Toronto FC announced Thursday that they have acquired forward Carlos Ruiz from the L.A. Galaxy in exchange for a first-round pick and a second-round pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft and salary budget considerations. As per team regulations contract details were not disclosed.
"We're looking forward to bringing in another quality striker," said manager, director of soccer Mo Johnston. "We've now got Barrett and Dichio who is on the road to getting healthier and this will also help bring young Ibee (Ibrahim) along properly. We're very excited to get Ruiz in here - he holds the ball up well and is a clinical finisher."
Ruiz, 28, is known as the best pure goalscorer in MLS history. He leaves L.A. as the second leading scorer in Galaxy history with 50 regular season goals for the club, and helped the team to victory in the MLS Cup in 2002. The forward is the all-time leader in postseason goals in MLS, and is currently 8th on the All-time goals list with 82.
Ruiz began his professional career with his local club CSD Municipal in Guatemala City in 1995. In 2000 he went to Europe and signed with PAS Giannina of Greece on loan but returned to Guatemala the following year. In 2002 he joined Major League Soccer signing with the Galaxy, and in his first season he scored 24 goals and adding one assist in 26 games. That year he was named to the MLS Best XI and named league MVP. Ruiz set a new MLS record that season for game winning goals with nine. He registered seven multi-goal games that year.
In 2005 Ruiz was traded to FC Dallas for a 2nd round draft pick and an undisclosed amount of money. After spending three seasons in Texas, Ruiz returned to the Galaxy, and in exchange, FC Dallas received allocation money and L.A.'s natural second round draft pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. The forward injured his knee in the season opener in 2008 keeping him out of the lineup for the better part of a month. His first goal of the season came July 19 in a 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls.
Internationally, Ruiz has been a member of the Guatemalan National Team since 1998 and is their current leading goal scorer. He has over 70 caps for his country and was a member of the squad during World Cup qualification campaigns in 2002, 2006, and is presently involved in 2010 qualification. In 2002 he scored eight goals in nine matches during qualification and again led the team in scoring in 2006, helping Guatemala reach the final phase of qualification but narrowly missing out on a chance to travel to Germany for the 2006 World Cup. However, Ruiz did make history in 2008 when on June 14; he broke Juan Carlos Plata's all-time individual goalscoring record for Guatemala, by scoring four goals against Saint Lucia in their 2010 World Cup qualifying opening match. That feat made him the first Guatemalan player to score four times in a match as he surpassed the old mark of 39 goals set by Plata.
Carlos Ruiz
Position:
Forward
Height:
5-9
Weight:
180
Birthdate:
September 15, 1979
Hometown:
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Nationality:
Guatemala
Last Club:
L.A. Galaxy
Roster Designation:
International
