Rubén Flores Gómez (born 3 October 1968) is a Mexican former professional footballer and was most recently the manager of the Cayman Islands women's national team.

Rubén Flores
Personal information
Full name Rubén Flores Gómez
Date of birth (1968-10-03) 3 October 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth Mexico City, Mexico
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1985-1988 Atlante/Cuautla
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Irapuato 11 (1)
1989-1990 Atlante 7 (1)
1990-1991 Cruz Azul
1994-1995 Caimanes Tabasco
2003 Brampton Hitmen
Managerial career
2012 Hamilton Rage (assistant coach)
2013 K-W United
2014–2021 Cayman Islands women
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Flores had a stint in the Mexican Primera División with Atlante where he appeared in a total of 11 matches and recorded one goal.[1] In 2003, he was signed by the Brampton Hitmen of the Canadian Professional Soccer League.[2] He scored his first goal for the organization on 4 July 2003 in a 2–0 victory over Toronto Croatia.[3] In the first round of the postseason the Hitmen faced Toronto Croatia, and Flores scored the equalizing goal to conclude the match to a 1–1 draw. The game went into penalties with Toronto winning 4–3 in the shootout.[4] After Toronto Croatia was caught fielding an illegal player the league reversed the result and Brampton advanced to the next round.[5]

Brampton's next opponents would end up being London City, where once again the match went into penalties with Flores contributing a successful penalty kick, and the match concluding in a 5–3 victory.[6] He featured in CPSL Championship match against Vaughan Sun Devils coming on as a substitute for team captain Phil Ionadi. Brampton would end up winning the match by a score of 1–0, thus marking the franchise's first Championship.[7]

Coaching career

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Flores retired from competitive soccer after the 2003 season and served as an Ontario Soccer Association Provincial and Regional Head Coach from 2005 till 2011 debuting with the Burlington Bulldogs 88's. In 2011, he was appointed Technical Director for Guelph Soccer.[8] In 2012, he served as assistant coach under Brett Mosen for Hamilton Rage of the Premier Development League.

On 26 February 2013 he was appointed the first head coach for K-W United for the USL W-League.[9] After controversy regarding his professional soccer resume, Flores was dismissed from his post of head coach.[10][11] On 22 May 2014, he was named the head coach for the Cayman Islands women's national football team.[12][13]

Personal life

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Flores is married to a Canadian woman of English descent and they have three children, who are also footballers: Silvana, who was runner-up of the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup with Mexico and has capped at senior level; Marcelo, who was called up to the Mexico national under–16 team, and Tatiana, who was called up to the Mexico women's national under–15 team.[14][15]

Honours

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Brampton Hitmen

References

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  1. ^ "Rubén Flores - Atlante - mediotiempo.com". www.mediotiempo.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  2. ^ Inscoe, Robin (6 June 2003). "Hitmen Gunning for Rivals". Brampton Guardian.
  3. ^ "LONDON CITY, SUPRA, HITMEN AND VAUGHAN SUN DEVILS REGISTER FRIDAY WINS". 21 August 2003. Archived from the original on 21 August 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  4. ^ "TORONTO CROATIA ADVANCES ADVANCES IN PLAYOFF OPENER". 1 November 2003. Archived from the original on 1 November 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. ^ "TORONTO CROATIA SHOCKER". 22 November 2003. Archived from the original on 22 November 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. ^ "HITMEN ADVANCE ON PENALTY KICKS". 22 November 2003. Archived from the original on 22 November 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  7. ^ "BRAMPTON HITMEN CPSL CHAMPS". 7 December 2003. Archived from the original on 7 December 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  8. ^ Nason, Jason (12 May 2012). "Hamilton FC announces affiliation arrangement with Guelph Soccer Club". Hamilton Today. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Former pro to coach K-W United women". WaterlooChronicle.ca. Waterloo Chronicle. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  10. ^ "KW United coach dismissed over inconsistencies in resumé". GuelphMercury.com. Guelph Mercury. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Guelph Soccer defends its prized coach". therecord.com. The Record. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  12. ^ Bekavac, Ned. "Sports Stuff: Cayman coaching gig for Flores". Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  13. ^ Shillingford, Ron (11 July 2014). "Girls set for CONCACAF action". Cayman Compass. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Canada Soccer". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  15. ^ Brammer, Chris (25 January 2017). "Chance meeting in Cayman Islands resulted in Ipswich Town signing Canadian wonderkid, Marcelo Flores". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 16 July 2020.