Darwin Cerén


Darwin Adelso Cerén Delgado is a Salvadoran professional footballer who plays as a midfielder, for the Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo and is captain of the El Salvador national team.

Club career

Juventud Independiente

Darwin began his professional career with Juventud Independiente in 2009 along with his brother Oscar. He helped them earn promotion from the second division to the first division. In total, he made 87 appearances for the club and scored 15 goals before departing in February 2014. In the summer of 2013, he went on trial with Balıkesirspor of the Turkish second division, but a deal was never worked out.

Orlando City SC

It was announced on 6 February 2014 that Ceren had signed for Orlando City SC of the USL Pro for the 2014 USL Pro season and for 2015 as OCSC enter Major League Soccer, becoming the club's third addition to their MLS roster. Cerén made his Orlando City debut on 22 March in a 1-1 draw with the Charleston Battery. On 16 August he scored his first goal for the club, picking up a brace in a 3-1 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders. Cerén went on to make 23 league appearances for the club, scoring two goals and assisting on three others, during the season. Cerén helped Orlando win the Commissioner's Cup Orlando's surprise defeat to the Harrisburg City Islanders in the first round of the playoffs which saw Orlando eliminated.
Cerén made his MLS debut on 8 March 2015 in a 1-1 draw with New York City FC. He scored his first MLS goal in a 4-0 win over the LA Galaxy on 17 May.

San Jose Earthquakes

Darwin Cerén was acquired by the San Jose Earthquakes on 3 August 2016 in exchange for midfielder Matías Pérez García and an international roster slot through the end of the 2016 MLS season. He made his Earthquakes debut on 5 August in a 0-0 draw with NYCFC.

Houston Dynamo

On 19 January 2018, Cerén was traded to Houston Dynamo in exchange for $100,000 in General Allocation Money and $75,000 in Targeted Allocation Money. He made his Dynamo debut on 3 March 2018 in a 4-0 win over Atlanta United, a game in which he scored his first goal since 2015. He picked up a leg injury on 11 May that forced him to miss just over a month. Cerén helped the Dynamo win the 2018 US Open Cup, making 3 appearances in the tournament, including in the final, and picking up one assist along the way. He made 27 appearances across all competitions in his first season with Houston.
Cerén made his CONCACAF Champions League debut on 19 February, coming on as a substitute in a 1-0 win over C.D. Guastatoya. He scored his first goal of the season on 26 June in a 2-1 defeat to the New England Revolution. The offseason addition of Matías Vera saw playing time harder to come by for Cerén in his second season in Houston. He would only make 16 appearances in all competitions on the year, with only 6 of them being starts. His contract expired at the end of the 2019 season, making him a free agent. On 20 December he signed a one year contract to remain in Houston.

International career

Darwin Cerén made his debut for El Salvador in a friendly against New Zealand on 24 May 2012. The game ended in a 2–2 draw. He scored his first goal against Venezuela in a 2–1 loss.
Cerén captained El Salvador in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup through four matches and led the squad to a 2–0 defeat in the quarterfinals to the United States, in the process drawing heated criticism for biting US defender Omar Gonzalez in the back on a corner kick during the game. He received a three-match international ban for this.

Personal life

In early 2015, Cerén received his U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.
Cerén is married to Delia, and has three children.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 May 2013Estadio Metropolitano de Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela
1–0
1–2
Friendly
2.16 June 2015Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador
1–0
4–1
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.7 September 2019Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador2–03–02019–20 CONCACAF Nations League B

Honours

Club