Herculez Gomez

Hérculez Gómez in the jersey of the Kansas City Wizards

Hérculez Gómez Hurtado ( born April 6, 1982 in Los Angeles, California) is an American football player.

Youth

Gómez has Mexican-American parents, he was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has already played in high school football.

Clubs

After graduating from high school he moved to Cruz Azul in the Mexican Primera División. There, however, he came only in the second team to use. Towards the end of the year he moved to the second division Águilas Blancas.

In 2002, Gomez to Alacranes de Durango, which was then played in the Primera División. In Durango, he was hardly considered. He left the club and moved back to the San Diego Gauchos in the United States. During his time in the USL Premier Development League, he scored 17 goals in 17 games. During a friendly against Los Angeles Galaxy, whose scouts were aware of Gomez.

He joined in September 2002. Already in the first year for the Galaxies, he was loaned to the Seattle Sounders. After 17 games, he was seriously injured. After he was allowed to play again, he moved on loan to the San Diego Sockers in the Major Indoor Soccer League. For the 2005 season, he returned to Los Angeles Galaxy. He was awarded a development contract, which corrects him to play for the Galaxies in the MLS Reserve Division. Due to its good performance and the fact that Landon Donovan was seconded to the national team, he won a place in the first team. In 2005, he scored the decisive goal in U.S. Open Cup Final. At the end of the MLS season in 2006, he fell at the former Galaxy coach Steve Sampson in disgrace. Sampson continued until Gomez in midfield and then later completely on the bench.

After Sampson was replaced by Frank Yallop, Gomez got his chance again and scored five goals.

On 1 December 2006 Gomez was traded along with Ugo Ihemelu against Joe Cannon of the Colorado Rapids. He scored the first goal in the new stadium at the time of the Rapids. In September 2007, Gomez injured his cruciate ligament and could not therefore play for several months.

At the end of the MLS season in 2008 Gomez moved to the Kansas City Wizards.

In 2010 he played for Puebla FC in the Mexican Primera División. He scored 10 goals in the Clausura 2010. He is the best American player who led a scorer outside the United States.

After the season he was put on the transfer list and moved to CF Pachuca. There he played only one season and then switched to CD Estudiantes Tecos.

National

His first international match he graduated at the Copa America 2007 against Argentina. In the match against Colombia, he stood for the first time in the starting eleven.

On 11 May 2010 he was appointed to the extended squad for World Cup 2010 in South Africa. In a friendly against the Czech Republic, he scored his first international goal on May 25, 2010. A day later, he was appointed to the final squad for the 2010 World Cup.

At the World Cup, he completed three of four games, also in the first knockout round against Ghana he stood on the court.