to appear a single minute during his second, under Jorge Sampaoli. On 13 July 2020, after again failing to play under Jesualdo Ferreira, he terminated his contract with the club after alleging "wage breaches and moral damage". Return to Alajuelense On 23 July 2020, Ruiz announced his return to Alajuelense. In December 2022, he officially retired from the professional game, and marked the occasion by participating in a friendly between Alajuelense and his former club Twente. International career Ruiz made his debut for Costa Rica against China on 19 June 2005. He has represented the Ticos at the 2005, 2011 and 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cups, captaining the team at the latter tournament. His first international goal came against Honduras in the 2005 tournament. Ruiz scored six times during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, as Costa Rica was knocked out by Uruguay in the intercontinental play-off. In the 2014 qualifiers, he scored three goals to lead the team to the tournament finals in Brazil. In June 2014, Ruiz was named in Costa Rica's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the team's opening match, he captained Los Ticos to a 3–1 defeat of Uruguay in Fortaleza. On 20 June, Ruiz scored the only goal as Costa Rica upset four-time champion Italy 1–0 to qualify for the round of 16, where he again scored his team's goal as they drew 1–1 with Greece. Ruiz later successfully converted his kick as Costa Rica prevailed 5–3 in the penalty shootout. At the quarter-final stage, Ruiz was one of two Costa Ricans to have their kicks saved by Tim Krul in a 4–3 penalty shootout loss to the Netherlands. In May 2018, he was named in Costa Rica's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In the last group-stage match against Switzerland, he scored a last-minute equalizing goal from a penalty spot in 2–2 draw; however, the goal was credited as an own goal by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer. In November 2022, Ruiz was named to the 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, his final tournament for Costa Rica. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ruiz goal. Honours Alajuelense CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2004 Copa Interclubes UNCAF: 2005 Primera División: Apertura 2005, Clausura 2006, Apertura 2020 CONCACAF League: 2020 Twente Eredivisie: 2009–10 KNVB Cup: 2010–11