Jefferson Antonio Montero Vite (; born 1 September 1989) is an Ecuadorian professional

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 plays as a winger for club FC St Helens. He has represented the Ecuador national team at senior international level.

Club career

Early years

Born in

Babahoyo Babahoyo (), founded May 27, 1948, by legislative decree, is the capital of the Los Ríos province of Ecuador. Its population is cited around 98,000. It is bordered by two rivers, the San Pablo and the Caracol, which join to form the Babaho ...

Los Ríos Province Los Ríos () is a province in Ecuador. The province's capital is Babahoyo. The province was founded on October 6, 1860. Under legislative decree. Babahoyo was made its capital on September 30, 1948. Demographics Ethnic groups as of the Ecuador ...

, Montero started playing professionally with Emelec, but first impressed while at Independiente José Teran in the

Ecuadorian Serie B The Primera Categoría Serie B, shortened to Serie B or Primera B, is a professional football league in Ecuador. It is in the second tier of the Ecuadorian football league system. Currently contested by ten clubs, it operates a system of promotio ...

. Shortly after arriving he was loaned to Mexican club

Dorados de Sinaloa Club Deportivo Dorados de Sinaloa, simply known as Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. It plays in the Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football. History Dorados de Sinaloa ...

, which was pushing for promotion to the

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

. He signed alongside compatriot José Madrid, and made his official debut for his new team on 11 October 2008 by playing the entire match against

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city and municipalities of Mexico, municipality located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish Language, Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the Mexican state, state of Guanajuato. It lies between the ...

Villarreal

On 27 April 2009,

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

signed the 20-year-old Montero to a five-year contract effective from July. He contributed two goals and five assists as the

Valencians Valencians ( ; ) are the native people of the Valencian Community, in eastern Spain. Since 2006, the Valencian people are officially recognised in the Valencian Statute of Autonomy as a ''nationality'' "within the unity of the Spanish nation". ...

trounced amateurs Navata 27–0 in a

pre-season friendly An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

. He made his competitive debut for the senior side in the Europa League round of 32 in February 2010, replacing

Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and considered by some to be one of the best wingers in the history of the sport. Pires play ...

with 20 minutes left as Villarreal were eliminated by

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

, but spent the vast majority of his first season with the reserves as one of their most important attacking elements as they overachieved to finish seventh in their first season in the Segunda División. Subsequently, Montero was promoted to the main squad as a complement for the more experienced

Santi Cazorla Santiago Cazorla González (; born 13 December 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Segunda División club Oviedo. A former Spanish international, Cazorla operates primarily as an attacking midfielder, but also plays as a ...

and Cani. He made his top-flight debut in the opening fixture of the

2010–11 La Liga The 2010–11 La Liga (known as the ''Liga BBVA'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 80th season of La Liga since its establishment. The campaign began on 28 August 2010, and concluded on 21 May 2011. A total of 20 teams contested the league, 17 o ...

season, replacing Cani in a 0–1 loss at

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

. Montero failed to find a regular first-team place at Villarreal, and moved to another La Liga club, Levante, in late January 2011 on loan for the rest of the season. He spent the following season on loan at another top-flight club, the newly promoted

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

. He scored his first goal of the campaign on 10 March 2012 in a 2–3 home defeat against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. He was first choice throughout most of his tenure with the

Pepe Mel José "Pepe" Mel Pérez (born 28 February 1963) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently a manager. He amassed Segunda División totals of 215 matches and 78 goals over eight seasons, for Real Madrid Cast ...

-led squad, who managed to retain their league status.

Morelia

On 15 June 2012, Montero was transferred to Monarcas Morelia of the Mexican top flight, on a three-year deal. He scored his first goal on 15 July against

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

, as well as making two assists. On 21 August, in the

Copa MX Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

contest against his former team Dorados, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 6–0 win. On 4 January 2013, Montero scored the opening goal of the Clausura, in a 3–3 home draw against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

, assisted by international team-mate Joao Rojas. After Rojas left Morelia, Montero was given the number 10 shirt, starting off the new campaign on 19 July with a goal and two assists in a 3–1 victory over

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

. His hat-trick the following weekend was in vain, as Morelia lost 4–3 at home to

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

. He scored the opening goal in the Apertura 2013 Copa MX Final in which Morelia beat

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

on penalties after the match finished as a 3–3 draw.

Swansea City

On 24 July 2014, Montero signed for

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

team

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his competitive debut on 16 August in the opening game of the season at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, replacing

Nathan Dyer Nathan Antony Jonah Dyer (born 29 November 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his career at Swansea City, where he made over 300 appearances. He started playing as a teenager at Southampto ...

after 67 minutes of a 2–1 win over

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. Montero joined Spanish top-division club

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

on 1 September 2017 on loan for the season. In his first match of the

2017–18 La Liga The 2017–18 La Liga season, also known as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, was the 87th since its establishment. The season began on 18 August 2017 and concluded on 20 May 2018. The fixtures were released on 21 July 2017. Real Madrid ...

campaign 20 days later, he played for 15 minutes in a 1–1 away draw with

Celta CELTA is an initial teacher training qualification for teaching English as a second or foreign language (ESL and EFL). It is provided by Cambridge Assessment English through authorised Cambridge English Teaching Qualification centres and can be ...

. Having featured little for Getafe, Montero rejoined Emelec in late February 2018 where he completed his loan. On 2 June, he scored in the 3–0 victory against Técnico Universitario at

Estadio George Capwell Estadio Banco del Pacífico Capwell is a multi-purpose stadium in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It is currently used mostly for football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ba ...

, 11 years after his last goal for the club. In his post-match interview he said he was "very happy for today's victory and for scoring for my team after so many years, forever grateful to God". Montero made 13 substitute appearances for Swansea before joining 2018–19 Championship rivals

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

on 31 January 2019 on loan for the rest of the season. He played just four times and started once, away to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on 19 February, opening the scoring in a 3–2 win. After a delay while issues with the paperwork were resolved, Montero was confirmed to have joined Championship club

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

on loan for the 2019–20 season. He made his debut on 20 August as a late substitute in the 2–0 win over

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, and produced a "sparkling ten minute cameo" that earned him 7 out of 10 in the ''

Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...

'' player ratings. He started the next match, but suffered a thigh injury that kept him out for a couple of months. By the time the season was suspended because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, he had made 18 appearances in all competitions but only 2 league starts, and Birmingham chose not to attempt to extend his loan to the end of the campaign. He was released by Swansea when his contract expired on 30 June.

Later career

On 20 November 2020, Montero returned to Mexico to join

side

. On 17 January 2025, Montero returned to England, joining North West Counties Premier Division club FC St Helens.

International career

Montero represented

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

, and scored in the final match against

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, a 2–1 win which brought the first international trophy in Ecuadorian football history. He received his first senior call-up from coach Luis Fernando Suárez for an August 2007 friendly with

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. Montero made his senior debut for Ecuador on 21 November 2007 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier at home to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, coming on late in the second half in a 5–1 win. He scored his first goal for the national team on 27 May 2009, in a 1–3 friendly loss to

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, and his second came in the reverse fixture with Peru in Lima, which Ecuador won 2–1. Montero was selected by national coach

Reinaldo Rueda Reinaldo Rueda Rivera (born 16 April 1957) is a Colombian football coach who currently serves as a manager for the Honduras national team. When he was the coach of the Colombia U-20 team, they finished 3rd at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Cham ...

for his

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

squad. He made his debut in the tournament on 15 June in a 1–2 group stage loss against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

; he started and played 77 minutes.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals :''Scores and results list Ecuador's goal tally first.''

Honours

Morelia *

: Apertura 2013 Ecuador U20 *

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Montero, Jefferson 1989 births Living people People from Babahoyo Footballers from Los Ríos Province Ecuadorian men's footballers Ecuador men's international footballers Men's association football wingers C.S. Emelec footballers Independiente del Valle footballers Dorados de Sinaloa footballers Atlético Morelia players Querétaro F.C. footballers Villarreal CF B players Villarreal CF players Levante UD footballers Real Betis players Getafe CF footballers Swansea City A.F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players 9 de Octubre F.C. players S.D. Aucas footballers F.C. St Helens players Ecuadorian Serie A players Liga MX players La Liga players Segunda División players Premier League players English Football League players North West Counties Football League players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games Ecuadorian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Wales Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for Ecuador Pan American Games footballers for Ecuador Pan American Games gold medalists in football 21st-century Ecuadorian sportsmen Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England