Óscar Pérez Rojas

This article is about the Mexican football player. For other similarly named persons, see Oscar Perez (disambiguation).

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Pérez and the second or maternal family name is Rojas.

Óscar Pérez

230px Pérez playing for San Luis in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Óscar Pérez Rojas
Date of birth	(1973-02-01) 1 February 1973
Place of birth	Mexico City, Mexico
Height
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Pachuca
Number	21
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–2014	Cruz Azul	416	(1)
2008–2009	→ UANL (loan)	30	(0)
2009–2010	→ Chiapas (loan)	30	(0)
2010–2011	→ Necaxa (loan)	34	(0)
2011–2013	→ San Luis (loan)	62	(0)
2013–2014	→ Pachuca (loan)	40	(0)
2014–	Pachuca	59	(0)
International career
1995–1996	Mexico U-23	3	(1)
1997–2010	Mexico	56	(0)
Medal record Representing Mexico Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 1998 Winner FIFA Confederations Cup 1999 Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003 Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009 Runner-up Copa America 2001 Copa America 1999
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 March 2015

Óscar Pérez Rojas (born 1 February 1973 in Mexico City) is a Mexican football goalkeeper who plays for Pachuca of the Liga MX. His nickname "El Conejo" is Spanish for "The Rabbit". At 43 years old, he is currently the oldest active player in Liga MX.

He has been capped 54 times for the Mexico national team since 1997. He played four games at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup; and was selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup but never played.

Club career

He was the starting goalkeeper for Cruz Azul since 1997 with the team winning the championship in the 1997 Winter Season. Ever since Pérez debuted with Cruz Azul he has been under the same three poles "the blue poles." Pérez debuted for the team in 1993, facing Atlas which ended in a 0–0 draw. He quickly became the starring goalkeeper for Cruz Azul and played for them in the 1997 Invierno Final, where Cruz Azul defeated León by a score of 2–1. In a league game away to Estudiantes Tecos in 2006, Pérez scored by a header in stoppage time to equalise 1–1. In 2007 he was given an award for a record-making 400 appearances at Cruz Azul.

He moved to UANL Tigres, starting 4 games in the Apertura 2008. Perez's first game with Tigres was on 13 July 2008 in a friendly against his former team, Cruz Azul which ended in a draw 1–1. He was a great addition to Tigres as he maintained the least goal approaches of the Apertura 2008 tournament.

After a year with the Tigres, he moved to Chiapas where he played in the 2009–10 season.

For the Apertura 2010, Perez moved to Club Necaxa.

International career

Pérez scored his first and only international goal for Mexico under-23 in a friendly against South Korea under-23, scoring at injury time as Mexico was losing by 1–0.

Óscar was noted to be the best goalkeeper in Mexico from the years of 1998 to early 2002. Once Javier Aguirre left the Mexico national team, Ricardo Lavolpe became coach, and Oswaldo Sánchez took over his spot.

Guillermo Ochoa was expected as starting keeper for Mexico at the 2010 World Cup but in a surprise move, Pérez was called up and played as the starting goalkeeper in the tournament.

Television

• In 2012, Oscar participated in the Latin Take Two with Phineas and Ferb.

Honours

Cruz Azul

• Primera División: Invierno 1997

Pachuca

• Liga MX: Clausura 2016

International

• 1999 Nike US Cup
• FIFA Confederations Cup (1): 1999
• CONCACAF Gold Cup (3): 1998, 2003, 2009

External links

• Óscar Pérez Rojas Liga MX stats at Medio Tiempo.com (Spanish)
• Óscar Pérez Rojas at National-Football-Teams.com