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 le ...

who played as a striker. He has the record of being the 3rd all-time leading scorer 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 ...

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. He was one of the early stars of America's Major League Soccer (MLS) scoring the second most goals in the league's opening season and helping the Los Angeles Galaxy make a run for the playoffs. He was active for nearly 20 years, retiring at age 40 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 Milagro means "miracle" in Spanish. Milagro may refer to: Places: *Milagro, Ecuador, a city * Milagro Canton, Ecuador, of which the city is the canton seat * Milagro River, Ecuador *Milagro, Navarre, Spain, a town and municipality * El Milagro, Q ...

and Emelec from

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

, 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 men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

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

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

. He added three in the playoffs as Galaxy fell short in the

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

final and was named to the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

after the season. After only eight goals in 1997, Hurtado was traded to the MetroStars 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 added a goal in the playoffs. And then 1999 came. After scoring two goals in the Metro season opener, Hurtado scored just five the rest of the way. Playing for one of the worst teams in league history, he was the epitome of everything wrong with the squad, missing easy sitters and empty nets 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 is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

picked him up, but he only lasted three goalless games there before getting his release.

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 football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of the ...

, and then Hibernian, where he joined international teammate

Ulises De La Cruz Ulises Hernán de la Cruz Bernardo (born 8 February 1974 in Piquiucho, Carchi Province, Carchi) is a retired Ecuadorian association football, footballer, who since 2013 has been a member of his country's National Assembly for the governing PAI ...

. 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 for ...

, who soon left the club to join

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

. Hurtado was ineffective and was given a free transfer by

Bobby Williamson Robert Williamson (born 13 August 1961 in Glasgow) 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 a manager at Kilma ...

. He then played for

Barcelona S.C. Barcelona Sporting Club () is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. Internationally known as Barcelona de Ecuador, in Ecuador it is simply referred as Barcelona, El Idolo (BSC) or Barce. T ...

, 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 fertile lowlands. Machala has a population of 241,606 (2010 census); it is the eighth-biggest city in the country, a ...

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

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

, signing with the Cleveland Force of the

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

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 Norte America. 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 ...

. 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 (french: Coupe Canada) 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 ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Korea Cup The Korea Cup ( ko, 코리아컵 국제축구대회) was an international football tournament held annually in South Korea from 1971 to 1999. History The Korea Cup was created with the name President's Cup Football Tournament ( ko, 박대통 ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurtado, Eduardo 1969 births Living people Sportspeople from Esmeraldas, Ecuador Ecuadorian footballers 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 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 international footballers 1993 Copa América players 1995 Copa América players 1997 Copa América players Ecuadorian expatriate 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 footballers in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Chile Expatriate footballers in Mexico Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Colombia