Jair Benitez

<img alt="" src="/sites/dallas/files/LSBenitez.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 450px;" /><br />
<em>Photographer: Anthony Chiang<br />
Grooming: Barbara Guillaume, Joanna Hathcock, and Mike Evans<br />
Styling: Kathryn Knox<br />
Assistant Stylist: Lindsey Higgins</em><br>

Acquired

FC Dallas initially signed Benitez on July 22, 2009 from Deportivo Cali of Colombia’s Primera Division.

Professional

2013: Made 31 appearances, including 28 starts and 2473 minutes played, all of which were career highs and ranked second on the team behind center back Matt Hedges… Scored his second MLS goal from 50-yards out in the 89^th minute of a 3-1 win against Vancouver on Sept. 7… Collected an assist in the next match, a 2-1 loss to the Rapids on Sept. 14… Surpassed Drew Moor for ninth all-time in games played for FC Dallas in a 1-1 draw against RSL on Oct. 10… 2012: Logged the fourth-most minutes for FC Dallas during the 2012 season (2397), topping the 2,000 mark for the third straight season... He scored the first goal of his MLS career via set piece in the 44^th minute of Dallas’ 3-2 win against Colorado on Aug. 11… He picked up the seventh assist of his career in the following match, a 2-0 victory over Vancouver on Aug. 15… Benitez equaled his MLS-high for shots (15) in a season. 2011: Benitez saw time in 27 of 34 regular season matches for a total of 2,231 minutes… He picked up a career high three assists, the first of which was a game-winner against the Vancouver Whitecaps on April 23… The Colombian defender had a career high 15 shots. He scored a game-winning goal via free kick in a 2-0 win against Real Salt Lake in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match on July 12. 2010: Benitez picked up his first assist of the season in a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Aug. 8… He notched his second assist of the season two games later when he picked out Brek Shea for a game-winner against Chivas USA on Aug. 21… Benitez finished third on the team in minutes played (2,424) after starting 22 straight games to close out the regular season… He assisted on David Ferreira’s first half goal in MLS Cup. 2009: Benitez signed with FC Dallas on July 22 on loan from Deportivo Cali of Colombia’s Primera Division... He made his FC Dallas and MLS debut in the left back position on July 24 versus Real Salt Lake... He earned his first MLS assist on Sept. 30 versus the New England Revolution when he crossed the ball to Jeff Cunningham for the game-winning goal… Benitez started all 13 games in which he appeared. 1999-2009: Benitez spent time with clubs in both Colombia and Argentina… He spent the majority of his career with Independiente Medellín, where he twice helped the club win Copa Mustang, Colombia’s national tournament (2002, 2004)... In 2006, Benitez joined Deportivo Cali, where he played 95 games and scored two goals before returning to Independiente Medellín on loan in 2009… As a member of Medellín in 2009, Benitez appeared in 17 total contests, including both the regular season and the South American club championship, Copa Libertadores.

International

Benitez has earned seven caps with the Colombian national team making appearances in FIFA World Cup qualifying, the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup and various friendlies in 2007.

Personal

His parents’ names are Tulio Sinisterra and Carmen Benitez.  He has two children, Geronimo Benitez and Yasiris Benitez. When he is not playing soccer, he likes to watch it on TV. He prays before every game. Roberto Carlos was his favorite player. He likes how people have treated him during his time in Dallas and he enjoys going out to eat to different places and going shopping. His favorite soccer memory is when he played for the Colombian National Team in 2005.