Richie Menjivar was born in California, grew up there played club soccer, and played Division I collegiate soccer for a couple of years at Evansville University.
He played for the Purple Aces from 2008-2009 and closed out his college career at California-Bakersville.
He was part of Eric Wynalda’s Cal FC that had a magical U.S. Open Cup run in 2012. It was through the Wynalda connection that he found himself in Atlanta, GA, with a professional contract for the 2013 season.
The Silverbacks are on a mid-season break after winning the spring half of the North American Soccer League season.
Meanwhile, he has continued to play as a starting midfielder for El Salvador’s men’s senior national team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. El Salvador finished third in Group A, but earned a spot in the quarterfinals and a knockout game against the United States.
It’s not the first time he has played for El Salvador in an important game. He was part of the El Salvador’s Under-23 team that knocked out the U.S. in 2012 Men’s London Olympic Qualifying in Nashville, TN.
He once wore the U.S. jersey at the Under-18 national level, but began playing for El Salvador with his first senior appearance this past January in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana in a 1-1 draw with Honduras.
“I’m 100% Salvadoran. That’s my country and who I play for,” said Menjivar in comments submitted by the Silverbacks. “Just because I was born and raised here (USA) doesn’t mean I’m going to show any mercy against the U.S.
“In fact, I was a part of the El Salvador team that knocked them out of Olympic Qualifying, and I’m not going to lie – it was a great feeling.”
While playing in the Gold Cup has been a bonus for Menjivar, who has made 10 appearances for the Silverbacks this season, he has scored a pair of goals for Atlanta.
“First of all, I’m just happy with the opportunity that I’ve been given,” he said. Playing for the national team is a privilege, and we’re very excited that we’ve advanced to the quarterfinals.
It’s going to be a big challenge for us, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Against the U.S., El Salvador will be playing a team that advanced from Group C with three wins and is considered one of the favorites to win the Gold Cup championship.
“The U.S. is a good team,” said Menjivar. They play well together and have a lot of players with strong technical abilities. We have very good players too, though. It’s going to be a tactical game, and I think the team that executes their game plan better will win. It’s going to be important for us to play our style, concentrate on playing strong defense, and stick together for the full 90 minutes.
“The U.S. has weaknesses like every other team. It’s about exploiting those weaknesses, and I think we have the players to get the job done.”
This tournament has been his first Gold Cup experience.
[/show_to][hide_from accesslevel=’Subscriber’]
Your subscription has expired please
Subscribe to Southern Soccer Scene to view full article and get all the news in your mailbox![/hide_from]