José Luis Garcés Rivera (born 9 May 1981) is a Panamanian footballer who currently plays for Liga Panameña de Futbol side San Francisco.

Club career

At club level, Garcés plays in the striker position. Nicknamed el Pistolero, he played for clubs in Brazil, Uruguay, Bulgaria, and Portugal before he returned to Panama because he was not being paid in his club Académica de Coimbra.

Criminal charges

He later signed a loan deal with Arabian club Al-Ittifaq but later returned to Panama to play for Árabe Unido, where he got arrested a couple of times and in April 2011 spent time in jail. He was later released in July 2011 and signed with San Francisco, making his return to football during the CONCACAF Champions League match against Seattle Sounders FC. In July 2012 Garcés was again sentenced to serve time in jail on appeal for the alleged assault in 2011 on a woman who subsequently lost her baby, but in November 2012 he was again released after spending 5 months in prison. In March 2013 he was reportedly targeted by armed men in Puerto Caimito but came out unharmed. In June 2014, Garcés joined Tauro, who released him in June 2015. He subsequently moved to Plaza Amador.

International career

Garcés made his international debut for the Panama national football team in 2000 in a match against Canada and has earned a total of 32 caps, scoring 9 goals. He represented his country in 10 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the 2007 and 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cups. His final international was a July 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup match against the United States.

International goals

Honors