Armando Cooper

Armando Enrique Cooper Whitaker (born 26 November 1987) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Maccabi Petah Tikva.

Armando Cooper
Cooper playing for 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[1]
Place of birth Colón, Panama
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Maccabi Petah Tikva
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– Maccabi Petah Tikva 0 (0)
National team‡
2006–2007 Panama U20 14 (3)
2008 Panama U23 5 (1)
2006– Panama 114 (8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 November 2020 (UTC)

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. During January 2011 it was reported that Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls were interested in signing Cooper.[2] However, the transfer did not go through.

In July 2011, he signed with Godoy Cruz of the Argentine First Division.

In February 2015, Cooper joined 2. Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli,[3] only to return to Árabe Unido in September 2015 after playing a mere 125 minutes for the German club.[4]

Cooper was loaned to Major League Soccer side Toronto FC on 18 August 2016.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7]

International career

Cooper was part of the Panama U-20 squad that participated in the 2007 U-20 World Cup held in Canada.[8]

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.[9]

In May 2018, he was named in Panama's preliminary 35 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[10]

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.[11]

Career statistics

International
As of 16 November 2020[12]
Panama
YearAppsGoals
200610
200700
200800
200900
201070
2011203
201290
201350
201480
2015151
2016121
2017192
201880
201981
202020
Total1148

International goals
Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first.[13]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 January 2011Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama Nicaragua1–02–02011 Copa Centroamericana
2.18 January 2011 El Salvador2–02–0
3.10 August 2011Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia Bolivia3–13–1Friendly
4.13 November 2015Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica1–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.8 January 2016Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama Cuba1–04–0Copa América Centenario qualification
6.22 January 2017 Costa Rica1–01–02017 Copa Centroamericana
7.14 November 2017Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales Wales1–11–1Friendly
8.18 June 2019Allianz Field, Saint Paul, United States Trinidad and Tobago1–02–02019 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Honours
Toronto FC

See also

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2018.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. 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.
  4. Armando Cooper jugará en el Árabe Unido - LPF (in Spanish)
  5. "Toronto FC Acquire Armando Cooper on Loan". 18 August 2016.
  6. "Toronto FC 5, Montreal Impact 2 - 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs Recap". MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter.
  7. "Toronto FC Announce Roster Options Following 2017 Championship Season". Toronto FC. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  8. Armando Cooper – FIFA competition record
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists". goal.com. Goal. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  11. "Who TFC Were: Underappreciated Armando Cooper struggling to find a home". Walking the Red. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  12. "Armando Cooper". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  13. "Armando Cooper - International Appearances". www.rsssf.com.
  14. Laura Armstrong (30 November 2016). "Toronto FC bound for MLS Cup final". The Star. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  15. "Toronto FC 1, Columbus Crew SC 0". mlssocer.com. 29 November 2017.
  16. "Kings of the League: Toronto FC win first Supporters' Shield". mlssoccer.com. 30 September 2017.
  17. Arun Srinivasan (26 May 2017). "Toronto FC routs Columbus to capture Trillium Cup". The Score. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
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