Abel Enrique Aguilar Tapias (born 6 January 1985) is a Colombian retired 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 ...
who played as a
central or
defensive midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...
.
Having started his career at
Deportivo Cali, Aguilar signed with Italian club
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...
at the age of 20 then spent seven seasons in
Spanish football
Football is the most popular sport in Spain. Spain has some of the most important teams in Europe (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Seville, Valencia, and others). It also has a high number of players (most of them being unprofession ...
with four teams, appearing in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
for
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
,
Hércules and
Deportivo. He also competed professionally in France, Portugal and the United States.
A
Colombian international since 2004, Aguilar represented the nation in two
World Cups
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
and as many
Copa América tournaments while playing 71 matches.
Club career
Italy
Aguilar was born in
Bogotá.
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
club
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a foo ...
bought his rights in the summer of 2005, from local
Deportivo Cali, and loaned him immediately to fellow league team
Ascoli Calcio 1898
Ascoli Calcio 1898 F.C., commonly referred to as Ascoli, is an Italian football club based in Ascoli Piceno, Marche. The club was formed in 1898 and currently plays in Serie B.
The team traditionally play in vertical black and white stripes. ...
due to the excess of foreign players in the roster; however, after some problems in the arrival of the transfer, the player missed pre-season training, only joining it a month into
the season.
Aguilar returned to Udinese in January 2006, after having never played for Ascoli, but received few playing opportunities in the following months (two league matches and the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
0–1 loss at
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), co ...
, all incomplete).
Spain
For the following three years, Aguilar was also loaned, always in the
Spanish second division
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
. He started out in January 2007 at
Xerez CD
Xerez Club Deportivo, known simply as Xerez, is a Spanish football team based in Jerez de la Frontera, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Xerez currently plays in Tercera División RFEF, the fifth tier of Spanish football.
Founded on 24 ...
, where he remained until the end of the
2007–08 campaign, always as first choice.
In
2008–09, Aguilar represented
Hércules CF, being a permanent fixture as the
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
side fell three points short of a return to
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
.
[ On 24 July 2009 he was again loaned, now to ]Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...
, which in turn promoted to the top flight; he made his debut in the competition on 29 August, starting and playing 71 minutes in a 1–0 home win against CD Tenerife
Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez Lóp ...
, and scored all his four league goals during the first two months of competition.
Aguilar was released by Udinese in July 2010, immediately signing a four-year contract with former club Hércules, returned to the top division after an absence of 13 years. He appeared in 34 scoreless games during the season, which ended in relegation.
Aguilar returned to the Spanish top tier in the 2012–13 campaign, being loaned to Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...
. He netted twice in just his second league appearance to help to a 3–3 draw at Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...
, but his team was again eventually relegated.
Toulouse
On 22 August 2013, Aguilar agreed to a three-year deal with Toulouse FC. His maiden appearance in Ligue 1 occurred nine days later, putting on an average performance and being booked in a 1–2 away loss to SC Bastia
Sporting Club Bastiais ( co, Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a Corsican association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of French f ...
.
Aguilar spent his third year in France on the sidelines, nursing a serious ankle
The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joi ...
injury. In the very last moments of the 2016 January transfer window
A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...
, he joined C.F. Os Belenenses from Portugal.
Return home
On 12 June 2016, after 11 years playing in Europe, Aguilar returned to his country and Deportivo Cali, signing a three-year contract. He scored his first goal for the team on 29 July, in the 2–1 victory against América de Cali for the Copa Colombia
The Copa Colombia ( en, Colombia Cup, link=yes); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs of DIMAYOR and is the nation's domestic cup competition, equiva ...
.
FC Dallas
On 27 August 2018, Aguilar joined Major League Soccer side FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...
. At the end of the season, he was released.
Unión Magdalena
Aged 33, Aguilar returned to his country in December 2018, agreeing to a deal at Unión Magdalena
Unión Magdalena () commonly known as El Unión, and nicknamed as El Ciclón Bananero (The Banana Cyclone) and also Los Samarios (The Samarios), is a Colombian football club from the city of Santa Marta, capital of the department of Magdalena, ...
for the upcoming season. On 18 February 2020, he announced his retirement.
International career
Aguilar was the captain of the Colombia national U-17 team and U-20 levels. He rose to stardom as leader of the latter side that finished third at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...
.
Aguilar was then promoted to the senior squad for the 2004 Copa América
The 2004 Copa América was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held i ...
held in Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
. There, he scored two goals, helping his country to the semi-finals.
Subsequently, Aguilar returned to the under-20 (again as captain), helping them to a first-place finish at the 2005 South American Youth Cup with the consequent qualification for the World Championship of the category in the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. After helping the national team to three group stage wins, he could not prevent a round-of-16 1–2 ousting at the ends of Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Aguilar was selected by José Pekerman
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...
for his 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. He played his first-ever game in the tournament on 14 June, starting in a 3–0 group stage win against Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
which was also his 50th cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
.
Aguilar was also picked for the 2018 World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
in Russia.
Career statistics
International
(Colombia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Aguilar goal)[
]
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguilar, Abel
1985 births
Living people
Footballers from Bogotá
Colombian men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Categoría Primera A players
Deportivo Cali footballers
Unión Magdalena footballers
Serie A players
Udinese Calcio players
Ascoli Calcio 1898 FC players
La Liga players
Segunda División players
Xerez CD footballers
Hércules CF players
Real Zaragoza players
Deportivo de La Coruña players
Ligue 1 players
Toulouse FC players
Primeira Liga players
C.F. Os Belenenses players
Major League Soccer players
FC Dallas players
Colombia men's under-20 international footballers
Colombia men's international footballers
2004 Copa América players
2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2011 Copa América players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
2018 FIFA World Cup players
Colombian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in France
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in the United States