Roger Espinoza

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

Roger Espinoza

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 38)
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[a]	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  Honduras UNCAF Nations Cup 2009
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:17, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

Roger Aníbal Espinoza Ramírez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈroʝeɾ espiˈnosa]; born 25 October 1986) is a Honduran former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or defender. Espinoza currently serves as a youth coach for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. A former Honduras international, Espinoza represented his country at two World Cups and the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is currently a youth soccer coach for Sporting Kansas City.

Club career

Youth and College

Espinoza was born in Puerto Cortés, Honduras. At the age of twelve, Espinoza and his family emigrated to the United States where he was raised in Denver, Colorado.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5]

Sporting Kansas City

Espinoza opted to forgo his senior year of college and signed a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8] He scored his first goal for the club against Swansea City on 7 May.^[9] On 11 May 2013, Espinoza won the FA Cup with Wigan, playing the whole game in a 1–0 upset win against Manchester City.^[10] However, only three days later, Wigan were relegated from the Premier League following a 4–1 defeat against Arsenal.^[11] He scored his second goal for the club against MK Dons in the FA Cup on 4 January 2014.^[12] 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 (right) with Sporting Kansas City in 2021.

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.^[13]

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,^[14] and spent a final season with the club for 2023. He briefly signed with Des Moines Menace for their 2024 U.S. Open Cup campaign,^[15] but announced his retirement in June 2024 after the Menace were eliminated from the competition.^[3]

International career

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.^[16]

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.^[17]

Personal life

Espinoza became a United States citizen in March 2008.^[18] He is married to Kansas City Current player Lo'eau LaBonta.^[3][19]

Career statistics

Club

As of 9 October 2022^[20]

Club	Season	League			National cup[b]		League cup[c]		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[d]	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[e]	0	2[f]	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[g]	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[g]	1	0	0	22	1
	2020		16	2	—		4[h]	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

International

As of 31 August 2018^[20]

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.^[21]

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

Honours

Sporting Kansas City

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: 2012, 2015, 2017

Wigan Athletic

• FA Cup: 2012–13

Notes

1. The club was known as the Kansas City Wizards prior to rebranding as Sporting Kansas City in 2011
2. Includes U.S. Open Cup and FA Cup
3. Includes MLS Cup Playoffs, EFL Cup and MLS is Back Tournament
4. Appearances in North American SuperLiga
5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
6. One appearance in both FA Community Shield, Championship play-offs
7. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
8. Two appearances in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage, two appearances and one goal in MLS Cup Playoffs

References

1. "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.
2. "Roger Espinoza". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
3. Kovzan, Sam (26 June 2024). "Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza announces retirement after outstanding 16-year playing career". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
4. "OhioStateBuckeyes.com :: The Ohio State University official athletic site :: Men's Soccer". 16 December 2007.
5. "OhioStateBuckeyes.com :: The Ohio State University official athletic site :: Men's Soccer". 16 January 2008.
6. "OhioStateBuckeyes.com :: The Ohio State University official athletic site :: Men's Soccer". 16 January 2008.
7. Espinoza plans to transfer to Wigan
8. "Wigan 2–3 Sunderland". BBC Sport.
9. "Wigan 2 – 3 Swansea". BBC. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
10. "Man City 0 – 1 Wigan". BBC. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
11. "Arsenal 4 – 1 Wigan". BBC. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
12. "Wigan 3–3 MK Dons". BBC. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
13. Benny Feilhaber appointed as Sporting KC Academy U-17 head coach, sportingkc.com, 23 August 2021
14. Kovan, Sam. "Sporting KC re-signs veteran midfielder Roger Espinoza". SportingKC.com. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
15. Sperry, Daniel (24 June 2024). "Sporting KC veteran Roger Espinoza retires after MLS career filled with highlights". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
16. "Olympics: Espinoza stars, but Honduras fall to Brazil in QF". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
17. "Inesperado: Roger Espinoza anuncia su retiro de la Selección de Honduras". Diez - Diario Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 August 2019.
18. Espinoza makes Honduras' 23-man roster – ESPN
19. Bachman, Rachel (28 October 2022). "Kansas City's Soccer Star Is a Twerking, Goal-Scoring Late Bloomer". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
20. "Roger Espinoza". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
21. Roger Espinoza at Soccerway

External links

• Roger Espinoza at Major League Soccer
• Article about him on El Tiempo^{[permanent dead link‍]}
• Roger Espinoza at Soccerbase