Diego Jiménez (footballer, born 1986)

Diego Jiménez
Personal information
Full name	Diego Octavio Jiménez Villa
Date of birth	7 April 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
2002–2004	Tecos UAG
Senior career*
Years	Team
2004–2005	Tecomán
2005–2017	Tecos
2008	→ New York Red Bulls (loan)
2011–2012	→ Morelia (loan)
2013	→ Merida (loan)
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 May 2013

Diego Octavio Jiménez Villa^[a] (born 7 April 1986 in Tepatitlán, Jalisco) is a Mexican former footballer who played as defender for Estudiantes Tecos of Ascenso MX. He is known as "Tepa".

Club career

His career started with the Estudiantes reserve side, appearing in 29 matches and scoring one goal. He then went to Tecos 2A side, where he anchored the back line during the 2004 Clausura appearing in all 17 matches. His play in 2005 with Tecomán drew the attention of the Tecos UAG first team and Jiménez was quickly called up by Tecos. He debuted with Tecos in the Mexican First Division during the 2005 Apertura and made 11 appearances including seven starts.

After a lengthy pursuit for his signature, Jiménez was loaned to New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer during the July 2008 transfer window by UAG Tecos. After signing it took a while for Jiménez to establish himself at the club. Suspensions and ineffective play by the team's starting central defenders, opened up an opportunity for Diego. Jiménez started both legs of the club's improbable 4-1 aggregate victory over defending champion Houston Dynamo in the 2008 MLS Playoffs, leading the backline in negating one of the league's most potent attacks. He then helped New York reach the 2008 MLS Cup by defeating Real Salt Lake 1–0 in Utah.^[1]