Dustin Clifman Corea Garay (born March 21, 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for USL League One club Charlotte Independence. Born in the United States, he represents El Salvador at international level.

Dustin Corea
Corea in 2012
Personal information
Full name Dustin Clifman Corea Garay
Date of birth (1992-03-21) March 21, 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Los Angeles, California, United States
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)
Team information
Current team
Charlotte Independence
Number 21
Youth career
2007–2009 Eastside United FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011 Atlético Marte
2011–2012 Blokhus 19 (2)
2012 Jönköpings Södra 4 (2)
2013–2014 Skive 11 (2)
2015 FAS 20 (5)
2015–2017 FC Edmonton 62 (7)
2018 Miami FC 0 (0)
2018–2019 FAS 42 (16)
2019–2020 Deportivo Mixco 14 (6)
2020 Xelaju 4 (0)
2021 FAS 38 (5)
2022–2023 Águila 38 (14)
2023 FAS 22 (5)
2024 Águila 20 (2)
2024– Charlotte Independence 0 (0)
International career
2008–2009 United States U17 27 (15)
2010 El Salvador U20 4 (3)
2012 El Salvador U23 2 (0)
2013– El Salvador 23 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:02, 30 July 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:52, 13 March 2024 (UTC)

High school

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Dustin Corea attended Milwaukie High School, which he graduated in 2010. He was rewarded the "Oregon 6A State Player of the Year" award in 2009, the first player in at least 22 years to win the award without making a state playoff appearance. He was also rewarded the "Three Rivers League Player of the Year" award in the same year. Between 2007 and 2009, Corea was included in the league's Best XI. In his three-year high school soccer career, Corea scored 46 goals with 21 assists in 43 matches played. In 2006, he scored 6 goals with 7 assists in 15 matches. In 2007, Corea scored 14 goals with 7 assists in 14 matches for a school record for goals in one season. In 2009, Corea scored 26 goals with 7 assists in 14 matches for another school record for goals in one season.[1]

Club career

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Corea was invited to trial with several teams in 2010: Juventus, Fiorentina, Palermo, Club Brugge.[2] Nothing came of these trials and he decided to try his luck in his fathers native country of El Salvador.

On July 13, 2011, Corea signed with Atlético Marte of El Salvador for six months.[3]

Corea played 25 minutes in a friendly game with Atlético Marte. A few days later it was announced that he would incorporate into Blokhus FC from Denmark. Corea was granted permission to leave Marte as a clause in his contract stated that if a European club were to become interested in Corea, he would be allowed to leave if desired.[4][5]

On January 29, 2013, Corea signed a six-month loan deal with Danish team Skive IK. On March 13 he signed a 2+12-year contract with Skive IK, beginning at the end of the loan deal binding him to Skive IK til the end of 2015. On September 2, 2014 Corea's contract with Skive IK was cancelled by mutual consent.

On January 4, 2015 Corea signed a one-year contract with Salvadoran Champions CD FAS.

On July 30, 2015, Corea signed with NASL club FC Edmonton. Corea would spend three seasons in Edmonton. After the 2017 season, with the future of FC Edmonton and the NASL in doubt, Corea was released from FC Edmonton.[6][7]

International career

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United States

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The Oregon native took part at the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, in which the United States U-17 qualified to the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He was not chosen to participate in the U-17 World Cup competition.

El Salvador

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The "Ghost", as he is popularly known, gained notoriety with his goals against Costa Rica at the 2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying, which in turn, by an administrative error on the part of the Salvadoran Football Association, left the El Salvador U-20 out of the 2010 CONCACAF U-20 Championship that was held in Guatemala. Corea played for the U.S. U-17, for which the FESFUT must have sent a letter to FIFA in request for an association change, which was not done. Therefore, El Salvador was disallowed for continuation.[8]

After the disqualification it was unclear whether or not the "Ghost" could play for El Salvador in any competition. FESFUT had sent a letter to the FIFA for permission on Corea's behalf. It was until July 1, 2011 that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) sent the notice of the decision of the "sole judge of the Players' Status Committee," on changing the player's association. The decision was approved of the change and, therefore, Corea can represent El Salvador.[9]

On March 11, 2013 Dustin Corea was called up for the El Salvador national squad and got his debut as he started in and played for the first 56 minutes at a friendly against Ecuador on March 21 – on his 21st birthday.

Career statistics

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Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first.[10]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 11 July 2015 BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States   Costa Rica
1–1
1–1
2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup

References

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  1. ^ "Dustin Corea". Dustin Corea. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  2. ^ Latham, Brent. "Palermo, Juventus tryibg Corea". Yanks Abroad. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Dustin Corea se vuelve marciano" [Dustin Corea becomes a martian] (in Spanish). elsalvadorfc.com. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  4. ^ "Blokhus FC, el equipo de Dustin Corea" [Blokhus FC, Dustin Corea's team] (in Spanish). elsalvadorfc.com. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  5. ^ "Dustin Corea iría al fútbol de Dinamarca" [Dustin Corea would go to Danish football] (in Spanish). elsalvadorfc.com. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  6. ^ "FC Edmonton announce four departures in Ameobi, Corea, Fordyce and Nyassi". FC Edmonton. November 16, 2017. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  7. ^ Steven Sandor (November 16, 2017). "With the club's path unclear, FC Edmonton begins releasing players". the11.ca.
  8. ^ Latham, Brent. "They called him the Salvadoran Messi". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  9. ^ "FIFA autoriza a Dustin Corea" [FIFA authorizes Dustin Corea] (in Spanish). elsalvadorfc.com. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  10. ^ "NFT Profile". National Football Teams. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
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