Juan Carlos Arguedas


Juan Carlos Arguedas Ávila is a retired Costa Rican footballer.

Club career

Arguedas used to play for AD Carmelita, but was also part of the three "big teams" of Costa Rica's football, Deportivo Saprissa, Herediano and Alajuelense. He made his professional debut for the latter on 18 March 1988 against Ramonense. He was Costa Rica's league top goalscorer twice, in 1994/95 and 1999/2000 with 28 and 23 goals respectively and scored a total of 125 goals in Costa Rica's Premier Division.

Spells abroad

He also had a spell with Tecos in the Primera División de México, in the Guatemalan top division with Cobán Imperial and Aurora and with Colombian side Atlético Bucaramanga. He also had a short stint with Virginia Beach Mariners.
He announced his retirement in May 2004.

International career

He played for Costa Rica at the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia.
He made his senior debut for Costa Rica in a May 1991 friendly match against Uruguay and earned a total of 24 caps, scoring 4 goals. He has represented his country in 4 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the 1993 UNCAF Nations Cup as well as the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
He played his final international game in September 2000 against Barbados.

International goals

DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.3 July 1991Rose Bowl, Los Angeles, United States1–12–31991 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2.23 August 1992Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica3–05–11994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.23 August 1992Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica4–05–11994 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.16 February 1993Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica4–06–01993 UNCAF Nations Cup

Managerial career

After retiring as a player, Arguedas started managing Carmelita. Later he was appointed manager of San Carlos and Ramonense.