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Raul Diaz Arce (born February 1, 1970 in San Miguel, El Salvador) is a Salvadoran soccer player, who currently plays for the Puerto Rico Islanders of the A-League.
Diaz Arce played for Dragon of the Salvadoran second division from 1988 to 1991, and then moved up to play for F.C. Firpo of the Salvadoran first division from 1991 to 1996, scoring a total of 150 goals in his time there, including 25 in the 1995-1996 season.
In 1996, Diaz Arce signed with Major League Soccer, and was drafted tenth overall in the MLS Inaugural Player Draft by D.C. United. He quickly established himself as a dangerous striker in the league, scoring 23 goals in his first season with United, second in the league behind Roy Lassiter, and still the fifth best single-season mark in MLS history. Diaz Arce continued to light things up in his second season, registering 15 goals, and helping D.C. United to win their second consecutive MLS Cup.
Salary cap pressures, and reported conflicts between Diaz Arce and Marco Etcheverry, resulted in D.C. trading one of the league's most prolific scorers to the New England Revolution in the offseason of 1997. Diaz Arce continued to excel in New England, scoring 18 goals and 8 assists for his new team.
Nevertheless, Diaz Arce was traded again, and would eventually play for the Tampa Bay Mutiny and San Jose Clash, as well as being briefly owned by the MetroStars, registering 13 goals and 7 assists in the 1999 season. Diaz Arce would continue to be shuttled around in 2000, playing for Tampa Bay and D.C. again in 2000, and scoring a career low 9 goals. Diaz Arce continued to decline in 2001, playing only briefly for D.C. United before being traded again to the Colorado Rapids, with whom he would end his career in MLS. Diaz Arce left MLS second in career goals scored with 82, behind only Roy Lassiter, although he has fallen to third as Jason Kreis has supplanted them both.
For the 2002 season, Diaz Arce played for the Charleston Battery of the A-League, scoring 6 goals and 4 assists in 1319 minutes. He was not the success Charleston had hoped for, however, and left following the year. In 2004, Diaz Arce joined the struggling expansion Puerto Rico Islanders, and gave the team a significant boost, scoring two goals in his first game and a total of 7 in 1233 minutes, and helping the team attain a level of respectability.
Diaz Arce has also been a significant player for the El Salvador national football team, scoring 16 goals in 60 appearances.
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