Eduardo Estíguar Hurtado Roa (born 2 December 1969) is an Ecuadorian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker. He is the 3rd all-time top goalscorer for the

Ecuador national football team The Ecuador national football team (), nicknamed ''La Tricolor'', represents Ecuador in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation, Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol (). They join ...

with 26 goals in 74 caps. 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.

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 Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

, 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 Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

(MLS). In 1996, the league's first year, he finished second in goals, scoring 21 for the

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. He scored three goals in the playoffs as the Galaxy fell short in the

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

final and he was named to the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

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. El Tanque became known as ''El Tanque'', and the Metros let him go on waivers after the season. The

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

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 Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was reco ...

, and then Hibernian, where he joined international teammate

Ulises De La Cruz Ulises Hernán de la Cruz Bernardo (born 8 February 1974) is an Ecuadorian retired footballer, who since 2013 has been a member of his country's National Assembly for the governing Mover. A defender, he played 101 times for the Ecuador nat ...

. Hurtado's spell with Hibernian was an unhappy one, as he was signed by

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps f ...

, who soon left the club to join

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

. Hurtado was ineffective and was given a free transfer by

Bobby Williamson Robert Williamson (born 13 August 1961) is a Scottish football player and manager. Williamson played as a striker for Clydebank, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Rotherham United and Kilmarnock. He then became manager of Kilmarnock, winning ...

. He then played for

Barcelona S.C. Barcelona Sporting Club (), internationally known as Barcelona de Guayaquil, is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of foo ...

, El Nacional, the team of

Universidad de Concepción Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

, and Audaz Octubrino from

Machala Machala () is a city in south-west Ecuador. It is the capital of the El Oro Province, and is located near the Gulf of Guayaquil on fertility (soil), fertile lowlands. Machala has a population of 288,072 (2022 census); it is the sixth-biggest city ...

. In 2004, he came back to the United States to play

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

, signing with the Cleveland Force of the

MISL Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...

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 Deportivo Pereira is a professional Colombian football team based in Pereira, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Hernán Ramírez Villegas stadium. History Early years While there are several am ...

. 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

* **

Canada Cup The Canada Cup () was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that a ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Korea Cup The Korea Cup (, Korea Cup International Football Tournament) was an international Association football, football tournament held annually in South Korea from 1971 to 1999. History The Korea Cup was created with the name ''President of Sout ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Individual

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurtado, Eduardo 1969 births Living people Footballers from Esmeraldas, Ecuador Ecuadorian men's footballers Men's association football forwards FC St. Gallen players Colo-Colo footballers Correcaminos UAT footballers C.S. Emelec footballers LA Galaxy players Barcelona S.C. footballers L.D.U. Quito footballers New York Red Bulls players New England Revolution players Argentinos Juniors footballers Hibernian F.C. players C.D. El Nacional footballers C.D. Universidad de Concepción footballers C.D. Olmedo footballers C.D. Técnico Universitario footballers Deportivo Pereira footballers Ecuadorian Serie A players Swiss Super League players Chilean Primera División players Liga MX players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Argentine Primera División players Scottish Premier League players Categoría Primera A players Ecuador men's international footballers 1993 Copa América players 1995 Copa América players 1997 Copa América players Ecuadorian expatriate men's footballers Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Chile Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia