Oscar Perez

Oscar Perez Rojas (born 1 February 1973) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Nicknamed "El Conejo" (Spanish for The Rabbit), he is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Mexican football history.

With a club career spanning 26 seasons in Mexico's top flight, most notably with Cruz Azul and Pachuca, Perez won the CONCACAF Champions League on three occasions, as well as two league titles and one domestic cup. He holds the national record for most league appearances, with 740.

Perez earned 55 caps for the Mexico national team between 1997 and 2010, winning three CONCACAF Gold Cup titles and the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup. He also featured in the 1998, 2002 and 2010 editions of the FIFA World Cup, in the two latter as first choice goalkeeper.

Club Career

He was the starting goalkeeper for Cruz Azul since 1997 with the team winning the championship in the 1997 Winter Season. Perez debuted for the team in 1993, facing Atlas which ended in a 0–0 draw. He quickly became the starting goalkeeper for Cruz Azul and won the 1997 Invierno Final, where Cruz Azul defeated Club Leon by a score of 2–1.

In 2001, he helped steer Cruz Azul all the way to the final of the Copa Libertadores, a historic run for a Mexican club in the competition. With Perez in goal, Cruz Azul was able to eliminate teams like Cerro Porteno, River Plate and Rosario Central, before playing Boca Juniors in the two-legged final. In the final, they lost at home, and won in Buenos Aires to take the final to a penalty-shootout but lost 1–3.

In a league game away to Estudiantes Tecos in 2006, Perez 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 Tigres UANL, starting 4 games in the Apertura 2008.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Оскар Перес (russian)