José Francisco Torres Mezzell (born on October 29, 1987, in Longview, Texas) is an American soccer player. He currently plays as a midfielder for Pachuca in the Mexican First Division and the United States national team.

[edit] Personal

Torres has both Mexican and American citizenship, having a Mexican father and an American mother.^[1] His younger brother, Guillermo Torres, trains with the United States U-20 men's national soccer team and the Pachuca youth system.

[edit] Professional career

Torres was recruited by Pachuca while he was still attending high school in Texas.^[1] He broke into the starting lineup during the 2008 Apertura season in central midfield. He appeared in all three matches at the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup for Pachuca, starting twice. In the InterLiga 2009 Final, Torres scored the clinching penalty kick that sent Pachuca through to the Copa Libertadores 2009.^[2]

[edit] International career

Torres was eligible to choose between representing Mexico, the nation of his father's heritage and where he played club football, or his native United States. Both national federations had been tracking Torres's progress at Pachuca.

Torres was invited by Peter Nowak to play for the United States U-23 team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Torres declined the invitation when Pachuca promised a position in their starting lineup if he stayed with the club.^[1] However, only three months later, on October 2, 2008, Torres announced his intention to represent the United States at the international level, and was called in to the U.S. camp by Bob Bradley within days.^[1]

Torres made his national team debut against Cuba on October 11, 2008, coming on as a substitute for Heath Pearce in the sixty-eighth minute. He made his first start in the following match against Trinidad and Tobago four days later. Torres was also included in the roster that played against Mexico in February 2009, but did not play. He started in the World Cup qualifier at Costa Rica on June 3, but was replaced at half-time and not on the roster for the qualifier against Honduras on June 6. He was, however, named to the 23-man roster for the Confederations Cup.

[edit] Honors

• InterLiga
  • Runners-Up: 2009

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• José Francisco Torres FIFA competition record

v • d • e United States squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-Up 1 Howard • 2 Bornstein • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Casey • 5 Onyewu • 6 Pearce • 7 Beasley • 8 Dempsey • 9 Davies • 10 Donovan • 11 Wynne • 12 M. Bradley • 13 Clark • 14 Califf • 15 DeMerit • 16 Kljestan • 17 Altidore • 18 Guzan • 19 Adu • 20 Torres • 21 Spector • 22 Feilhaber • 23 Robles • Coach: B. Bradley