Bryan Ruiz facts for kids

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Ruiz and the second or maternal family name is González.

Quick facts for kids
Bryan Ruiz
Personal information
Ruiz with Costa Rica at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Full name	Bryan Jafet Ruiz González
Date of birth	(1985-08-18) 18 August 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	San José, Costa Rica
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2006	Alajuelense	86	(24)
2006–2009	Gent	79	(26)
2009–2011	Twente	65	(35)
2011–2015	Fulham	97	(12)
2014	→ PSV (loan)	14	(5)
2015–2018	Sporting CP	86	(12)
2018–2020	Santos	12	(0)
2020–2022	Alajuelense	63	(7)
Total		502	(121)
International career
2005–2022	Costa Rica	147	(29)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bryan Jafet Ruiz González is a former professional footballer from Costa Rica. He was born on August 18, 1985. Bryan mainly played as an attacking midfielder, using his left foot. He could also play as a second striker.

Bryan Ruiz is special because he is the only Central American footballer to have played in three major international club competitions. These are the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, and the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores.

Club Career Highlights
International Career
- 2014 FIFA World Cup Success
- Later World Cup Appearances
Career Statistics
- Club
- International
Awards and Achievements
About Bryan's Life
See also

Club Career Highlights

Starting with Alajuelense

Bryan Ruiz started his professional football journey at 18 years old. His first game for Alajuelense was on November 30, 2003. He quickly became known for scoring goals and setting up plays for his teammates.

He scored his first goals on December 23, 2003, scoring twice in one game. Fans nicknamed him La comadreja, which means "The weasel," because of how fast and agile he was on the field. During his time at Alajuelense, he helped the team win the 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup and the 2005 UNCAF Interclub Cup.

Moving to Gent in Belgium

In 2006, Bryan Ruiz moved to Europe to play for Gent in Belgium. He signed a four-year contract. On December 8, 2007, he scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) for Gent. In that season, he was the team's captain and their top scorer in the Belgian League.

Success at Twente in the Netherlands

Ruiz with FC Twente in 2010

On July 15, 2009, Bryan joined the Dutch club FC Twente. He signed a four-year deal. He scored in his very first game for Twente. On December 12, 2009, he scored in his tenth game in a row, which was a great achievement.

On March 27, 2010, Bryan scored one of the fastest hat-tricks ever against Sparta. He scored three goals in just four minutes! On May 2, 2010, Bryan helped FC Twente win the Eredivisie title for the first time in their history. He scored the first goal in the winning match. He finished that season as Twente's top scorer with 24 goals.

Playing in England with Fulham

Ruiz playing for Fulham in 2012

On August 31, 2011, Bryan Ruiz joined Fulham in the English Premier League. He made his debut on September 11, 2011. His first goal for Fulham came on October 23, 2011.

In April 2012, Bryan broke a bone in his foot during a game, which meant he couldn't play for about 10 weeks. He returned strong for the 2012–13 season. He played in 31 games and scored five goals that season.

Loan to PSV Eindhoven

In January 2014, Bryan went back to the Netherlands to play for PSV Eindhoven on loan. He played for them until the end of that season. He scored his first goal for PSV on February 14, 2014.

Time with Sporting CP in Portugal

On July 7, 2015, Bryan Ruiz signed a three-year contract with Sporting CP in Portugal. He played his first game for them in the 2015 Supertaça against their rivals, Benfica, which Sporting won.

He scored his first goal for Sporting in the UEFA Europa League on October 1, 2015. His first goal in the Portuguese league came later that month in a big win against Benfica.

Playing in Brazil with Santos

On July 11, 2018, Bryan joined Santos FC in Brazil. He played 12 league matches in his first season. However, he did not play any games in his second season. In July 2020, he ended his contract with the club.

Returning to Alajuelense and Retirement

On July 23, 2020, Bryan Ruiz announced he was returning to his first club, Alajuelense. In December 2022, he officially retired from professional football. He celebrated his retirement by playing in a friendly match between Alajuelense and his former club, Twente.

International Career

Ruiz was formerly the captain for the Costa Rica national team.

Bryan Ruiz first played for the Costa Rica on June 19, 2005. He has played for Costa Rica in several CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments, even captaining the team in 2015. He scored his first international goal against Honduras in 2005.

He played a big part in Costa Rica's World Cup qualification for 2010, scoring six goals. He also scored three goals in the 2014 qualifiers, helping his team reach the World Cup in Brazil.

2014 FIFA World Cup Success

In June 2014, Bryan was part of Costa Rica's team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He captained the team in their first match, a 3–1 win against Uruguay. On June 20, Bryan scored the only goal as Costa Rica surprisingly beat Italy 1–0. This win helped Costa Rica move to the next round of the tournament.

In the next round, against Greece, Bryan scored the first goal in a 1–1 draw. Costa Rica then won the game in a penalty shootout. In the quarter-finals, Costa Rica lost to the Netherlands in another penalty shootout, with Bryan's kick being saved.

Later World Cup Appearances

In May 2018, Bryan was again chosen for Costa Rica's team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In their last group game, he scored a late goal from a penalty kick against Switzerland. This goal was later counted as an own goal by the Swiss goalkeeper.

In November 2022, Bryan Ruiz was named to the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This was his final tournament for Costa Rica before he retired from football.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Alajuelense	2003–04	Costa Rican Primera División	20	3	—		—		10	5	—		30	8
	2004–05		31	13	—		—		—		—		31	13
	2005–06		35	8	—		—		11	6	—		46	14
	2020–21		40	7	—		—		5	1	—		45	8
	2021–22		42	2	—		—		2	0	1	0	45	2
	2022–23		13	2	—		—		5	0	—		18	2
	Total		181	35	—		—		33	12	1	0	215	47
Gent	2006–07	Belgian First Division	16	3	2	0	—		1	0	—		19	3
	2007–08		31	11	7	3	—		1	0	—		39	14
	2008–09		32	12	4	2	—		2	0	—		38	14
	Total		79	26	13	5	—		4	0	—		96	31
Twente	2009–10	Eredivisie	34	24	2	2	—		12	2	—		48	28
	2010–11		27	9	3	1	—		9	0	1	0	40	10
	2011–12		4	2	—		—		3	2	1	1	8	5
	Total		65	35	5	3	—		24	4	2	1	96	43
Fulham	2011–12	Premier League	27	2	2	0	1	0	—		—		30	2
	2012–13		29	5	2	0	1	0	—		—		32	5
	2013–14		12	1	—		2	0	—		—		14	1
	2014–15	Championship	29	4	1	0	2	1	—		—		32	5
	Total		97	12	5	0	6	1	—		—		108	13
PSV Eindhoven (loan)	2013–14	Eredivisie	14	5	—		—		—		—		14	5
Sporting CP	2015–16	Primeira Liga	34	8	2	1	1	1	8	3	1	0	46	13
	2016–17		32	2	2	0	2	0	6	1	—		42	3
	2017–18		20	2	3	0	4	0	6	0	—		33	2
	Total		86	12	7	1	7	1	20	4	1	0	121	23
Santos	2018	Série A	12	0	—		—		2	0	—		14	0
	2019	Série A	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0	0	0
	Total		12	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	14	0
Career total			534	125	30	9	13	2	83	20	4	1	664	157

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Costa Rica	2005	7	1
	2006	2	0
	2007	6	2
	2008	8	4
	2009	10	2
	2010	6	0
	2011	7	0
	2012	3	0
	2013	11	3
	2014	12	5
	2015	13	3
	2016	10	2
	2017	13	1
	2018	10	2
	2019	7	1
	2020	0	0
	2021	13	2
	2022	9	1
Total		147	29

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ruiz goal.

List of international goals scored by Bryan Ruiz
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 July 2005	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States	Honduras	2–3	2–3	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2	24 March 2007	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica	New Zealand	3–0	4–0	Friendly
3	2 June 2007	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica	Chile	2–0	2–0	Friendly
4	21 June 2008	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica	Grenada	2–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	6 September 2008	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica	Suriname	7–0	7–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	10 September 2008	Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti	Haiti	1–0	3–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	10 September 2008	Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti	Haiti	2–1	3–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	14 October 2009	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, United States	United States	1–0	2–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	14 October 2009		United States	2–0	2–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	6 February 2013	Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama	Panama	2–2	2–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	18 June 2013	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Panama	2–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	15 October 2013	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Mexico	1–0	2–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	2 June 2014	Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States	Japan	1–0	1–3	Friendly
14	20 June 2014	Arena Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil	Italy	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup
15	29 June 2014	Arena Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil	Greece	1–0	1–1 (5–3 pen.)	2014 FIFA World Cup
16	13 September 2014	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles United States	Guatemala	1–1	2–1	2014 Copa Centroamericana
17	13 November 2014	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Uruguay	2–1	3–3	Friendly
18	11 July 2015	BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States	El Salvador	1–0	1–1	2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
19	8 September 2015	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Uruguay	1–0	1–0	Friendly
20	17 November 2015	Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama	Panama	1–0	2–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
21	29 March 2016	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Jamaica	2–0	3–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
22	9 October 2016	Krasnodar Stadium, Krasnodar, Russia	Russia	2–0	4–3	Friendly
23	13 June 2017	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Trinidad and Tobago	2–1	2–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
24	11 June 2018	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1–0	1–4	Friendly
25	11 October 2018	Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico	Mexico	2–1	2–3	Friendly
26	29 June 2019	NRG Stadium, Houston, United States	Mexico	1–1	1–1 (4–5 pen.)	2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
27	20 July 2021	Exploria Stadium, Orlando, United States	Jamaica	1–0	1–0	2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup
28	10 October 2021	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	El Salvador	1–1	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
29	27 January 2022	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Panama	1–0	1–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Awards and Achievements

Bryan Ruiz has won many awards and championships throughout his career:

Alajuelense

CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2004
Copa Interclubes UNCAF: 2005
Primera División: Apertura 2005, Clausura 2006, Apertura 2020
CONCACAF League: 2020

Twente

Eredivisie: 2009–10
KNVB Cup: 2010–11
Johan Cruyff Shield: 2010, 2011

Sporting CP

Taça da Liga: 2017–18
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2015

Costa Rica

Copa Centroamericana: 2014

Individual Awards

CONCACAF Men's Player of the Year: 2016
CONCACAF Goal of the Year: 2014
CONCACAF Best XI: 2015, 2016, 2017
Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy: 2008, 2009
Player of the season at FC Twente: 2010
BBC Goal of the Month: October 2011
IFFHS CONCACAF team of the decade 2011–2020
IFFHS CONCACAF Men's Team of All Time: 2021

About Bryan's Life

Bryan Ruiz has two brothers. One of them, Yendrick, is also a football player. Bryan and Yendrick even played on the same team, Alajuelense, for a short time. They also played together for the Costa Rica national team in a friendly match in 2013.

Bryan also used to write a column for a Costa Rican sports newspaper called Al Día from 2011 to 2014.