Eduardo Hurtado

Eduardo Hurtado
	Hurtado in June 2016
Personal information
Full name	Eduardo Estíguar Hurtado Roa
Date of birth	2 December 1969 (age 54)
Place of birth	Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1986–1991	Centro Juvenil
Senior career*
Years	Team
1991–1992	Valdez
1993	St. Gallen
1993	Colo-Colo
1994	Correcaminos
1994	Emelec
1995–1998	Los Angeles Galaxy
1996	→ Barcelona S.C. (loan)
1997	→ L.D.U. Quito (loan)
1998–1999	MetroStars
1998	→ L.D.U. Quito (loan)
1999	→ L.D.U. Quito (loan)
2000	New England Revolution
2000	L.D.U. Quito
2001	Argentinos Juniors
2001–2002	Hibernian
2002–2003	Barcelona S.C.
2003	El Nacional
2003	U. de Concepción
2004–2005	Audaz Octubrino
2005–2006	→ Olmedo (loan)
2006	→ Técnico Universitario (loan)
2006–2007	→ Norte America (loan)
2007	Deportivo Pereira
2008	San Camilo
2010	Patria
Total
International career
1992–2002	Ecuador
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Eduardo Estíguar Hurtado Roa (born 2 December 1969) is an Ecuadorian former footballer who played as a striker. He is the 3rd all-time top goalscorer for the Ecuador national football team with 26 goals in 74 caps.^[1] He has played for teams in his home nation as well as Mexico, the United States, Scotland, Switzerland, Chile and Argentina. In America's Major League Soccer (MLS), he was the second highest goal scorer in the league's opening season, helping the Los Angeles Galaxy make a run for the playoffs. He was active for nearly 20 years, retiring at 40 years old in 2010.^[2]

Career

Hurtado, nicknamed El Tanque ("The Tank") for his towering frame and his aggressive playing style (trying to roll over everything in his path), has played for many teams in different countries. His first teams were now defunct Valdez Sporting Club from Milagro and Emelec from Guayaquil, in his native Ecuador. He also had stops in Switzerland, Chile, Mexico, the United States, Argentina, and Scotland. He later returned to Ecuador.

Major League Soccer

Hurtado was one of the early stars of Major League Soccer (MLS). In 1996, the league's first year, he finished second in goals, scoring 21 for the Los Angeles Galaxy. He scored three goals in the playoffs as the Galaxy fell short in the MLS Cup final and he was named to the MLS Best XI at the end of the season. After only scoring eight goals in 1997, Hurtado was traded to the MetroStars after two games into the 1998 season and finished the year with 11 goals and 15 assists (10 and 14 of those for the Metros), plus a goal in the playoffs.

After scoring two goals in the Metro season opener in 1999, Hurtado scored just five goals throughout the rest of the season. Playing for one of the worst teams in league history, he was criticized for missing easy goalscoring chances game after game.^{[citation needed]} El Tanque became known as El Tanque, and the Metros let him go on waivers after the season. The New England Revolution picked him up, but he only lasted three goalless games there before getting released.

Post-MLS Career

Since his departure from MLS, Hurtado played for Liga Deportiva Universitaria, Argentinos Juniors, and then Hibernian, where he joined international teammate Ulises De La Cruz. Hurtado's spell with Hibernian was an unhappy one, as he was signed by Alex McLeish, who soon left the club to join Rangers. Hurtado was ineffective and was given a free transfer by Bobby Williamson.

He then played for Barcelona S.C., El Nacional, the team of Universidad de Concepción, and Audaz Octubrino from Machala. In 2004, he came back to the United States to play indoor soccer, signing with the Cleveland Force of the MISL in December. However, he couldn't adjust to the indoor game and was released in less than a month, returning to Ecuador to play for Olmedo. In 2006, he played for the 2nd Division club C.S. Norte América.

He surprisingly announced that he would transfer to Colombian football to sign for the 1st Division Club Deportivo Pereira. The Recordman said: "I feel like I'm 20 years old, I want to score in Colombia" in an interview with a local TV.

In 2008, he played in San Camilo of the Ecuadorian Second Division.

Finally, he decided to play his final season at 40 years old with the oldest team in Ecuador, Club Sport Patria, in the Second Division.

Honors

Nation

Ecuador
- Canada Cup: 1999
- Korea Cup: 1995

Individual

MLS All-Star: 1996^[3]
MLS Best XI: 1996^[4]

References

^ rsssf: Ecuador record international footballers Archived 5 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ Jeffrey, Jim (28 November 2003). The men who made Hibernian FC since 1946. Stroud, Gloucestershire. ISBN 978-0-7524-3091-1. OCLC 922392859.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ All-Star Game flashback, 1996 Archived December 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at MLSsoccer.com
^ "Fact and Record Book | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer. p. 184. Retrieved 28 July 2023.

External links

Eduardo Hurtado at National-Football-Teams.com

[1] rsssf: Ecuador record international footballers Archived 5 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[2] Jeffrey, Jim (28 November 2003). The men who made Hibernian FC since 1946. Stroud, Gloucestershire. ISBN 978-0-7524-3091-1. OCLC 922392859.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[3] All-Star Game flashback, 1996 Archived December 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at MLSsoccer.com

[4] "Fact and Record Book | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer. p. 184. Retrieved 28 July 2023.

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