NEW YORK -- The Portland Timbers used their final selection of the 2010 Expansion Draft to select San Jose Earthquakes winger Arturo Alvarez on Wednesday and hours later sent the Salvadoran international to Real Salt Lake in exchange the No. 22 overall selection in the 2011 SuperDraft.
The attack-minded Alvarez, who can play on both left and right wings, will join the highest scoring team in MLS after two seasons with San Jose. Left hamstring trouble limited the 25-year-old’s playing time in 2010 and he started only 11 matches for the Quakes, finding the back of the net on three occasions.
His career started in San Jose, the club that drafted him with the 13th overall selection in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft. He played two seasons for the club and returned after four years with FC Dallas from 2005 to 2008.
After representing the United States at various youth levels, the Houston native made the jump to El Salvador’s national team at the senior level in 2009 under current Chicago Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos.
Alvarez collected five caps for “la Selecta” during CONCACAF’s final round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in 2009, including a starting role in El Salvador’s 1-2 defeat to the United States in the first-ever qualifier to take place at his new home of Rio Tinto Stadium on Sept. 5, 2009.
