Alex Pineda Chacón

Álex Mauricio Pineda Chacón (born 19 December 1969) is a Honduran retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

Professional career Chacón spent most of his career with Club Olimpia of Honduras, joining the side in 1988, and leading the team to two Honduran championships and a CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1988. He later played with UA Tamaulipas of Mexico during the 1993–94 season, and then for Sporting Cristal of Peru during the 1994–95 season, appearing in four Copa Libertadores matches.

In 2001, Chacón joined Major League Soccer side Miami Fusion. During the 2001 season, Chacón played a crucial attacking role on a team stacked with offensive talent, including Preki, Diego Serna, Ian Bishop, and Chris Henderson. Chacón registered 19 goals and 9 assists for the team and led the league in goals and points. He was recognized with the MLS Most Valuable Player Award.

The Fusion were contracted after the 2001 season along with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, and he was unable to recapture the form that served him well in his first year. He was selected by the New England Revolution in the 2002 MLS Dispersal Draft, but the emergence of Taylor Twellman and the arrival of a new manager Steve Nicol led to a diminished role on the squad for Chacón. He moved to the Los Angeles Galaxy after the 2002 season and soon later to the Columbus Crew, but neither move reinvigorated his career.

After the 2003 season, Chacón, without a place in MLS, moved to the American A-League, where he found plenty of playing time for the Atlanta Silverbacks. Although he only registered 3 goals and 2 assists in 2004, Chacón's leadership was recognized with a selection to the A-League All-League first team.

International career Pineda Chacón made his debut for Honduras in a December 1992 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Costa Rica and has earned a total of 45 caps, scoring 5 goals. He has represented his country in 12 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the 1993 UNCAF Nations Cup as well as at the 1993, 1996, 1998 and 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

His final international was an April 2000 FIFA World Cup qualification against Nicaragua.

International goals Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 18 April 1993 Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada 1–0 1–3 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification 2 10 July 1993 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, USA 3–1 5–1 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup 3 17 November 1998 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA 3–3 3–3 Hurricane Relief Tournament 4 18 November 1998 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA 2–1 2–1 Hurricane Relief Tournament 5 4 March 2000 Estadio Francisco Morazán, San Pedro Sula, Honduras 1–0 3–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Coaching career Chacón joined the Silverbacks as an assistant coach in 2007. The squad when on hiatus for the 2008 and 2009 seasons, but Chacón remained in the role. While the club was being restructured, he coached youth soccer club Forsyth Fusion, now known as the United Futbol Academy.

After four years with the club as an assistant, he was named head coach on 7 November 2011.

Álex Pineda Chacón has been released from his duties Coaching the Silverbacks in June 2012 after an unsuccessful season.

Personal life Chacón has now settled in Georgia with his wife and two daughters.

Honours and awards Country Honduras Copa Centroamericana (1): 1993

Club C.D. Olimpia Liga Profesional de Honduras (4): 1989–90, 1992–93, 1996–97, 1998–99 Honduran Cup: (2): 1995, 1998 Honduran Supercup: (1): 1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1): 1988 Sporting Cristal Torneo Descentralizado (2): 1994, 1995

Individual Liga Nacional de Honduras Top Scorer (1): 1993–94 MLS Most Valuable Player (1): 2001 MLS Golden Boot (1): 2001 MLS Scoring Champion (1): 2001 MLS Best XI (1): 2001 MLS Fair Play Award (1): 2001