Herculez Gomez

Herculez Gomez

Soccer Commentator

Herculez Gomez, one in a pioneering cadre of American children of Mexican-American parents who chose to represent the U.S. in international soccer, joined ESPN as a soccer analyst in January 2017 after announcing his retirement from professional soccer. The 17-year veteran of Mexico’s Liga MX and Major League Soccer – including the 2016 season with the MLS Cup champion Sounders – serves a studio analyst on ESPN’s English and Spanish-language networks.

 

Since March 2021, Gomez has served as host and pundit on Futbol Americas, the semiweekly soccer studio show, exclusively on ESPN+. In this role, alongside co-host Sebastian Salazar, he combines his soccer nous and past on-the-field experience in what has fast become one of the most insightful programs in the sport in the United States. The one-hour Futbol Americas has garnered critical acclaim for its range and depth in tackling vexing on- and off-the-field topics in global soccer. 

 

Gomez also appears as a pundit on ESPN FC, ESPN’s daily soccer news, highlights and information program, as well as a studio analyst for the network’s coverage of Major League Soccer, U.S. Men’s National Team, and other international soccer competitions. On ESPN Deportes, he serves as an analyst on signature soccer studio programs Fuera de Juego and Futbol Picante.

 

Gomez started his professional soccer career in 2000 with Aguilas Blancas de Puebla, a second division club in the Mexican league. He played for five MLS teams – Los Angeles Galaxy (2002-06), Colorado Rapids (2007-08), Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City 2008-09), Toronto FC (2015) and Seattle Sounders (2016). He won three MLS titles: 2002 (Galaxy), 2005 (Galaxy) and 2016 (Sounders).

 

In 2010, Gomez joined Puebla FC in the Mexico Primera División where he scored 10 goals in 17 appearances – sharing Liga MX’s scoring title and becoming the only U.S. player to lead a top-flight non-U.S. league in scoring. Gomez played for four other Mexican clubs, C.F. Pachuca (2010-11), Tecos F.C. (2011), Santos Laguna (2012-13) and Tijuana (2013-15), where he was loaned to Tigres UANL in 2014 and Puebla (2015). He won the Liga MX Clausura 2012 with Santos Laguna, becoming the first player to win a MLS Cup and Mexico’s Primera División championship.  While on loan with Puebla in 2015, Gomez led the team to a Copa MX Clausura title, and his five goals in the competition made him one of six players in Mexican league history to win the Golden Boot for a league season and a Cup competition.

 

Gomez played his first match with the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2007 Copa America. After a brief absence from the team, he earned a spot back on the 2010 FIFA World Cup roster and played three matches in South Africa. He was also part of the USMNT that won the 2013 Gold Cup. In all, Gomez scored six international goals in 24 matches with the national team.

 

Born in Los Angeles, Gomez grew up in Las Vegas.

 

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