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'Immense Pride' for Ayoze Nearing 100th Appearance

How the Spanish footballer became a do-it-all player for the Cosmos.
Published Oct 1, 2016

It’s difficult to imagine the New York Cosmos without Ayoze García Pérez. The 30-year-old left back, who signed for the Cosmos in February of 2013 and is scheduled to make his 100th club appearance on Sunday afternoon, personifies the possessive, attacking style of soccer preached by Head Coach Giovanni Savarese.

“He gives us a lot offensively and defensively,” Savarese said. “Most of all, he gives us the ability to possess the ball and make good decisions. He’s even scored important goals for us from his fullback position.”

“I feel an immense pride to reach this milestone,” said Ayoze. “Making one hundred appearances for a club with such history is an honor. It’s taken hard work and perseverance, but I’ve been fortunate to earn the trust of the coaching staff and my teammates.”

No Cosmos player has touched the ball in the offensive and defensive halves more than Ayoze. Playing his fourth season in green and white, he leads the team in appearances (26), minutes (2,197), pass attempts (1,259) and crosses (95).

Ayoze started the reboot match for New York back on Aug. 3, 2013. He was one of three Cosmos field players to appear in a team-high 13 games that season, including the Soccer Bowl.

2015 was the final season for both Raúl and Marcos Senna, but it was Ayoze who earned Emirates Cosmos Player of the Year honors, an award given to him by his coaches and teammates. He co-led New York in assists, tirelessly speeding up and down the left wing to help win his second championship.

“This is a special club,” Ayoze said. “Some of the greatest players of all time came through here: Pelé, Beckenbauer, Raúl and Marcos Senna. So it’s a dream for me to be part of this family.”

When Ayoze decided to come to New York, the move was unprecedented. For 27 years, Spanish soccer was all he had ever known. Born in Puerto de la Cruz on the north coast of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands – also home to current Chelsea FC star Pedro – Ayoze developed as a left-sided midfielder in the youth system of his hometown club, CD Tenerife. He debuted with the senior team in 2003.

Aside from an early loan spell to UD Las Palmas, then competing in Spain’s third division, Ayoze was a rock for Tenerife, making over 150 appearances while helping the squad get promoted to the top flight. Wearing the No. 10 shirt, he made 17 starts for the Blanquiazules during their 2009-10 La Liga campaign, highlighted by a goal scored against Real Madrid in a February home fixture. Raúl found the net for the visitors in that match.

Tenerife was relegated after a single season, so Ayoze signed a three-year deal to stay in the first division with Sporting de Gijón, moving to the Asturias. Though he made 28 appearances and 13 starts for Sporting over nearly two seasons, the Canary Islands native did not have the larger role he desired with the team, and was bothered by a knee injury early in the 2012-13 season.

Mutually agreeing with the club to terminate his contract, Ayoze was free to recuperate while looking for a new opportunity. There were some in Spain and others around Europe, but it was one in New York that Ayoze was most intrigued by.

“As soon as I saw [video] of him, I knew he was the type of player I wanted to have on the team,” said Savarese. “Once we invited him to New York and I met him personally, I felt he was right to be with us. He was professional and polite, but I also saw that look in his eyes of desire for a new challenge.”

“When Gio presented the project to me, I saw it as a chance to grow as a footballer and a person,” Ayoze said. “It was a difficult decision, coming to a country where I knew practically no one.”

Approaching his four-year anniversary of moving to New York, Ayoze still misses the family, friends, food and culture he left in Tenerife. But the decision to live in the United States is not one he regrets in the slightest.

“My wife and I are really happy here,” he said. “My kids are enjoying the country. They’re learning the language, and they have the opportunity to get a great education. We’re lucky to be surrounded by good people.”

He’ll turn 31 near the end of November. With the Cosmos in first place as the NASL regular season winds down, there could be another early birthday present on the horizon.

“The truth is that I don’t look too far ahead. I’ve always taken things step by step,” said Ayoze. “Right now the most important thing is our goal to win another championship. It’s been a long year with plenty of challenges, so that’d be a great way to finish it off with my teammates.”