Hugo may be the most underrated player ever. He carried the team in the 80's. He was the face of the team. In '88 & '89, He was moments away from signing with Barcelona and Ajax, but was not allowed by the MISL. In 1990 he was left out of the world cup for no apparent reason and in 1994 world cup he started every game prior to world cup and scored 5 goals during the time span, yet Bora did not give him a chance. Now he is not even inducted into the Hall of Fame-what a shameless thing to do by the writers. I think he is the Barry Bonds of Soccer-not a friend of the media, but a great player.
Yeah, the few times I saw him play in the 80s, he looked head and shoulders above our other guys. I've always wondered why he never seemed to get a chance to shine more once the team started improving. Did injuries play a big part, or was he just screwed? I'd be curious to hear anything about his fall from grace.
I always seem to get Hugo Sanchez and Hugo Perez confused. Does that make me a bad person? I thought so.
http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/players/hugo_perez/ hugo perez got hurt in france before the 1990 world cup, his knee I belive gansler left him off the squad because he was NOT fully rehabbed.... hugo was the guy when USA went to play on the road shoudered ALL the offensive PLAYMAKING... Hugo is the closest USA has ever had to being a pure 10... when perez was left off the 1990 squad, andreas cantor took several minutes to rip gansler and ussf... milutinovic had a fond heart for perez, and put him on the team in 1994... by then perez, was a meer shadow of his former self.......
Those fans who saw him play never underrated him. Hugo was terrific. It is sad that he was hurt for Italia '90 and by the time '94 came round he was too old. Definitely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but he retired just before the sport gained a lot, which hurt him. He fell completely off the map for a while, but he's back now and I'd be surprised if he doesn't end up getting the recognition he deserves.
Hugo was hurt before 1990, but 2 weeks prior an article came out that HUgo said the federation did not treat the players out. He was ready to play in 1990. Andres was a big Hugo fan, that is why he ripped off USSF and Gansler. Hugo was only 30 in 1994 he was not old that relatively still your prime. I think he never shined because of the political issues that the federation had w/ him. He cant even get into the Hall of Fame before Caligiuri. Hugo has 2x as many goals as Ramos and just 3 caps less than Ramos and Hugo retired early with the team his Great grandfather, grandfather, and father played-that was his dream as a kid. He was offered contracts by Galaxy and the Clash or earthquakes, but he turned them down. Still, I think he is sometimes forgotten as thhe great player that he was. He paved the way for all these new players.
yeah i agree in my opinion he was the best player ever to put on a US national team shirt. He had great skills plus the best playmaking ability of any player up to now. I still can't believe that they didn't induct him, if it weren't for him the US wouldn't of even qualified for Italy 90 if he doesn't score that goal against el salvador. I hope he makes it in someday.
He was some player so he was not unrated by me. I think he had an argumentment with Gangsler. I know he had some kind of argument with a coach not positive which coach it was. He played exceptionally well against the dutch mid in their match up together. The guy who coaches Barcelona now.
The fact that Wynalda got voted into the Hall of Fame before Perez is an absolute joke. Perez is one of the greatest players ever to put on the US jersey.
Hugo was stlll a good player in 1994, but was a bit too old and slow, so Bora used him as a substitute. Bob "soccer is only defense" Gansler screwed him over in 1990, no question. It was one of the greatest crimes in US soccer history.
by 1994 the leg injuries perez had just slowed him down way too much... I agree he was NO where near being hugo sanchez, but you won't find a better pure 10 ever to put on a usa jersey.... in some ways he had a little reyna in him, very composed on the ball, but a better pure attacking player....has a little of preki in him too... it's totally legitimate to complain about the farce, when perez doesn't make the hall of fame...
Gansler is in my mind the most over rated American coach. In 1990 his US National team could not put 3 passes in a row together.
Yeah, he played great against Rajkaard when the US played AC Milan. I believe he scored 1 or 2 goals against them. As for Gansler, Gansler is a disgrace to America. I dont know how he still has anything to do with soccer. I also think he was alot better than Reyna.
Perez was amazing!! He was definitely my role model being that he was one of the only Latinos on the US Nats Team. When he left I kept thinking...great...US National Team doesn't have any other Latino on the team and then along came Reyna...but now he's getting too old to be on the team...so I'm really hoping Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga Jr, Chrisitan Gomez come around and do something good for US Latino kids to look up to. Perez should have been in the Hall a long time ago no doubt about it!!!
I am 24 and had no conciousness of American soccer until maybe 1992 or so. I would really appreciate it if someone would describe how he played, what kind of a player he was. I would also like to know what his club history was and what part of the country was he from. I feel ridiculous for having no knowledge of one of the best players in my country's history, and one who played in my lifetime.
HUGO PEREZ Position: Midfielder Club: Retired Hometown: El Salvador Caps: 73 International Goals: 16 National Team Highlights: Perez made his World Cup debut for the U.S. Men’s National Team on July 4, 1994, when the tournament was held in the United States for the first time. On this day, the U.S. faced Brazil in the second round, a game they only narrowly lost, 0-1. Perez played for the 1984 Olympic team as well as in 1986 and 1990 qualifying World Cup games. An injury sidelined him en route to the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy. In 1987, Perez played a key role in the U.S. Olympic final round qualifier versus El Salvador, managing two goals against his home country in a game the U.S. had to win to get to the finals in Seoul. Professional Highlights: After coming to the U.S. at age 11, Perez played professionally for the L.A. Aztecs of the National American Soccer League (NASL) and then played for the San Diego Sockers of the NASL and Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). In 1988, Perez was a Championship MVP as the San Diego Sockers took home the MISL title. He has also played professionally in France, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, and in his native El Salvador in the first division professional league. In 1991, Perez won the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year Award. Personal: Perez is now an assistant men’s soccer coach at the University of San Francisco (USF). His son, Hugo, is a junior at USF. Updated: January 11, 2005 Here's the link
Definitely one of the best to PLay for the US, if not the best; however, screwed by the politics of the US federation. A big reason why you did not hear of him. Johann Cruyff loved him!
Definitely one of the best to PLay for the US, if not the best; however, screwed by the politics of the US federation. A big reason why you did not hear of him. Johann Cruyff loved how he played!
US Federation screwed him over, end of discussion Hugo was not hurt for 1990 World Cup. He was also not slow in 1994 he was only 30. Bora had aproblem with Hugo so he decided to sit him. If Hugo would have played for any other country rather than the US. he would be among Pele, Maradona and Cruyff!
Lucky to have been in San Diego and had Season tickets to the Incredible sockers teams of MISL. Hugo had great vision like Bergkamp (not saying he was Bergkamp) and was pretty much one sided so the comparisons to Preki are valid. Very composed on the ball like Reyna. He was something very special. Gansler is an Idiot and should be hanged for leaving Hugo and Keller off the 90 team. He should absolutely be in the hall and I for one would sign any petition to put him there.
I've watched every US game since 1990, including the 1994 games. Trust me, Hugo was slow in 1994. He was still a great player, though. Perhaps he was recovering from injury and wasn't fit?
If he was still in his prime in 1998, Steve Sampson would have probably screwed him over too. I think BA would have made full use of him. He would be his Jaime Moreno.
Hugo was not hurt in 94 and he was fit. I saw every single game also. I saw him a bit more patient. He still had great change of speed and great ball skills. He was definitely alot smarter. Between 93 & 94 he scored 4 goals. He should have started in 94, but again I know he had a problem with Bora so Bora did not start him. Against Brazin, Hugo looked like a Brazilian managing the midfield. As soon as Bora took him out, Brazil scored. Bad move by Bora!