Christian Rogelio Benítez Betancourt (1 May 1986 – 29 July 2013), also known as Chucho, was 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 le ...

who played as a striker. He began his career with El Nacional in Ecuador and then joined

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up o ...

, with whom he won the award for Best Player of the Clausura 2008. He spent the 2009–10 season on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

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. Since 2011, the first te ...

, and then moved to

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

for a Mexican record US$10 million, where he was a regular scorer. He played for El Jaish of the

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotio ...

at the time of his death. Benitez played 58 times for the

Ecuador national football team The Ecuador national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Ecuador) represents Ecuador in men's international football and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF). They joined FIFA in 1926 and CONMEBOL a year later. Di ...

from his debut in 2005, scoring 24 goals. He played for them at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

and two

Copa America Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

tournaments. Following his death, the

Ecuadorian Football Federation The Ecuadorian Football Federation ( es, Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol or ) is the governing body of football in Ecuador. Its headquarters are in Quito, and it organizes the country's various football competitions and oversees the Ecuador ...

retired Benítez's number 11 jersey from the national team. However, due to FIFA regulations they had to reinstate it for the

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 righ ...

squad.

Personal life

Benitez was born in

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

, the son of former Ecuador international footballer Ermen Benítez, and of Rita Betancourt. In 2007, he married Liseth, daughter of Cléber Chalá, also an Ecuador international; she gave birth to twins in August 2009. He played under the nickname ''Chucho'', a name "used in the Spanish-speaking Americas when referring affectionately to a small, pesky dog".

Club career

El Nacional

Due to a series of strong performances for El Nacional, Benítez was scouted by clubs such as

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, th ...

of Spain, though El Nacional denied any knowledge of the rumoured interest. By scoring 29 goals in 83 league matches for El Nacional, Benítez won both the 2005 Clausura and 2006 League Championships.

Santos Laguna

In July 2007, he moved to

of the

Mexican Primera División The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in al ...

. With his arrival and that of

Vicente Matías Vuoso Vicente José Matías Vuoso (born 3 November 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Argentina, he represented the Mexico national team. Born in Mar del Plata, Vuoso began his career at Independiente in 2 ...

, Santos had an impressive season with wins over several top Mexican clubs. In 2007, Benítez received an award as the best Ecuadorian footballer playing outside Ecuador, succeeding

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

Édison Méndez Édison Vicente Méndez Méndez (; born March 16, 1979 in Ibarra) is an Ecuadorian football coach and former player who played as either a winger or an attacking midfielder. He is the current manager of LDU Quito's youth categories. Méndez i ...

. Despite interest from Portuguese club Benfica, Benítez decided to remain in Mexico. His 10 goals made a major contribution to Santos winning the Clausura 2008 title, and his personal reward was selection as best player of the season.

Loan to Birmingham City

On 3 June 2009,

announced the signing of Benítez on a three-year contract for an undisclosed club record transfer fee, which press reports speculated to be in the region of £6 million rising to £9m. The move was subject to the striker receiving a work permit and passing a medical. The medical revealed unforeseen knee problems, which prompted the deal to be renegotiated on a "protected purchase" basis. The club would pay an initial $2m (£1.2m) with an option to abort the deal on medical grounds after the first year; thereafter the fee could potentially rise, depending on appearances and success, to a club record $12.5m (£7.7m). The player eventually signed on 7 July. The club later clarified that he was in fact on loan. While recovering from shoulder surgery and awaiting his visa, Benítez played in an all-star match in Ecuador without asking the club's permission.

2009–10 season

He made his Birmingham debut as a second-half substitute in Birmingham's opening match of the season, a 1–0 defeat at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, and came close to equalising, drawing a "wonderful one-handed diving save" from

Ben Foster Ben Foster may refer to: *Ben Foster (actor) (born 1980), American actor *Ben Foster (footballer) (born 1983), English goalkeeper *Ben Foster (composer) (born 1977), British composer, orchestrator and conductor * Ben Foster (director) (born 1984), ...

. His first Premier League start came against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

on 19 September; he played a key role in a 1–0 win and "could have had a hat-trick but for the supreme goalkeeping of

Boaz Myhill Glyn Oliver "Boaz" Myhill (born 9 November 1982; ) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the Wales national team from 2008 to 2013. Born in the United States to an American father and Welsh mother, Myh ...

". Benítez scored his first goal for the Blues on 9 November away to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, with a close-range header after

Scott Dann Scott Dann (born 14 February 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Reading. He began his Football League career with Walsall, before moving on to Coventry City and then to Birmingham City in 2009. Af ...

had nodded the ball on, in a game which finished 2–2. He scored the first of what manager

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 for ...

described as "two classy goals" as Birmingham knocked Everton out of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

. However, after his season produced only four goals and Birmingham's attempt to renegotiate the agreed transfer fee was unsuccessful, the club chose not to take up their option to purchase, and the player returned to Santos Laguna.

Return to Santos Laguna 2010

On 21 July 2010, Benítez signed a new three-year deal with Santos Laguna, in the first tournament after his return he was the top goalscorer with 16 goals. Leading the scoring table, Chucho led Santos to the 2010 Apertura Finals, losing to

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

Club América

2011–12 season

Benitez signed to play for América on 22 May 2011. The transfer fee was reported to be of US$10 million, which established a record for a club in Mexico. He scored a goal in his debut on 24 July in the 2–1 win against

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...

. On 21 August 2011 Benítez made his first hat trick with América against

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

in a 5–2 win. In his first Súper Clásico, Benítez scored a header in a 3–1 loss to Chivas. Benítez scored the opening goal for Club América's Clausura 2012 season in a 2–0 win against

. Benítez ended the season with 14 goals and ended up being the league's top scorer along with

Iván Alonso Iván Daniel Alonso Vallejo (born 10 April 1979) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a striker. Gifted with an excellent aerial ability, he was most noted for his Alavés stint, and spent the bulk of his professional career in Spai ...

2012–13 season

Benítez played his first game of the 2012–13 season on 21 July against Monterrey, in a 0–0 away draw. On 28 July, he scored his first goals of the season in a 4–2 victory over

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

. On 11 November, Benitez became joint top goal-scorer of the 2012 Apertura alongside Atlante's

Esteban Paredes Esteban Efraín Paredes Quintanilla (born 1 August 1980) is a Chilean former footballer who played as a forward. Paredes is the first player to be five-time Primera División de Chile top goalscorer and has scored 286 league goals in his career ...

. On 14 November, Benítez scored a two goals in a 2–0 away play-off quarter-final match against

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...

. Benítez scored his first three goals of the 2013 Clausura season in a 2–0 away win against Jaguares de Chiapas. On 2 March, Benítez scored a hat trick, 2 headers and a left-footed strike against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

in a 3–0 win. On 27 April after losing 2–0 in an away match against Pachuca, Benitez scored a hat-trick to lead América to a 4–2 win. Benitez ended up being the Clausura 2013 Liga MX top scorer for the third consecutive season. On 26 May Benitez became Liga MX 2013 Clausura champions after defeating Cruz Azul 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out, where he converted the second penalty.

El Jaish

He officially left the club on 6 July 2013, and signed a contract with Qatari club El Jaish. He made his debut in a match against

Qatar SC Qatar Sports Club ( ar, نادي قطر الرياضي) is a sports club based in Doha, Qatar. It is best known for its football team which competes in the Qatar Stars League. The club was founded in 1961 as a merger of two Qatari football club ...

in the

Sheikh Jassim Cup The Sheikh Jassim Cup ( ar, كأس الشيخ جاسم) is an annual men's super cup competition in Qatari football held between the winner of the Qatar Stars League and the Emir of Qatar Cup. History The inaugural Sheikh Jassim Cup was held i ...

on 28 July "without complaining of any health problems", according to El Jaish officials. This was the only match he played for the club. A day later, he died from cardiac arrest at age 27.

International career

Benítez was a member of the Ecuador national team at the

in Germany. Although considered by many as a surprise selection by coach

Luis Fernando Suárez Luis Fernando Suárez Guzmán (born 23 December 1959) is a Colombian football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the current manager of the Costa Rica national football team. Suárez has managed in six Latin American c ...

, he had impressed with his speed, elusiveness and skill in pre-World Cup showings against 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 ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, in addition to his

2006 Copa Libertadores The 2006 Copa Toyota Libertadores was the 47th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's annual football club tournament. 38 teams from 11 football associations have taken part, starting with the first qualifying round played on 24 January 20 ...

experience. He was a candidate for the Gillette Best Young Player Award, a new award made at the end of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

to the best young player born on or after 1 January 1985. His only appearance was in the 3–0 loss to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, replacing

Felix Borja Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

midway through the match. His first international goal came in September 2006 against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Then, in April 2007, he scored another goal against Peru in Ecuador's 2–0 win in a friendly match held in the Mini Estadi in Barcelona, Spain. He also scored in a 1–1 draw with the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, also in a friendly, played in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

on 23 May 2006. This added to the belief that he could excel in Europe. Benítez started all three games during the

2007 Copa América The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The c ...

, scoring against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

as Ecuador were eliminated in the first stage, losing all three matches. In an international friendly against

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de 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 b ...

on 8 September 2007, Benítez scored twice in an emphatic 5–1 home win in Quito. In a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, he scored his country's third goal in a 3–1 win. A month later, he scored the only goal against Chile.

Death and legacy

On 29 July 2013, Benítez entered a hospital in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, because of a strong pain in his abdomen. According to

Miguel Herrera Miguel Ernesto Herrera Aguirre (born 18 March 1968), popularly referred to by his nickname "Piojo" (Spanish for "louse"), is a Mexican former professional footballer and current manager. He is the head coach of Liga MX club Tijuana. A former ...

and other teammates in an interview with Mexican morning show ''Matutino Express'', he did not receive immediate medical attention and a few hours later, Benítez went into

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

. He died from complications leading to

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

at the age of 27. Tens of thousands of people filed past the body, which lay in a glass-topped casket in the Coliseo General Rumiñahui in Quito, before the public funeral ceremony, which was attended by sporting and political figures including the president of Ecuador,

Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963), known as Rafael Correa, is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation ...

. The cortege received a police motorcycle escort through crowded streets to a private interment. Following his death, the

announced that it would retire his number 11 jersey from the national team. His international teammate

Antonio Valencia Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera, known as Antonio Valencia (; born 4 August 1985), is an Ecuadorian former professional footballer who played primarily as a right-sided player throughout his career, initially as a right winger, before developin ...

had Benítez's number tattooed onto his upper arm in tribute after his death. At the

2014 FIFA 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 ...

in Brazil, due to FIFA regulations, Ecuador had to reinstate number 11 for the squad which was taken by

Felipe Caicedo Felipe Salvador Caicedo Corozo (born 5 September 1988) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Arabian club Abha. A full international from 2005 to 2017, Caicedo represented Ecuador at the Copa América in 20 ...

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Ecuador's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Benítez goal''.

Honors

Club

El Nacional *

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 Coppa ...

: 2005 Clausura,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Santos Laguna *

: Clausura 2008 Club América *

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

: Clausura 2013

Individual

Best Player: 2006 Serie A *

Golden Ball: Clausura 2008, Apertura 2012 *

Golden Boot: Apertura 2010, Clausura 2012, Apertura 2012, Clausura 2013

References

External links

*
Player details
at Ecuadorian Football Federation *
ESPN Profile
at Birmingham City F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Benitez, Christian 1986 births 2013 deaths Footballers from Quito Ecuadorian footballers C.D. El Nacional footballers Santos Laguna footballers Birmingham City F.C. players Club América footballers El Jaish SC players Ecuadorian Serie A players Premier League players Liga MX players Ecuador international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 Copa América players 2011 Copa América players Ecuadorian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Mexico Expatriate footballers in Qatar Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in England Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Association football forwards Respiratory disease deaths in Qatar Deaths from respiratory failure