Blas Pérez facts for kids
_(cropped).jpg)
Pérez with Panama at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 March 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Panama City, Panama | ||
| Height | 1.87 m | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Dallas Sidekicks | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–2000 | Panamá Viejo | 56 | (37) |
| 2001–2002 | Árabe Unido | 36 | (10) |
| 2002 | Nacional | 2 | (0) |
| 2003 | Envigado | 29 | (6) |
| 2004 | Centauros | 37 | (29) |
| 2005–2006 | Deportivo Cali | 54 | (20) |
| 2006–2007 | Cúcuta Deportivo | 33 | (15) |
| 2007–2008 | Hércules | 16 | (4) |
| 2008–2012 | UANL | 31 | (8) |
| 2009 | → Pachuca (loan) | 19 | (7) |
| 2009 | → Al Wasl (loan) | 8 | (4) |
| 2010 | → San Luis (loan) | 16 | (5) |
| 2010–2011 | → León (loan) | 30 | (19) |
| 2011 | → Indios (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 2012–2015 | FC Dallas | 103 | (37) |
| 2016 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 22 | (6) |
| 2017 | Árabe Unido | 2 | (2) |
| 2017 | Blooming | 10 | (4) |
| 2017-2018 | Municipal | 39 | (15) |
| 2018 | Árabe Unido | 9 | (0) |
| 2022– | Dallas Sidekicks (indoor) | 31 | (24) |
| Total | 556 | (232) | |
| National team | |||
| 2001–2018 | Panama | 123 | (42) |
|
|||
Blas Antonio Pérez Ortega (born on March 13, 1981) is a famous Panamanian former footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was a goal-scorer for his team. He is currently playing indoor soccer for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League. Blas Pérez is known for his powerful shots and amazing ability to score goals.
Contents
Blas Pérez's Football Journey
Starting in Panama
Blas Pérez started his football career in his home country, Panama. He played for Panamá Viejo from 1998 to 2000. During this time, he scored 27 goals in 56 matches. This showed everyone how talented he was at scoring.
In 2001, he moved to another Panamanian club, Árabe Unido. He continued to score many goals there.
Playing in South America
Blas Pérez then moved to South America to play for bigger clubs. In 2002, he joined Nacional, a top team in Uruguay. The next year, he went to Colombia and played for Envigado. He even scored a goal in his very first game for them!
After one season, he joined Centauros. He had an incredible time there, scoring 29 goals in just 37 matches. This amazing performance caught the eye of Deportivo Cali, one of Colombia's best clubs. He played for Cali for two years, from 2005 to 2006, and kept scoring goals.
In 2006, Pérez joined Cúcuta. With this team, he won the Copa Mustang (a major Colombian league title) in 2006. In 2007, Cúcuta and Blas Pérez played in the Copa Libertadores, a very important South American club tournament. Blas scored eight goals in that tournament, which was the second-highest number of goals scored by any player!
Adventures in Europe and Mexico
On May 29, 2007, Blas Pérez moved to Europe. He signed a four-year contract with Hércules CF, a team in Spain's second division. He played 16 matches and scored four goals during his time in Spain.
In January 2008, he moved to Mexico, joining UANL Tigres. This was his seventh club! He also played on loan for other Mexican teams like Pachuca, San Luis, and Club León. He had a great time at Club León, scoring 19 goals in 28 matches.
Playing in Major League Soccer (MLS)
In 2012, Blas Pérez joined FC Dallas in the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. He played for FC Dallas until 2015.
In 2016, he was traded to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He played one season there before returning to Árabe Unido in Panama in 2017.
Retirement and Comeback
Blas Pérez officially retired from professional football on November 25, 2018. However, he couldn't stay away from the game for long! In 2022, he came out of retirement to play arena soccer. He joined the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League. He was even nominated for the league's Newcomer of the Year award. In June 2024, he signed again with the Dallas Sidekicks for another season.
Blas Pérez for Panama
Representing His Country
Blas Pérez was a very important player for the Panama national team. He played his first game for Panama in March 2001. He played for his country until 2018, earning a total of 123 caps (games played). He scored 42 goals for Panama, making him the second all-time leading goalscorer for his country!
He played in many important matches, including 35 FIFA World Cup qualification games. He also represented Panama in several CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments (in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015). In the 2007 Gold Cup, he was Panama's top scorer with three goals and was even named to the tournament's "Best XI" team.
Playing in the FIFA World Cup
One of the biggest highlights of his career was playing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In May 2018, Blas Pérez was chosen to be part of Panama's team for this huge international tournament. It was a dream come true for him and his country.
Career Statistics
Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pérez goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 April 2001 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |  Haiti |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 6 September 2006 | Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala |  Guatemala |
2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 8 June 2007 | Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States |  Honduras |
2–1 | 3–2 | 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 4 | 10 June 2007 | Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States |  Cuba |
2–1 | 2–2 | 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 5 | 16 June 2007 | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States |  United States |
1–2 | 1–2 | 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 6 | 31 March 2009 | Estadio Agustín Sánchez, La Chorrera, Panama | Haiti |
2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 3–0 | |||||
| 8 | 4–0 | |||||
| 9 | 7 June 2009 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica |  Jamaica |
1–0 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 10 | 9 July 2009 | Reliant Stadium, Houston, United States |  Mexico |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 11 | 12 July 2009 | University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, United States |  Nicaragua |
1–0 | 4–0 | 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 12 | 18 July 2009 | Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States | United States |
1–0 | 1–2 | 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 13 | 3 March 2010 | Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela |  Venezuela |
2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 14 | 11 August 2010 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Venezuela |
2–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 15 | 8 October 2010 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |  El Salvador |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 16 | 21 January 2011 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |  Costa Rica |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2011 Copa Centroamericana |
| 17 | 7 June 2011 | Ford Field, Detroit, United States |  Guadeloupe |
1–0 | 3–2 | 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 18 | 6 September 2011 | Estadio Nacional de Fútbol, Managua, Nicaragua | Nicaragua |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 19 | 7 October 2011 | Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica |  Dominica |
3–0 | 5–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 20 | 11 October 2011 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Nicaragua |
1–0 | 5–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 21 | 2–0 | |||||
| 22 | 5–0 | |||||
| 23 | 11 November 2011 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Costa Rica |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 24 | 15 November 2011 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Dominica |
3–0 | 3–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 25 | 1 June 2012 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Jamaica |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 26 | 8 June 2012 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Honduras |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 27 | 2–0 | |||||
| 28 | 11 September 2012 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |  Canada |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 29 | 13 January 2013 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Guatemala |
2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 30 | 25 January 2013 | Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica | Guatemala |
1–0 | 3–1 | 2013 Copa Centroamericana |
| 31 | 26 March 2013 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Honduras |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 32 | 20 July 2013 | Georgia Dome, Atlanta, United States | Cuba |
4–1 | 6–1 | 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 33 | 6–1 | |||||
| 34 | 24 July 2013 | Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, United States | Mexico |
1–0 | 2–1 | 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 35 | 7 September 2014 | Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States | Costa Rica |
1–0 | 2–2 | 2014 Copa Centroamericana |
| 36 | 10 September 2014 | BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States | Nicaragua |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2014 Copa Centroamericana |
| 37 | 31 March 2015 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Costa Rica |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 38 | 13 July 2015 | Sporting Park, Kansas City, United States | United States |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 39 | 8 January 2016 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Cuba |
4–0 | 4–0 | Copa América Centenario qualification |
| 40 | 6 June 2016 | Camping World Stadium, Orlando, United States |  Bolivia |
1–0 | 2–1 | Copa América Centenario |
| 41 | 2–1 | |||||
| 42 | 13 June 2017 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Honduras |
1–1 | 2–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours and Awards
Blas Pérez won several important titles and awards during his career:
- Deportivo Cali
- Categoría Primera A: 2005 (a top league title in Colombia)
- Cúcuta Deportivo
- Categoría Primera A: 2006 (another top league title in Colombia)
- Individual
- CONCACAF Gold Cup All-Star Team: 2007 (recognized as one of the best players in the tournament)
See also
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
- In Spanish: Blas Pérez para niños
