Acquired by Los Angeles: Selected by the Galaxy in the first round (5th overall) of Phase 2 of the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Process. Signed with the club on January 19, 2011.
The leading goal scorer in MLS over the past four years, Juan Pablo Angel is in his first season with the Galaxy after being taken by the club in the MLS Re-Entry Process. A three-time MLS All-Star and a finalist for the MVP award in 2007, Angel averaged more than a goal every two games during his four years with the New York Red Bulls. A former Colombian international, Angel began his career there at the age of 18 before moving to Argentina and then England, where he spent seven years in the Premier League with Aston Villa. The all-time leading scorer in New York history and sixth-leading scorer in MLS last year, Angel will be asked to fill some of the void left by the departure of Edson Buddle.
MLS Highlights
2010: Finished sixth in MLS with 13 goals while playing all 30 games in his final season with the Red Bulls, helping them finish first in the Eastern Conference with a 15-9-6 record. A two-time MLS Player of the Week, Angel opened his goal account on 4/17, scoring twice, including a 90th minute winner, in a 2-1 win over FC Dallas. He also scored in the next two games, a 2-1 win over Philadelphia and a 2-0 triumph over D.C. United. From 5/29 until 7/4, he scored five goals in five games, including a pair of tallied in a 3-0 win in Kansas City. He added two more goals in a 2-2 draw at Houston on 7/31, taking him to double figures in goals for the fourth straight season. He added penalty kick goals against Toronto and the Galaxy, giving the team a 7-1-2 record when he scores. In the postseason, Angel played in both games of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against San Jose, scoring New York’s only goal in the second leg of that series, a game that turned out to be his final game with the Red Bulls. 2009: Named New York’s captain prior to the start of the season and responded with 12 goals and two assists in 25 games. Had multi-goal games in wins over FC Dallas and Toronto FC, also adding an assist in the season ending win over TFC. He scored his 46th goal in all competition for New York on 9/26 vs. Chivas USA, becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer. Despite the Red Bulls’ struggles that season, they were still 4-4-2 when Angel was on the scoresheet. 2008: Helped lead the Red Bulls to the MLS Cup for the first time, scoring 14 goals in 23 games, good for the fourth most in MLS. He scored a goal in 12 of the 23 games that he played in, helping New York to a 7-4-1 record in those 12 games. He finished the season with four game-winning goals and was named the MLS Player of the Month for October. He was named to his second-straight MLS All-Star Team and helped set up the winning goal in the All-Stars’ 3-2 win over West Ham United on July 24 in Toronto. In the postseason, Angel added two goals, one in either leg of their Western Conference Semifinal Series with Houston, a series that New York won 4-1 on aggregate. 2007: Signed with New York in April and became an immediate star in MLS, scoring 19 goals, which are the most of his MLS career. That was good for the second most in the league and made him a finalist for the MLS MVP and Newcomer of the Years awards while also earning him a spot on the MLS Best XI and MLS All-Star Team. He made his MLS debut on 5/13 in a 1-0 loss to Colorado before scoring the first goal of his MLS career six days later in a 4-0 win over Columbus. He also had one of his MLS career-best five assists in that game. He scored a goal in six consecutive games after opening his goal account, tallying a total of nine goals and two assists in that stretch. The Red Bulls were 7-3-4 when Angel scored a goal and he had a goal in 14 of the 24 games that he played in. The MLS Player of the Month for both May and June, Angel made his New York debut in a U.S. Open Cup Play-In Game against the Galaxy at The Home Depot Center, scoring from a freekick in a 3-1 LA win. He finished the year with five multi-goal games, setting a club record. Angel played in both of New York’s postseason games that season.
Career Highlights
2001-07: Appeared in more than 200 games for Aston Villa after becoming their then-club record signing when he was acquired from River Plate for £9.5 million. He scored more than 60 goals for the club in all competitions, including 44 in the Premier League. He had his best season during the 2003-04 campaign, scoring 23 goals overall and 16 in the league. He helped the Villa win the 2001 Intertoto Cup, earning the club a berth in that year’s UEFA Cup. 1997-2001: Moved to Argentinean powerhouse River Plate in January 1998 and averaged nearly a goal every two games for his three-year career with the club. He reached double figures in goals in all but his first season with the Buenos Aires-based club. With Angel on the field, River won a pair of Apertura (1997 and 1999) titles as well as one Clausura title (2000). 1994-97: Began his professional career with his native Colombia with Atlético Nacional, debuting at the age of 17 and helping his team win the 1994 Colombian league title. In three years with the Medellinbased club, Angel scored nearly 50 goals in all competitions before moving to Argentina with River Plate.
National Team
Has made 33 appearances for the Colombian National Team, scoring nine goals. He made his international debut in November 1996 against Bolivia. Eleven of those 33 games came in CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He had three of his nine goals in those games.