Alejandro Moreno

Disambiguation: For the wrestler see Alejandro Muñoz Moreno.

Alejandro Moreno

Personal information
Full name	Alejandro Enrique Moreno Riera
Date of birth	(1979-07-08) July 8, 1979
Place of birth	Barquisimeto, Venezuela
Height
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1993–1998	Dallas Texans
1998–2001	UNC Greensboro Spartans
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2004	Los Angeles Galaxy	61	(12)
2005	San Jose Earthquakes	31	(8)
2006–2007	Houston Dynamo	34	(3)
2007–2009	Columbus Crew	74	(20)
2010	Philadelphia Union	26	(2)
2011–2012	Chivas USA	46	(7)
Total		272	(52)
International career‡
2004–2012	Venezuela	41	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 3, 2012 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 11, 2011

Alejandro Enrique Moreno Riera (born July 8, 1979 in Barquisimeto) is a retired Venezuelan footballer who is currently a television commentator for ESPN FC.

Career

College

Moreno moved to Texas, United States from his native Venezuela as a youth and played 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 just 1,117 minutes.

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 off-season in a four-player deal. In his lone season with the Quakes, Moreno scored eight goals and four assists. Along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, he moved to Houston for the 2006 season.

Moreno was traded to Columbus Crew on May 10, 2007 in exchange for Joseph Ngwenya. 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 Philadelphia Union in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on 25 November 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.

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.

International

Moreno's performances in MLS have seen him receive call-ups for the Venezuela national team; he made his first appearance on February 18, 2005 against Australia. Due to his high quality of form during the 2008 Major League Soccer season, Moreno was again called up to the Venezuelan team for some 2010 World Cup Qualifiers, scoring against Ecuador on October 15, 2008, in a 3-1 win.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1.	August 20, 2008	José Antonio Anzoátegui, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela	Syria	4–0	4-1	Friendly
2.	October 15, 2008	Estadio Olímpico José Antonio Anzoátegui, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela	Ecuador	2–1	3-1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	March 25, 2011	Catherine Hall Stadium, Montego Bay, Jamaica	Jamaica	0–2	0–2	Friendly

Media Career

In 2013, ESPN FC hired Moreno as a color commentator and analyst. He frequently covers Liga MX and Mexico National Team games on ESPN's English-language networks. In 2014, he served as color commentator for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer.

Honors

Columbus Crew

• Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2008
• Major League Soccer Supporter's Shield (2): 2008, 2009

Houston Dynamo

• Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2006

San Jose Earthquakes

• Major League Soccer Supporter's Shield (1): 2005

Los Angeles Galaxy

• Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2002
• Major League Soccer Supporter's Shield (1): 2002

External links

• MLS player profile
• Alejandro Moreno at National-Football-Teams.com
• ESPN staff bio

Sporting positions
Preceded by Simon Elliott	Chivas USA captain 2012	Succeeded by Dan Kennedy