View source for Mauricio Cienfuegos

{{Short description|Salvadoran footballer (born 1968)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name                = Mauricio Cienfuegos
| image                = 
| caption              = Cienfuegos in 2023
| fullname             = José Mauricio Cienfuegos 
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1968|2|12}}
| birth_place = [[San Salvador]], El Salvador
| height               = {{height|ft=5|in=6}}
| position             = [[Midfielder#Attacking midfielder|Attacking midfielder]]
| years1               = 1985
| clubs1               = Racing Junior
| caps1         =    | goals1         =
| years2               = 1986–1987
| clubs2               = [[C.D. Marte Soyapango|Marte Soyapango]]
| caps2         =    | goals2         =
| years3               = 1988–1991
| clubs3               = [[C.D. Luís Ángel Firpo|Luis Ángel Firpo]]
| caps3         = | goals3         =
| years4               = 1991–1992
| clubs4               = [[Monarcas Morelia|Atlético Morelia]]
| caps4         = 37 | goals4         = 3
| years5               = 1992–1993
| clubs5               = [[Club Santos Laguna|Santos Laguna]]
| caps5         = 18 | goals5         = 0
| years6               = 1994–1995
| clubs6               = [[Jaibos Tampico Madero]]
| caps6         = | goals6         =
| years7               = 1994–1996
| clubs7               = [[C.D. Luís Ángel Firpo|Luis Ángel Firpo]]
| caps7         =    | goals7         =
| years8               = 1996–2003
| clubs8               = [[LA Galaxy|Los Angeles Galaxy]]
| caps8         = 206 | goals8         = 35
| nationalyears1       = 1987–2003
| nationalteam1        = [[El Salvador national football team|El Salvador]]
| nationalcaps1 = 68 | nationalgoals1 = 8
| manageryears1        = 2008
| managerclubs1        = [[Nejapa F.C.|Nejapa]]
| manageryears2        = 2011–2020
| managerclubs2        = [[LA Galaxy|Los Angeles Galaxy]] ''(academy)''
| manageryears3        = 2023-
| managerclubs3        = [[El Salvador national football team|El Salvador]] (assistant)
| medaltemplates       =
}}

'''José Mauricio Cienfuegos''' (born 12 February 1968) is a Salvadoran former professional [[Association football|footballer]] who played as an [[Midfielder#Attacking midfielder|attacking midfielder]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elgrafico.com/futbol/Mauricio-Cienfuegos-llega-a-los-50-anos--20180212-0006.html|title=Mauricio Cienfuegos llega a los 50 años|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> and is the current assistant coach to the [[El Salvador national football team]] under the coaching staff of [[Hugo Pérez (soccer, born 1963)|Hugo Pérez]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://us.as.com/futbol/mauricio-cienfuegos-historico-de-la-galaxy-y-nuevo-asistente-de-hugo-perez-en-el-salvador-n/?outputType=amp|title=cienfuegos historico de la galaxy y nuevo asistente de hugo perez en el salvador|date=21 January 2023 |access-date=25 June 2023}}</ref>

==Club career==
Cienfuegos began his professional career in 1985 with Racing Junior. He played the next two seasons for [[C.D. Marte Soyapango|Soyapango]], and then moved to [[C.D. Luís Ángel Firpo|Luís Ángel Firpo]], where he would play for four years.

Cienfuegos moved to [[Tercera Division de Mexico|Mexico]] to play for [[Monarcas Morelia|Atlético Morelia]] in the 1991, and then signed with [[Santos Laguna|Santos]] in 1992. However, after just one season at [[Club Santos Laguna|Santos Laguna]], Cienfuegos became unhappy with how he was being used at the club and decided to try his luck in Europe. In the summer of 1993, he had trials with Swiss champions [[Servette FC|Servette]] and [[La Liga]] side [[UE Lleida|Lleida]]. Cienfuegos was close to signing with the Spanish side, but ultimately he was not offered a contract, and he returned to Mexico with a brief stint at [[Tampico Madero]] during the second half of the [[1994–95 Tampico Madero-TM Gallos Blancos season|1994-95]] season.

===Los Angeles Galaxy===
Cienfuegos played two more seasons with Luis Ángel Firpo before joining [[Major League Soccer]] for its inaugural 1996 season. Cienfuegos played for [[Los Angeles Galaxy]] for eight years as a midfielder, from 1996 until his retirement after the 2003 season. During those years, he established himself, along with [[Carlos Valderrama (soccer player)|Carlos Valderrama]], [[Marco Etcheverry]], and [[Piotr Nowak|Peter Nowak]], as one of the best playmakers in the league. He was elected to the [[MLS Best XI]] three times, in 1996, 1998, and 1999, and played in seven [[MLS All-Star Game]]s as a central midfielder. During his MLS career, Galaxy won the 2000 [[CONCACAF Champions Cup]], the 2001 [[U.S. Open Cup]], and the 2002 [[MLS Cup]]. He finished his MLS career with 78 assists and 35 goals in 206 games for the club.

==International career==
Cienfuegos was an important player for the [[El Salvador national football team|El Salvador national team]], joining the team as a teenager, and continuing to lead his national side well into his thirties. He has earned a total of 68 caps, scoring 8 goals, all of them during a home game. He has represented his country in a massive 32 [[FIFA World Cup qualification]] matches<ref>{{FIFA player|94808}}</ref> and played at the [[1995 UNCAF Nations Cup]]<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesg/gold-cam95.html UNCAF Tournament 1995] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514025907/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/gold-cam95.html |date=14 May 2011 }} – RSSSF</ref> as well as the [[1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup|1996]]<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/tables/96gc-full.html CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 1996 – Full Details] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121072256/http://www.rsssf.com/tables/96gc-full.html |date=21 November 2008 }} – RSSSF</ref> and [[1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup]]s.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/tables/98gc-full.html CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 1998 – Full Details] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610084535/http://www.rsssf.com/tables/98gc-full.html |date=10 June 2009 }} – RSSSF</ref>

Cienfuegos played his final international game in July 2003, in a testimonial match against [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]], played at the Galaxy's [[Home Depot Center]].

===International goals===
:''Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first.''
{| class="wikitable"
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1 || 23 July 1992 || [[Estadio Cuscatlán]], [[San Salvador]], El Salvador || {{fb|NIC}} || 2–0 || 5–1 || [[1994 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| 2 || 1 November 1992 || [[Estadio Cuscatlán]], [[San Salvador]], El Salvador || {{fb|BER}} || 3–0 || 4–1 || [[1994 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| 3 || 23 March 1993 || [[Estadio Cuscatlán]], [[San Salvador]], El Salvador || {{fb|USA}} || 2–2 || 2–2 || [[Friendly match]]
|-
| 4 || 29 November 1995 || [[Estadio Oscar Quiteno]], [[Santa Ana, El Salvador]] || {{fb|BLZ}} || 1–0 || 3–0 || [[1995 UNCAF Nations Cup]]
|-
| 5 || 3 December 1995 || [[Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González|Estadio Flor Blanca]], [[San Salvador]], El Salvador || {{fb|CRC}} || 2–1 || 2–1 || [[1995 UNCAF Nations Cup]]
|-
| 6 || 8 September 1996 || [[Estadio Cuscatlán]], [[San Salvador]], El Salvador || {{fb|CUB}} || 5–0 || 5–0 || [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| 7 || 14 September 1997 || [[Estadio Cuscatlán]], [[San Salvador]], El Salvador || {{fb|CAN}} || 3–1 || 4–1 || [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| 8 || 16 July 2000 || [[Estadio Cuscatlán]], [[San Salvador]], El Salvador || {{fb|HON|1949}} || 2–5 || 2–5 || [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|}

==Coaching career==
Cienfuegos was appointed head coach of [[Nejapa F.C.|Nejapa]] in El Salvador's [[Salvadoran Primera División|Primera División de Fútbol Profesional]] in 2008. Despite having a good first season, a poor start to his second season in charge and non-payment of his players led to him to resign as head coach of the team.<ref>[http://archivo.elgrafico.com/index.php?eqp=9&ntc=1328 Cienfuegos se va del Nejapa] – El Gráfico {{in lang|es}}</ref> On 22 June 2011, it was announced that Mauricio Cienfuegos had been appointed as a technical coach for the LA Galaxy Academy.<ref>[http://www.lagalaxy.com/news/2011/06/la-galaxy-legend-mauricio-cienfuegos-named-technical-coach-galaxy-academy Cienfuegos appointed as a technical coach] – lagalaxy.com</ref> In January 2023, Cienfuegos was appointed to become assistant coach for the El Salvador national team.

==Honors==
'''CD Luis Ángel Firpo'''
* [[Salvadoran Primera División|Primera División de Fútbol Profesional]]: 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92

'''Los Angeles Galaxy'''
* [[CONCACAF Champions League|CONCACAF Champions' Cup]]: [[CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2000|2000]]
:: (Runner-up 1997)
* [[MLS Cup]]: [[MLS Cup 2002|2002]]
:: (Runner-up : 1996, 1999, 2001)
* [[MLS Supporters' Shield]]: [[1998 Major League Soccer season|1998]], [[2002 Major League Soccer season|2002]]
:: (Runner-up : 1996, 1999)
* [[Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|U.S. Open Cup]]: [[2001 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|2001]]
: (Runner-up : 2002)

'''Individual'''
* [[MLS All-Star Game|MLS All-Star]]: [[1996 MLS All-Star Game|1996]],<ref>[http://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/news/article/2011/07/12/all-star-game-flashback-1996-east-wins-inaugural-event All-Star Game flashback, 1996] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228152403/http://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/news/article/2011/07/12/all-star-game-flashback-1996-east-wins-inaugural-event |date=December 28, 2014 }} at MLSsoccer.com
</ref> [[1997 MLS All-Star Game|1997]],<ref>[https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/all-star-game-flashback-1997-valderrama-named-mvp-again All-Star Game flashback, 1997] at MLSsoccer.com</ref> [[1998 MLS All-Star Game|1998]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 2, 1998 |title=1998 MLS All-Star Game |url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/1998-mls-all-star-game-373141 |access-date=July 27, 2023 |work=MLSsoccer.com}}</ref> [[1999 Major League Soccer All-Star Game|1999]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 17, 1999 |title=1999 MLS All-Star Game |url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/1999-mls-all-star-game-373142 |work=MLSsoccer.com |access-date=July 27, 2023}}</ref> [[2000 MLS All-Star Game|2000]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 29, 2000 |title=2000 MLS All-Star Game |url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/2000-mls-all-star-game-373143 |work=MLSsoccer.com |access-date=July 28, 2023}}</ref>
* [[MLS Best XI]]:<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2023 |title=2022 Fact & Record Book |page=184 |url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/about/fact-and-record-book |publisher=Major League Soccer  |access-date=July 28, 2023}}</ref> [[1996 MLS All-Star Game|1996]], [[1998 MLS All-Star Game|1998]], [[1999 MLS All-Star Game|1999]]

==Personal life==
Cienfuegos lives with his wife and three children in the [[San Gabriel Valley]], California.<ref>[http://www.lagalaxy.com/news/2011/02/what-ever-happened-mauricio-cienfuegos What Ever Happened To: Mauricio Cienfuegos] – LA Galaxy</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{NFT player|13928}}

{{Los Angeles Galaxy}}
{{Navboxes
|title=El Salvador squads
| bg = #0000DD
| fg = white
|list1=
{{El Salvador Squad 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
{{El Salvador Squad 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
}}
{{1996 MLS Best XI}}
{{1998 MLS Best XI}}
{{1999 MLS Best XI}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cienfuegos, Mauricio}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from San Salvador]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:Salvadoran men's footballers]]
[[Category:Salvadoran expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:El Salvador men's international footballers]]
[[Category:1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players]]
[[Category:1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players]]
[[Category:CD Luis Ángel Firpo players]]
[[Category:Atlético Morelia players]]
[[Category:Santos Laguna footballers]]
[[Category:LA Galaxy players]]
[[Category:Club Jaiba Brava footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States]]
[[Category:Salvadoran football managers]]
[[Category:Liga MX players]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer players]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer All-Stars]]
[[Category:LA Galaxy non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in Mexico]]
[[Category:Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in the United States]]
[[Category:CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players]]