Raúl Díaz Arce
Encyclopedia
Raúl Díaz Arce is a retired Salvadoran football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player.

He is El Salvador's second most prolific goal scorer behind Jorge "Mágico" González
Mágico González
Jorge Alberto González Barillas , popularly known as El mágico , is a retired Salvadoran footballer....

, with 39 goals in just 68 appearances.

Early career

From 1988 to 1991, Arce played for Dragon in the Salvadoran second division, where he was the league's leading scorer in the 1991/92 season with 21 goals. Playing for Dragon, in two seasons in first division, Ignacio Raul scored 34 goals (89/90 = 13 90/91 = 21), in the second season he was the scoring champion of the regular season when he played four laps. He then moved up to play for C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo
C.D. Luis Angel Firpo
Club Deportivo Luis Ángel Firpo is an football club based in Usulután, El Salvador that plays in the Primera División de Fútbol Profesional. It has been one of the most successful clubs in El Salvador, having won 9 titles, firstly in 1989. Only FAS and Águila hold more league titles than Firpo,...

 of the Salvadoran first division from 1991 to 1996. Here he would go onto win the leagues top scorer three season in a row (1993–1996) with 24, 21 and 25, respectively. In Luis Ángel Firpo he scored in five seasons with a total of 119 goals. These early achievements earned him a spot in the national team and employment in the U.S. Soccer.

D.C. United

In 1996, Diaz Arce signed with Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

, and was drafted tenth overall in the MLS Inaugural Player Draft by D.C. United
D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...

. He quickly established himself as a dangerous striker in the league, scoring 23 goals in his first season with United, second in the league behind Roy Lassiter
Roy Lassiter
Roy Lassiter is a retired American soccer striker, and Major League Soccer's record holder for goals scored in a season, with 27 in 1996.-Early life:...

, and still the fifth best single-season mark in MLS history. Diaz Arce was also the first player in MLS history to score a hat-trick in postseason play. He scored 3 against the Tampa Bay Mutiny on October 10, 1996. DC United won 4-1 and would go on to become the first MLS Champions. Diaz Arce continued to light things up in his second season, registering 15 goals, and helping D.C. United to win their second consecutive MLS Cup
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...

.

New England Revolution

Salary cap pressures, and reported conflicts between Diaz Arce and Marco Etcheverry
Marco Etcheverry
Marco Antonio Etcheverry Vargas is a retired Bolivian footballer, considered one of the greatest Bolivian players of all time.-Career:...

, resulted in D.C. trading one of the league's most prolific scorers to the New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...

 in the offseason of 1997. Diaz Arce continued to excel in New England, scoring 18 goals and 8 assists for his new team.

End of MLS career

Nevertheless, Diaz Arce was traded again, and would eventually play for the Tampa Bay Mutiny
Tampa Bay Mutiny
The Tampa Bay Mutiny was a charter franchise of Major League Soccer active from 1996 - 2001. They initially played in Tampa Stadium and were immediately successful, winning the first MLS Supporters' Shield behind MLS MVP Carlos Valderrama and high-scoring forward Roy Lassiter, whose 27 goals in...

 and San Jose Clash, as well as being briefly owned by the MetroStars
Metrostars
Metrostar may refer to:*New York Red Bulls, formerly called the "MetroStars", a soccer team from New York*Manila Metro Rail Transit System, popularly called "The Metrostar Express", a part of the metropolitan rail system in Manila...

, registering 13 goals and 7 assists in the 1999 season. Diaz Arce would continue to be shuttled around in 2000, playing for Tampa Bay and D.C. again in 2000, and scoring a career low 9 goals. Diaz Arce continued to decline in 2001, playing only briefly for D.C. United before being traded again to the Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league...

, with whom he would end his career in MLS. Diaz Arce left MLS second in career goals scored with 82, behind only Roy Lassiter, although he has fallen to sixth as Jason Kreis
Jason Kreis
Jason Clarence Kreis is an American soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer....

, Jaime Moreno
Jaime Moreno
Jaime Moreno Morales is a former Bolivian footballer now serving as Youth Academy Technical Training Coach for D.C. United in Major League Soccer, and as the head coach of D.C. United's U-23 side....

, Ante Razov
Ante Razov
Ante Razov is a retired American soccer player of Croatian descent who last played for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.-Club:...

 and Jeff Cunningham
Jeff Cunningham
Jeff Cunningham is a Jamaican-born American soccer player who played on multiple Major League Soccer teams. He is the MLS all-time leader in goals scored with 134.-College:...

 have surpassed both of their totals.

Charleston & Puerto Rico

For the 2002 season, Diaz Arce played for the Charleston Battery
Charleston Battery
Charleston Battery is an American professional soccer team based in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....

 of the A-League
USL First Division
The United Soccer Leagues First Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico....

, scoring 6 goals and 4 assists in 1319 minutes. He was not the success Charleston had hoped for, however, and left following the year. In 2004, Diaz Arce joined the struggling expansion Puerto Rico Islanders
Puerto Rico Islanders
Puerto Rico Islanders is a Puerto Rican professional football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....

, and gave the team a significant boost, scoring two goals in his first game and a total of 7 in 1233 minutes, and helping the team attain a level of respectability. He is now the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Director at the Chicago Magico Soccer Club.

International career

Diaz Arce made his debut for El Salvador
El Salvador national football team
El Salvador's national football team represents El Salvador in international football and is sanctioned by the Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol . In 1899, Santa Ana and San Salvador met for the first hosted football game in El Salvador...

 in an April 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup
UNCAF Nations Cup
The Copa Centroamericana is a biennial association football tournament, held for the CONCACAF national teams of Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The tournament has been held since 1991 as the UNCAF Nations Cup and doubles as a...

 qualification match against Nicaragua
Nicaragua national football team
The Nicaragua national football team is the national team of Nicaragua and is controlled by the Nicaraguan Football Federation. It is among the weakest teams in Central America and achieved its first qualification to a major international competition in 2009, when they qualified for the 2009...

 in which he immediately scored 2 goals and has earned a total of 68 caps, scoring a record 39 goals. He has represented his country in 28 FIFA World Cup qualification
FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals. The FIFA World Cup is a global event, so qualification is required to reduce the large field of participants from about 200 to 32.Qualifying tournaments...

 matches and played at several UNCAF Nations Cups as well as at the 1996
1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the third edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean ....

 and 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup
1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean ....

s.

His final international was a September 2000 FIFA World Cup qualification
FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals. The FIFA World Cup is a global event, so qualification is required to reduce the large field of participants from about 200 to 32.Qualifying tournaments...

 match against Honduras
Honduras national football team
The Honduran national football team, nicknamed Los Catrachos, La Bicolor or La H, is the national team of Honduras and is controlled by the Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras...

.

Club honours

Luis Ángel Firpo
C.D. Luis Angel Firpo
Club Deportivo Luis Ángel Firpo is an football club based in Usulután, El Salvador that plays in the Primera División de Fútbol Profesional. It has been one of the most successful clubs in El Salvador, having won 9 titles, firstly in 1989. Only FAS and Águila hold more league titles than Firpo,...

    • Primera Division (2): 1991/92, 1992/93 D.C. United
      D.C. United
      D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...

      :
    • MLS Cup
      MLS Cup
      The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...

      (2): 1996, 1997
    • MLS Supporters' Shield
      MLS Supporters' Shield
      The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system...

      (1): 1997
    • U.S. Open Cup
      Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
      The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a knockout tournament in American soccer. The tournament is the oldest ongoing American soccer competition and is presently open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated teams, from amateur adult club teams to the professional clubs of Major League...

      (1): 1996
      1996 U.S. Open Cup
      - First Round :* El Paso Patriots 3-0 RWB Adria * Carolina Dynamo 5-0 Mo's Sport Shop * Fort Myers Manatees 6-0 St...

       Charleston Battery
      Charleston Battery
      Charleston Battery is an American professional soccer team based in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....

      :
    • USL First Division
      USL First Division
      The United Soccer Leagues First Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico....

      (1): 2003
      2003 A-League
      -Northeast Division:-Southeast Division:-Central Division:-Pacific Division:-Northeast Division:-----Southeast Division:-Central Division:-Pacific Division:-Eastern Conference final:-Western Conference final:-----Final:...

    • Southern Derby
      Southern Derby
      The Southern Derby is a fan-based cup competition between USL Pro teams based in the South-Atlantic region of the United States ....

      (1): 2003


On August 26, 2009, Díaz-Arce was announced as a new member in the DC United Hall of Tradition.

External links

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