Oribe Peralta

Oribe Peralta Morones (born 12 January 1984) is a Mexican professional footballer who currently plays as a striker for and captains Liga MX club América and the Mexico national team.
Peralta began his professional career with León and Monterrey in 2004 and 2006. Peralta was then sold to Santos Laguna, then loaned out to Chiapas in 2008. After he returned from loan, Peralta was a mainstay with Santos Laguna for the next five years, playing in over 200 matches and scoring over 80 goals.
A Mexico international since 2005, Peralta did not become a regular call-up until 2011, being one of the over-aged reinforcements who won the 2011 Pan American Games with the under-22 squad. He scored two goals in the gold medal match at the 2012 Olympic football tournament against Brazil, which was the first Olympic gold medal for Mexico in football. He also participated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and won the following year's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Oribe Peralta was born in a small town near Torreón, Coahuila named "La Partida" to Miguel Ángel Peralta and Julieta Morones.

At the age of 13, Peralta joined his first football team Los Vagos from his home town. In 1998, when he was in high school, he made the official town team of "La Partida" to play against other Municipalities in Torreon. He managed to join CESIFUT (Centro de Sinergia Futbolista) [Synergy Center of Football] and after a year he fractured his ankle which left him immobile for a year. After months of recuperation, Peralta managed to get into Alacranes de Durango, a professional team and drew the attention of C.D. Guadalajara's head coach Oscar Ruggeri, who took him to Guadalajara for a trial. He would then receive an invitation from Monarcas Morelia, where manager Rubén Omar Romano gave him a try out with the team in which he debuted.

Morelia

A native of Torreón, Oribe Peralta made his debut for Monarcas Morelia on 22 February 2003, coming in as a substitute in the second half of a league match against Club América, which ended in a 1–2 defeat. Peralta then played his second match of his first season against Cruz Azul. For the next two seasons Peralta did not see any action, and was transferred to León of the second division. He made 33 appearances and scored ten goals, winning the Clausura tournament with the club in 2004.

Monterrey

After playing for León, Peralta joined Monterrey to play with them for the next two seasons. Peralta made his debut for Monterrey against UANL in the second half as a substitute in the 2–6 defeat. In his second match, he scored his first goal of his career in the first division after coming in as a substitute, scoring the second goal of the match against Cruz Azul, with Monterrey going on to win the match 3–0. Peralta ended his first season with five goals in 22 matches and making it to the final. Monterrey would go on to lose against UNAM.

Peralta then started his second season at the club as a substitute. For the next four matches, he was used as a substitute until he made his second start against Puebla, scoring his second goal of the season. He ended the season with four goals. For the next two seasons, Peralta received less playing time, only managing to score two goals in 22 matches.

Guadalajara (loan)

In 2005, Monterrey loaned Peralta to Guadalajara as a reinforcement for the 2005 Copa Libertadores tournament. He only played in four matches and did not score any goals.

Santos Laguna

In 2006, Peralta moved to Santos Laguna. He made his debut against Monterrey - his former club - scoring his first goal in his first start of the season. Peralta ended the season with 9 goals in 17 matches and 7 assists.

Chiapas (loan)

In 2009, Peralta was loaned out for on a one-year deal to Jaguares for the Clausura tournament. He had a successful loan spell with Jaguares, scoring 12 goals in 35 appearances.

Return to Santos Laguna

Peralta playing for Santos Laguna

After his successful loan spell, Peralta returned to Santos Laguna in 2010. He was Santos Laguna's main striker and went on to score 82 goals in 225 games during his time with the club, as well as winning the Clausura 2008 and 2012 championships. Peralta also helped Santos reach the finals of the CONCACAF Champions League on two occasions within' two years. He was also awarded the CONCACAF Player of the Year in 2013 for his excellent performance. Peralta was the top scorer of the 2011-12 Champions League with a total of 7 goals in 8 games helping his team reach the finals against C.F. Monterrey, which they lost. On April 26, 2014, he scored his last goal with Santos scoring the second goal for Santos giving them the 2-1 lead against Veracruz. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.

On May 10, 2014, Peralta played his final game for Santos Laguna at home in Estadio Corona in a 4-2 win against C.F. Pachuca.

América

On 13 May 2014, it was announced that Peralta was sold to América prior to the Apertura tournament. Though details of the transfer were undisclosed, it was believed that América paid US$10 million for Peralta, making his transfer the most expensive in Mexican football history at the time, as well as receiving an annual salary of US$2.5 million.

Peralta made his league debut on 19 July, assisting in Osvaldo Martínez's first goal in América's 2–1 win over León. On 2 August, Peralta scored his first goal for América in the 4–0 victory over Puebla at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc.

On 23 July 2016, in the second game of the season, Peralta scored his first hat-trick for America in a 3-1 victory over Toluca. On 10 September, Peralta returned after suffering an injury at 2016 Summer Olympics to play in the Clásico Joven against Cruz Azul, scoring the first goal for America to bounce back from a 3-0 game to win the match 4-3 in the Estadio Azul.

Peralta playing for Mexico

Mexico U23

2011 Pan American Games

In 2011, Peralta was selected by coach Luis Fernando Tena as one of three over-aged reinforcements for the 2011 Pan American Games. Mexico won the gold medal with Peralta finishing as the tournament's top scorer with six goals. At the start of the tournament, Peralta scored his first goal in a 2–1 win against Ecuador on 19 October. Two days later, He scored a goal in the match against Trinidad and Tobago, which ended in a 1–1 draw. In the third match against Uruguay on 23 October, Peralta scored a goal in Mexico's 5–2 win. Peralta scored a hat-trick against Costa Rica to make it to the final against Argentina in which Mexico won with a score of 1-0.

2012 Summer Olympics

Coach Luis Fernando Tena again called-up Peralta as one of the three over-age reinforcements for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Peralta participated in all of Mexico's matches, playing a vital role in the semi-final match against Japan by scoring in the 65th minute of the game to go up 2–1, with Mexico winning the match 3–1 and advancing to the final. In the gold-medal match against Brazil, Peralta scored in the first 29 seconds of the game, being assisted by Javier Aquino, making it the fastest goal of the Olympics and in any FIFA tournament final. Peralta scored the second goal in the 75th minute, scoring a Marco Fabian free-kick. Mexico won the match 2–1. In total, Peralta made six appearances and was the tournament's third-best goalscorer, and Mexico's top-scorer with four goals in 529 minutes played.

2016 Summer Olympics

On 7 July 2016, Peralta was confirmed as one of the three over-aged players to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Peralta was named captain and scored the first goal in Mexico's 2–2 draw against Germany in the opening match of Group C on 4 August. On 7 August, it was announced that Peralta was ruled out of the national squad after sustaining a fractured nose during Mexico's match against Fiji.

Mexico national team

Peralta made his debut for Mexico coming on as a late substitute during a friendly match against Argentina on 9 March 2005. He was included in the preparations for the 2006 World Cup but did not make the final squad.

Peralta was called up by coach Luis Fernando Tena as one of the five over-aged reinforcements of the Mexican team composed entirely of players under the age of 22 that participated in the 2011 Copa América, though he had a limited role as a reserve.

On 10 August 2011, Peralta officially made his return to the national team after six years and scored his first goal for Mexico against the United States in a match that ended in a 1–1 draw. He did not participate in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup or the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup due to injury.

On 8 May 2014, Peralta was selected for the final 23-man roster participating in the 2014 FIFA World Cup by coach Miguel Herrera. He scored the only goal in Mexico's debut match in Natal against Cameroon on 13 June, pouncing on the rebound after goalkeeper Charles Itandje parried Giovani dos Santos' shot after 61 minutes.

On 9 July 2015, Peralta scored a hat-trick during Mexico's opening match of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup – a 6–0 defeat of Cuba in Chicago; he also scored in the Final, a 3–1 win against Jamaica in Philadelphia.

Peralta is known to be a devout Catholic.

Peralta is currently sponsored by German sportswear manufacturer Puma, appearing in various adverts for the company, including the presentation of the new line of boots that would be used during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club

As of 21 January 2017

International

International goals

Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 August 2011	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States	United States	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2.	25 January 2012	Reliant Stadium, Houston, United States	Venezuela	3–1	3–1	Friendly
3.	12 October 2012	BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States	Guyana	1–0	3–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	16 October 2012	Estadio Corona, Torreón, Mexico	El Salvador	1–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.	14 August 2013	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	Ivory Coast	2–0	4–1	Friendly
6.				3–0
7.	6 September 2013	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Honduras	1–0	1–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.	11 October 2013	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Panama	1–0	2–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
9.	15 October 2013	Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica	Costa Rica	1–1	1–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.	13 November 2013	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	New Zealand	2–0	5–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.				4–0
12.	20 November 2013	Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand	New Zealand	1–0	4–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.				2–0
14.				3–0
15.	30 January 2014	Alamodome, San Antonio, United States	South Korea	1–0	4–0	Friendly
16.	13 June 2014	Arena das Dunas, Natal, Brazil	Cameroon	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup
17.	9 July 2015	Soldier Field, Chicago, United States	Cuba	1–0	6–0	2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
18.				3–0
19.				5–0
20.	26 July 2015	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States	Jamaica	3–0	3–1	2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
21.	10 October 2015	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	United States	2–1	3–2	2015 CONCACAF Cup
22.	9 June 2016	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	Jamaica	2–0	2–0	Copa América Centenario
23.	11 October 2016	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, United States	Panama	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Club

León

• Primera División A: Clausura 2004

Santos Laguna

• Primera División: Clausura 2008, Clausura 2012

América

• Liga MX: Apertura 2014
• CONCACAF Champions League: 2014–15, 2015–16

International

Mexico Olympic

• Pan American Games: 2011
• Summer Olympics: 2012

Mexico

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2015
• CONCACAF Cup: 2015

Individual

• Top Scorer at the 2011 Pan American Games
• Best Striker of the Tournament: Apertura 2011, Clausura 2012
• Player of the Tournament: Clausura 2012
• CONCACAF Champions League Player of the Tournament: 2011–12
• CONCACAF Champions League Golden Ball: 2011–12
• CONCACAF Champions League Top Scorer: 2011–12, 2014–15
• CONCACAF Player of the Year: 2013