Guillermo Ramírez
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Guillermo Ramírez Ortega | ||
| Date of birth | 26 March 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Livingston, Guatemala | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1997 | Municipal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–2001 | Municipal | 172 | (52) |
| 2001 | PAS Giannina | 9 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Atlante | 10 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Chiapas | 14 | (2) |
| 2003–2009 | Municipal | 140 | (42) |
| 2005 | → Los Angeles Galaxy (loan) | 24 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Marathón | 28 | (6) |
| 2010–2011 | Municipal | 20 | (15) |
| 2011 | Motagua | 24 | (3) |
| 2012 | Heredia | 16 | (2) |
| Total | 457 | (123) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1997–2012 | Guatemala | 103 | (15) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 October 2011. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 November 2011 |
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Guillermo "El Pando" Ramírez Ortega (born 26 March 1978 in Livingston, Guatemala) is a Guatemalan former soccer player who was suspended for life from any soccer related activities due to his participation in money laundering and fixing games along with fellow national team members Yony Flores and Gustavo Cabrera.
Ramírez was also the captain of the Guatemala national team.
He played the 2005 season on loan for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. He struggled, scoring a lone goal during the regular season, but in the playoffs, in his only appearance, as a substitute in the MLS Cup Final, he scored the game-winner in extra time to give Galaxy its second MLS title. This feat was in high contrast with his poor scoring percentage in the MLS regular season, with 62 shots and 1 goal, which incidentally came from a penalty.
Ramírez is perhaps the most unlikely MLS Cup MVP in league history. He was widely lampooned for his poor shooting and during the ’05 campaign failed to connect on any of his 62 attempts during open play – his only goal came on a penalty kick. Relegated to the bench, Ramírez entered the scoreless Cup final between L.A. and the New England Revolution in 66th minute. In the 107th, with penalty kicks looming, the Guatemalan hit a stunning volley from just outside the penalty area to lift the Galaxy to their second league title.
Ramírez was gone the following season and went on to play in Guatemala and Honduras.
After the 2005 MLS season, Ramírez went back to Municipal, where he remained until 2009, helping the team win four league championships during that period. He then joined C.D. Marathón in the Honduran 2009–2010 league season and had a respectable tournament; he scored in the final to earn the league championship. The following year, he rejoined Municipal, but then in January 2011 he signed a 6-month contract with C.D. Motagua where head coach Ramón Maradiaga wanted him because of the type of player he was under his tenure managing the Guatemala national team. He appeared in the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round, scoring the last goal of a 4–0 win for Motagua against his former club Municipal.
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