Roger_Espinoza
Roger Espinoza
Honduran football player (born 1986)
Roger Aníbal Espinoza Ramírez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈroʝeɾ espiˈnosa]; born 25 October 1986) is a Honduran professional footballer who most recently played as a midfielder or defender for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. Espinoza currently serves as a youth coach for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. A former Honduras international, Espinoza has represented his country at two World Cups and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
 Espinoza with Sporting Kansas City in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roger Aníbal Espinoza Ramírez[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-10-25) 25 October 1986 (age 37) | ||
| Place of birth | Puerto Cortés, Honduras | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder, defender | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2006 | Yavapai Roughriders | ||
| 2007 | Ohio State Buckeyes | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006 | Arizona Sahuaros | 7 | (1) |
| 2008–2012 | Sporting Kansas City | 113 | (2) |
| 2013–2014 | Wigan Athletic | 42 | (2) |
| 2015–2023 | Sporting Kansas City | 210 | (10) |
| 2019 | → Swope Park Rangers (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2024– | Des Moines Menace | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 373 | (15) | |
| International career | |||
| 2012 | Honduras Olympic | 4 | (1) |
| 2009–2017 | Honduras | 52 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021– | Sporting Kansas City (youth) | ||
Medal record | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:17, 26 April 2023 (UTC) | |||
Youth and College
At the age of twelve, Espinoza emigrated from Honduras to the United States. He attended Denver South High School before transferring to Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado.
He played two years of college soccer at Yavapai College, spending one season with the Arizona Sahuaros of the National Premier Soccer League in 2006. In 2007, he transferred to Ohio State for his junior season. That season, Ohio State advanced to the national championship game of the College Cup. Espinoza scored in the 12th minute, but Ohio State lost to Wake Forest, 2–1.[3] In his one season at Ohio State, Espinoza was named first-team All-Big Ten, second-team all-region, and earned a spot the NCAA College Cup All-Tournament Team.[4]
Sporting Kansas City
Espinoza opted to forgo his senior year of college and signed a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer.[5] He was selected with the 11th overall pick of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft by the Kansas City Wizards (now known as Sporting Kansas City). In his first season at the club, he appeared in 22 games and tied for third on the team in assists with 3. Playing as both a leftback and defensive midfielder, he appeared in 113 regular season matches over five years with the club and helped Sporting to victory in the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Wigan Athletic
Following the 2012 MLS season, Espinoza signed with Wigan Athletic of the English Premier League on a free transfer.[6] He was assigned number 18.
Espinoza made his Wigan Athletic debut on 19 January when he came on as a half-time substitute during a 2–3 loss against Sunderland.[7] He scored his first goal for the club against Swansea City on 7 May.[8] On 11 May 2013, Espinoza won the FA Cup with Wigan, playing the whole game in a 1–0 upset win against Manchester City.[9] However, only three days later, Wigan were relegated from the Premier League following a 4–1 defeat against Arsenal.[10] He scored his second goal for the club against MK Dons in the FA Cup on 4 January 2014.[11] Espinoza scored his second league goal and provided an assist for teammate Shaun Maloney against Fulham on 1 November 2014 at the DW Stadium in a 3–3 draw.
However, Espinoza's minutes dwindled in the 2014–15 season, and he and Wigan agreed to part ways in December 2014.
Return to Kansas City
Espinoza returned to Sporting Kansas City ahead of the 2015 season. In his second start since returning to Sporting, Espinoza scored an equalizing goal against FC Dallas on 14 March 2015. Espinoza saw his first season back in Kansas City curtailed through injury though the side still won the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Espinoza played a key role as Sporting KC repeated the feat two years later, lifting the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by beating the New York Red Bulls 2–1 at Children's Mercy Park. In the 2018 MLS season, Espinoza has set a new career-high with nine assists in a single season, having never produced more than five in the past.
In August 2021, Espinoza took an assistant coaching role with the Sporting KC Academy as part of his B License course in the U.S. Soccer Coaching Education program. Espinoza would serve as an U-13 assistant.[12]
On 13 January 2022, it was announced that SKC had re-signed Espinoza to a one-year contract for the 2022 Major League Soccer season.[13]
Espinoza was called up to the Honduras national football team by Reinaldo Rueda for the UNCAF Nations Cup 2009 held in Honduras for the first time in his career. He made three appearances during the tournament where he wore number 13. He scored his first goal for the national team in a 1–0 win against El Salvador to give Honduras 3rd place in the competition.
Espinoza was called up by Luis Fernando Suárez to represent his country in the 2012 London Olympics; he scored a goal against Brazil in the quarter-final of the tournament, but was sent off in the 90th minute, receiving standing ovation from the Newcastle crowd for his performance.[14]
Espinoza has represented Honduras at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
On 16 August 2019, Espinoza announced his retirement from the Honduras national team.[15]
Espinoza became a United States citizen in March 2008.[16] He is married to Kansas City Current player Lo'eau LaBonta.[17]
Club
- As of 9 October 2022[18]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting Kansas City | 2008 | Major League Soccer | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2010 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||||
| 2011 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | |||
| 2012 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |||
| Total | 113 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 129 | 2 | ||
| Wigan Athletic FC | 2012–13 | Premier League | 12 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| 2013–14 | Championship | 18 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 29 | 1 | |
| 2014–15 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |||
| Total | 42 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 3 | ||
| Sporting Kansas City | 2015 | Major League Soccer | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 6] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |||
| 2018 | 32 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 39 | 3 | |||
| 2019 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6[lower-alpha 6] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | 16 | 2 | — | 4[lower-alpha 7] | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 | ||||
| 2021 | 32 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 203 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 238 | 12 | ||
| Swope Park Rangers (loan) | 2019 | USL Championship | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Career Total | 359 | 14 | 32 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 426 | 17 | ||
- Includes U.S. Open Cup and FA Cup
- Includes MLS Cup Playoffs, EFL Cup and MLS is Back Tournament
- Appearances in North American SuperLiga
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- One appearance in both FA Community Shield, Championship play-offs
- Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
International
- As of 31 August 2018[18]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honduras | 2009 | 8 | 2 |
| 2010 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | 4 | |
International goals
- Scores and results list Honduras's goal tally first.[19]
| N. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1 February 2009 | Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras |  El Salvador | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup |
| 2. | 11 July 2009 | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States |  Grenada | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 3. | 23 January 2010 | StubHub Center, Carson, United States |  United States | 3–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 4. | 1 June 2014 | BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States |  Israel | 1–1 | 2–4 | Friendly |
Sporting Kansas City
Wigan Athletic
- "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- "Roger Espinoza". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- "Wigan 2–3 Sunderland". BBC Sport.
- "Wigan 2 – 3 Swansea". BBC. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- "Man City 0 – 1 Wigan". BBC. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- "Arsenal 4 – 1 Wigan". BBC. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- "Wigan 3–3 MK Dons". BBC. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- Benny Feilhaber appointed as Sporting KC Academy U-17 head coach, sportingkc.com, 23 August 2021
- Kovan, Sam. "Sporting KC re-signs veteran midfielder Roger Espinoza". SportingKC.com. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- "Olympics: Espinoza stars, but Honduras fall to Brazil in QF". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- "Inesperado: Roger Espinoza anuncia su retiro de la Selección de Honduras". Diez - Diario Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- Bachman, Rachel (28 October 2022). "Kansas City's Soccer Star Is a Twerking, Goal-Scoring Late Bloomer". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- "Roger Espinoza". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- Roger Espinoza at Soccerway
