 Ruiz playing for Fulham | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bryan Jafet Ruiz González[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 August 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | San José, Costa Rica | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Second striker / Attacking Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fulham | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2006 | Alajuelense | 66 | (21) |
| 2006–2009 | Gent | 78 | (26) |
| 2009–2011 | Twente | 65 | (35) |
| 2011– | Fulham | 67 | (8) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005– | Costa Rica | 61 | (12) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 December 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2013 | |||
Bryan Jafet Ruiz González (born 18 August 1985) is a Costa Rican footballer who plays for Fulham in the Premier League. He is a left sided attacking midfielder[2] who can play as a second striker. He is captain of the Costa Rica national team.
Club career
Liga Deportiva Alajuelense
He began his professional career at 18 playing for Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, in Costa Rica's bottom division. He formed a trio with 2 strikers, Rolando Fonseca and Froylan Ledezma, where he built a reputation as a goalscorer and a play maker. In Alajuelense, Bryan was nicknamed in jest "la comadreja" (the weasel), for his facial profile. He was on the team when it won regional titles such as the UNCAF Cup and the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
Gent
In the summer of 2006, Ruiz was signed by K.A.A. Gent in a 4-year deal along with Randall Azofeifa fromDeportivo Saprissa and Roy Myrie from Liga Deportiva Alajuelense.
He scored his first hat trick playing for the Gent on 8 December 2007 against Lokeren. In that season in the Belgian League, he was the captain and top scorer for the team.[3]
Twente
On 15 July 2009, the Dutch club FC Twente announced that they had signed Ruiz for around five million Euro and agreed to receive a percentage of a subsequent transfer. Ruiz signed a 4-year deal with the Eredivisie side.[4] Ruiz made his debut for the new club by scoring the second goal of the match, with anassist from another newcomer, Miroslav Stoch.[5][6] Ruiz's goal against Sporting on 12 December 2009 marked the 10th consecutive match in which he had scored.[7] On 27 March 2010, Ruiz made one of the quickest hat tricks ever[8] against Sparta Rotterdam, with goals in the 46th, 49th and 50th minutes.[9]
On 2 May 2010, FC Twente were crowned champions of Eredivisie for the first time in their history, with a 2–0 win at NAC Breda; Ruiz scored the first goal of the match during the 23rd minute of play. Ruiz finished the season as top scorer for Twente with 24 goals in Eredivisie play. In August 2011, Ruiz was being watched by scouts from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, however on 18 August 2011 Ruiz claimed thatFulham was in talks with him. Ruiz stated to a local source "Fulham is a serious option for me. "That is also a Premier League side and it is a fantastic league. "Fulham already contacted my agent. If Fulham does become serious, we will definitely talk."
Fulham
On 31 August 2011, the last day of the Premier League summer transfer window, Fulham announced signing Ruiz for an undisclosed fee.[10] His début was on Sunday, 11 September 2011 at home to Blackburn Rovers[11] and he scored his first goal for Fulham in a 3–1 defeat against Everton on 23 October 2011.[12]
In the fixture against Bolton at the Reebok Stadium on 7 April 2012, Ruiz broke a bone in his foot, leading to a stretcher taking him off and him needing an operation, which sidelined him for 10 weeks.[13]
On 18 August 2012, Ruiz started Fulham's first Premier League game of the season, a 5–0 win against Norwich and assisted Mladen Petrić in scoring his second goal in his début match.[14] He finished the 2012–2013 season making 31 first-team appearances and scoring five goals
