Damián Álvarez Arcos

Who is Damián Álvarez Arcos?

Damián Álvarez Arcos is a retired professional footballer from Mexico, who played as a forward during his career.

A mobile striker able to play up front or on the flank, Álvarez began his career with Atlas in 1991, moving to León in 1995. By the 1995-1996 season, he had broken into the first team at León, scoring 6 goals in 27 matches. In 1997 he had a short spell in Major League Soccer with the Dallas Burn, scoring 11 goals in 19 matches as the Burn reached the MLS playoffs. Between the 1997 and 1998 MLS seasons he had a brief spell at Chivas before returning to Dallas in 1998. After scoring 4 times in 13 games in 1998, Álvarez was traded to the New England Revolution in exchange for Colombian Oscar Pareja, appeared only twice for New England, and left MLS after the season. Returning to Mexico, he joined Club América and later represented Pachuca, Atlante, Toluca, and San Luis, but never again made more than five starts in a top-flight season. His last match at top level came with San Luis in 2002.

Álvarez was also a member of the Mexico national football team. He represented Mexico at the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring a goal against Sweden and later competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He earned six caps for the national A-side, making his debut on September 15, 1996 in a World Cup Qualifier against St. Vincent & the Grenadines in Kingston, Jamaica, substituting Cuauhtémoc Blanco in the 81st minute and scoring in the closing minutes. Álvarez also scored in his final international match, a 3-1 victory over Ecuador on February 5, 1997.