan=3 \| Career total !152\|\|14\|\|13\|\|0\|\|4\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|169\|\|14

Honors

=Player=

San Francisco Deltas

Soccer Bowl: 2017{{cite web|url=https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/11/13/nasl-championship-final-deltas-cosmos-san-francisco-new-york|title=San Francisco Deltas beat New York Cosmos to win NASL Championship |publisher=Sports Illustrated|date=13 November 2017|access-date=18 December 2017}}

=Coach=

Individual

USL Championship Coach of the Month: August 2024{{cite web |url=https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1317991 |title=Louisville City FC's Danny Cruz earns USL Championship Coach of the Month |date=2024-09-11 |website=www.uslchampionship.com |publisher=USL |location=Tampa, FL |access-date=2024-09-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911181552/https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1317991 |archive-date=September 11, 2024 }}