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Mauricio Cienfuegos (born February 12, 1968 in San Salvador, El Salvador) is a Salvadoran soccer player, currently retired.
Cienfuegos turned pro in 1985, and played his first season for Racing Junior of his native El Salvador. The next two seasons Cienfuegos played for C.D. Soyopango. In 1988, he moved to F.C. Firpo, where he would play for four years, until at last moving on to Mexico. There, he played for Morelia in the 1991-2 season, and Santos in the 1992-3 season. After that, he played two more seasons in his native El Salvador for FC Firpo, before joining Major League Soccer befoer its inaugural 1996 season.
Cienfuegos played for the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS for eight years, from 1996 until his retirement after the 2002 season. During those years, he established himself, along with Carlos Valderrama , Marco Etcheverry, and Peter Nowak, as one of the premier playmakers in the league's history. He was voted to the MLS Best XI 3 times, in 1996, 1998, and 1999, and played in seven MLS All-Star Games. Under his watch, the Galaxy won the 2000 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the 2001 U.S. Open Cup, and the 2002 MLS Cup. He finished his MLS career with 78 assists and 35 goals in 206 games for the club.
Cienfuegos was a hugely important player for the El Salvador national football team, joining the team as a teenager, and continuing to lead the embattled side well into his thirties. Cienfuegos played his final international game in July 2003, in a testimonial match against Mexico, played at the Galaxy's Home Depot Center.
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