Carlos Gruezo (footballer, born 1995)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gruezo and the second or maternal family name is Arboleda.

Carlos Gruezo

Gruezo with Ecuador in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Armando Gruezo Arboleda
Date of birth	(1995-04-19) 19 April 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Santo Domingo, Ecuador
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder, Centre-back
Team information
Current team	San Jose Earthquakes
Number	7
Youth career
	Unión Deportiva Juvenil
2008	LDU Quito
2009	Defensor Sporting
2010	Independiente DV
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011	Independiente DV	4	(0)
2012–2014	Barcelona SC	77	(3)
2014–2016	VfB Stuttgart	18	(1)
2016–2019	FC Dallas	98	(3)
2019–2023	FC Augsburg	69	(0)
2023–	San Jose Earthquakes	47	(0)
International career^‡
2011	Ecuador U17	13	(1)
2013	Ecuador U20	9	(0)
2014–	Ecuador	64	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:20, 19 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Carlos Armando Gruezo Arboleda (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlos ˈɣɾweso]; born 19 April 1995) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or central defender for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes and the Ecuador national team. He is the son of Carlos Armando Gruezo Quiñónez.^[2]

He is described by FIFA's official website as "a technically adept holding midfielder and a precise passer of the ball".^[3]

Club career

Gruezo began his career with Independiente del Valle before joining Ecuadorian club Barcelona SC.^[3]

Gruezo went on trial for VfB Stuttgart in their pre season friendlies in South Africa.^[4] On 30 January 2014, he signed a four-year contract with Stuttgart.^[5] He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 victory over Freiburg on 28 November 2014, becoming the first Ecuadorian to score in the Bundesliga.^[6] In 2015 however, he lost his spot in the starting lineup and only had a few more appearances for Stuttgart.

He moved to FC Dallas on 23 January 2016.^[7]

On 2 July 2019, Gruezo returned to Germany, joining FC Augsburg on a five-year deal.^[8]

On 31 January 2023, Gruezo returned to the United States, joining San Jose Earthquakes on a three-year deal.^[9]

International career

Gruezo played for the Ecuador U17 national team at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup and at the 2013 South American Youth Championship.

He made his debut for the senior national team on 17 May 2014, coming in as a second-half substitute for Christian Noboa against the Netherlands. On 6 June, he was named in Ecuador's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.^[10]

Personal life

In February 2019, Gruezo obtained a U.S. green card, which qualified him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.^[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 October 2024^[12]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Independiente del Valle	2011	Ecuadorian Serie A	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Barcelona SC	2012	Ecuadorian Serie A	39	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	40	1
	2013	Ecuadorian Serie A	38	2	0	0	3	0	0	0	41	2
	Total		77	3	0	0	4	0	0	0	81	3
VfB Stuttgart	2013–14[13]	Bundesliga	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	2014–15[13]	Bundesliga	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	1
	2015–16[13]	Bundesliga	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		18	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	19	1
FC Dallas	2016	MLS	27	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	29	0
	2017	MLS	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31	0
	2018	MLS	31	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	31	2
	2019	MLS	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
	Total		98	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	100	3
Augsburg	2019–20	Bundesliga	11	0	1	0	—		—		12	0
	2020–21	Bundesliga	28	0	2	0	—		—		30	0
	2021–22	Bundesliga	17	0	1	0	—		—		18	0
	2022–23	Bundesliga	13	0	2	0	—		—		15	0
	Total		69	0	6	0	—		—		75	0
San Jose Earthquakes	2023	MLS	28	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	31	0
	2024	MLS	24	0	0	0	—		4[a]	0	28	0
	Total		52	0	1	0	0	0	6	0	57	0
Career total			318	7	8	0	4	0	8	0	338	7

1. Appearances in Leagues Cup

International

As of match played 19 November 2024^[14]

Ecuador
Year	Apps	Goals
2014	8	0
2015	2	0
2016	7	0
2018	4	0
2019	5	0
2020	3	1
2021	10	0
2022	8	0
2023	7	0
2024	10	0
Total	64	1

List of international goals scored by Carlos Gruezo

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 November 2020	Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	3–2	3–2	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Barcelona S.C.

• Serie A de Ecuador: 2012

FC Dallas

• U.S. Open Cup: 2016
• Supporters' Shield: 2016

References

1. "Carlos Gruezo". FC Augsburg. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
2. "El debut de Gruezo emocionó a su padre". El Comercio.
3. "Carlos GRUEZO". FIFA. Archived from the original on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
4. "VFB Stuttgart 1893 e.V. - 2014 begins with a win". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
5. "Gruezo makes the move to VfB". vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
6. "STUTTGART RISE ON STEVENS' RETURN". bundesliga.com. 28 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
7. "Carlos Gruezo wechselt in die USA" [Carlos Gruezo goes to the USA]. vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 23 January 2016. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
8. "FCA verpflichtet Gruezo" (in German). FC Augsburg. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
9. "San Jose Earthquakes sign DP midfielder Carlos Gruezo from FC Augsburg | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
10. "Ecuador squad for 2014 World Cup: the 23 chosen by Reinaldo Rueda". The Guardian. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
11. Carrick, Buzz; USA, Dallas News (6 March 2019). "FC Dallas Practice Observations: March 6th".
12. Carlos Gruezo at Soccerway
13. "Carlos Gruezo » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
14. Carlos Gruezo at National-Football-Teams.com

External links

• Carlos Gruezo – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Carlos Armando Gruezo Arboleda at ecuafutbol.org at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 February 2012)