Armando Cooper

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cooper and the second or maternal family name is Whitaker.
Armando Cooper
Cooper with Panama at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Armando Enrique Cooper Whitaker[1]
Date of birth (1987-11-26) 26 November 1987 (age 37)[1]
Place of birth Colón, Panama
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
2005 Árabe Unido
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2011 Árabe Unido 141 (26)
2011–2015 Godoy Cruz 26 (3)
2013–2014 → Oțelul Galați (loan) 21 (3)
2015 FC St. Pauli 7 (0)
2015–2016 Árabe Unido 18 (3)
2016 → Toronto FC (loan) 12 (1)
2017 Toronto FC 23 (0)
2018 Universidad de Chile 3 (0)
2018 Dinamo București 11 (0)
2019 Maccabi Petah Tikva 14 (5)
2019–2020 Árabe Unido 11 (1)
2020 Hapoel Tel Aviv 6 (0)
2020–2021 Maccabi Petah Tikva 17 (3)
2021-2024 Árabe Unido 50 (2)
International career‡
2006–2007 Panama U20 14 (3)
2008 Panama U23 5 (1)
2006–2022 Panama 122 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 July 2021
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 January 2022

Armando Enrique Cooper Whitaker (born 26 November 1987) is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Cooper began his career in the youth ranks of Panama's Árabe Unido. In 2006, he debuted for the professional side, and went on to help the team to achieve various domestic titles in the Liga Panameña de Fútbol.

In July 2011, he signed with Argentine club Godoy Cruz. For the 2013-14 season, he was loaned out to Romanian club Otelul Galati.

In February 2015, Cooper joined 2. Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli,[2] only to return to Árabe Unido in September 2015 after playing a mere 125 minutes for the German club.[3]

Cooper was loaned to Major League Soccer side Toronto FC on 18 August 2016.[4] He scored his first goal with Toronto FC on 30 November as Toronto FC beat Montreal Impact 7–5 on aggregate to advance to the 2016 MLS Cup Final.[5]

After the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs, Cooper signed full-time with Toronto FC.

On 14 December 2017, Cooper's contract option was declined by Toronto, and he subsequently left the club.[6]

International career

Cooper was part of the Panama U-20 squad that participated in the 2007 U-20 World Cup held in Canada.[7]

He made his debut with the full national team on 7 October 2006 against the national team of El Salvador. On 16 January 2011, he scored his first goal for Panama in a 2–0 victory over Nicaragua in a 2011 Copa Centroamericana match played at Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City.[8]

In May 2018, he was named in Panama's preliminary 35 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[9] Cooper played in Panama's first two games against England and Belgium, but after receiving yellow cards in both games he was suspended for the final match against Tunisia.

Style of play

Cooper is known for his energy on the pitch, as well as his creativity and dribbling skills. A versatile midfielder, he is capable of playing in several midfield positions, although he usually favours a more offensive role.[10]

Career statistics

As of 17 January 2022[11]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Panama 2006 1 0
2007 0 0
2008 0 0
2009 0 0
2010 7 0
2011 20 3
2012 9 0
2013 5 0
2014 8 0
2015 15 1
2016 12 1
2017 19 2
2018 8 0
2019 8 1
2020 2 0
2021 7 1
2022 1 0
Total 122 9
Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cooper goal.
List of international goals scored by Armando Cooper[12]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 January 2011 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Nicaragua 1–0 2–0 2011 Copa Centroamericana
2 18 January 2011 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  El Salvador 2–0 2–0 2011 Copa Centroamericana
3 10 August 2011 Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia  Bolivia 3–1 3–1 Friendly
4 13 November 2015 Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica  Jamaica 1–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 8 January 2016 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Cuba 1–0 4–0 Copa América Centenario qualification
6 22 January 2017 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Costa Rica 1–0 1–0 2017 Copa Centroamericana
7 14 November 2017 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales  Wales 1–1 1–1 Friendly
8 18 June 2019 Allianz Field, Saint Paul, United States  Trinidad and Tobago 1–0 2–0 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
9 5 June 2021 Estadio Nacional, Panama City, Panama  Anguilla 1–0 13–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Toronto FC

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2018.
  2. ^ Harms, Carsten; Jacobs, Henrik (2 February 2015). "Cooper hat in Rumänien eine richtig gute Saison gespielt". abendblatt.de (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  3. ^ Armando Cooper jugará en el Árabe Unido - LPF (in Spanish)
  4. ^ "Toronto FC Acquire Armando Cooper on Loan". 18 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Toronto FC 5, Montreal Impact 2 - 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs Recap". MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter.
  6. ^ "Toronto FC Announce Roster Options Following 2017 Championship Season". Toronto FC. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  7. ^ Armando Cooper – FIFA competition record (archived)
  8. ^ "Copa Centroamericana 2011". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists". goal.com. Goal. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Who TFC Were: Underappreciated Armando Cooper struggling to find a home". Walking the Red. 30 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Armando Cooper". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Armando Cooper - International Appearances". RSSSF.
  13. ^ Laura Armstrong (30 November 2016). "Toronto FC bound for MLS Cup final". The Star. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Toronto FC 1, Columbus Crew SC 0". mlssocer.com. 29 November 2017.
  15. ^ "Kings of the League: Toronto FC win first Supporters' Shield". mlssoccer.com. 30 September 2017.
  16. ^ Arun Srinivasan (26 May 2017). "Toronto FC routs Columbus to capture Trillium Cup". The Score. Retrieved 31 October 2017.