Diego Barrera (born March 25, 1987, in Bogotá) is a Colombian-born American soccer player.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Alejandro Barrera | ||
| Date of birth | March 25, 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Bogotá, Colombia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder / Forward | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2006 | Loyola Marymount Lions | ||
| 2007 | New Mexico Lobos | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006 | San Fernando Valley Quakes | 4 | (1) |
| 2007 | Ventura County Fusion | 8 | (0) |
| 2008 | San Fernando Valley Quakes | 13 | (4) |
| 2009–2010 | Hollywood United Hitmen | 11 | (1) |
| 2010 | Ventura County Fusion | 2 | (1) |
| 2011 | Wilmington Hammerheads | 12 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Syracuse Silver Knights (indoor) | 13 | (3) |
| 2012 | Cal FC | ||
| 2013 | Stallion Sta. Lucia F.C. | 9 | (1) |
| 2014 | Team Socceroo | 13 | (7) |
| 2015–2016 | Kaya FC | 12 | (8) |
| 2016–2017 | Kasem Bundit University FC | 22 | (18) |
| 2018 | Phitsanulok F.C. | 9 | (6) |
| 2019 | Pathumthani University F.C. | 18 | (14) |
| 2021– | Los Angeles Force | 14 | (9) |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | United States U18 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 September 2021 | |||
Career
College and amateur
Barrera is a professional American football player from California. He attended Thousand Oaks High School, and played three years of college soccer at Loyola Marymount University, where he was named to the College Soccer News All-Freshman Third Team, the All-WCC second team and the WCC All-Freshman Team in his debut year in 2004. He transferred to the University of New Mexico prior to his senior year in 2007.
During his college career and beyond, Barrera played extensively with numerous Southern California teams in the USL Premier Development League, including the San Fernando Valley Quakes[1] (twice), Hollywood United Hitmen[2] and Ventura County Fusion[3] (twice). He also made a Walmart TV commercial for the Fifa World Cup year 2010 Mom Knows Walmart
Professional
Barrera signed his first professional contract in March 2011, joining USL Pro club Wilmington Hammerheads.[4] He made his professional debut on May 14, 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 win over F.C. New York.[5]
After the season at Wilmington, he played professional indoor soccer with the Syracuse Silver Knights in the MISL, before returning to California. Barrera then joined his home town based team, amateur side Cal FC in the USASA-affiliated La Gran Liga de Oxnard based in Oxnard, California.[6]
Year 2013 he signed his first contract in the Philippines with the first division team STALLION FC and have won the United Football League Division One Championship. He then transferred to team Soccoroo for the second quarter of 2014 and loaned by KAYA FC for the UFL CUP 2014. In year 2015 KAYA FC signed him and made a big contribution. KAYA FC won their first championship in CUP 2015.
In the following year, 2016 he moved to Bangkok, Thailand and he made a huge contribution that awarded him as the 2016 BEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR. Year 2016, he was also the Top Goalscorer with 17 goals and 14 assists in 22 games played as consistent starting line up player.
In January 2021, Barrera moved back to United States of America and signed in California club Los Angeles Force.[7] He scored two goals, one assist on the first game and became the captain of the club. Barrera became the top player and made the first team of all seasons. He retired in June 2023 and started his own soccer academy training school.
Personal
Diego Barrera is married to Eva Barrera (m.2014).
Diego's younger brother, Danny Barrera, is also a professional soccer player.[8]
Honors
Club
- Stallion
References
External links
- LMU profile Archived June 9, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- New Mexico profile
- Diego Barrera at Soccerway