Walter Nicolás Gaitán Sayavedra (March 13, 1977) is a retired Argentine professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er. An attacking midfielder, Gaitán was known for his vision on the pitch, passing, powerful left shot and a classy ball control. Nicknamed ''Chueco'', Gaitán played his best seasons with

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 ...

club

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...

Career

Argentina and Spain

Walter Gaitán began his career in Argentina with

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...

in 1997. He left the team in 1998 and moved to

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) 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 ...

of the Spanish

Liga Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga ...

. After two years in Spain, he returned to Argentina in early 2001, joining

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

by request of coach

Carlos Bianchi Carlos Arcesio Bianchi (born 26 April 1949), nicknamed ''El Virrey'' (''The Viceroy''), is an Argentine former football player and manager. A prolific goalscorer, although he had a bright career as a forward in Argentina and France, Bianchi is b ...

. Gaitán became a regular substitute of

Juan Román Riquelme Juan Román Riquelme (; born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current vice-president of Boca Juniors, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career.2001 Copa Libertadores The 2001 Copa Libertadores de América was the 42nd edition of CONMEBOL's premier club football tournament. The winners were Boca Juniors, beating Mexican club Cruz Azul in the finals on penalties and lifting its fourth Copa Libertadores trophy. ...

against

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

at the

Estádio Palestra Itália The Palestra Itália Stadium ( pt, Estádio Palestra Itália), was a football stadium located in Barra Funda, São Paulo, standing on the site now occupied by the Allianz Parque stadium. It was the home ground of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras fr ...

. Boca Juniors became the 2001 Copa Libertadores champions. On September 16, 2001, in the ''

Superclásico Superclásico is the football match in Argentina between Buenos Aires rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. It derives from the Spanish usage of "clásico" to mean derby, with the prefix "super" used as the two clubs are the most popular and su ...

'' of the Apertura 2001 season, at 83' he scored the 1-1 tie against River Plate at the Estadio Monumental. He scored eight goals in 12 matches of the Apertura 2001 season. In 2002, now under

Óscar Tabárez Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (; born 3 March 1947), known as ''El Maestro'' (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player. He most recently coached the Uruguay national team. After an unassuming career as a ...

, he became a regular starter in League and

Copa Libertadores 2002 The 2002 Copa Libertadores de América was the 43rd edition of CONMEBOL's premier club football tournament. It was won by the Paraguayan club Olimpia; their third title. First round The first round of the Copa Libertadores drew 32 teams into e ...

, but gradually lower his level and went to the bench by mid-2002. Gaitán finally left Boca Juniors with 14 goals in 51 matches.

Mexico

Gaitán moved to Mexico for the 2002 Apertura season, signing with

of the Primera División (First Division, now

) by request of

Ricardo Ferretti Ricardo Ferretti de Oliveira (born 22 February 1954), also known as Tuca Ferretti, is a Brazilian-Mexican professional football manager and former player. As a player, Ferretti was an attacking midfielder known for his mobility, powerful rig ...

. After scoring four goals in 15 games in his first season, he scored eight in the 2003 Clausura. Tigres was eliminated in semifinals of the Clausura 2003 playoffs by crosstown archrival

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 ...

. After a remarkable Apertura 2003 season under coach

Nery Pumpido Nery Alberto Pumpido (born 30 July 1957) is an Argentine football coach and former goalkeeper who played for Argentina in two World Cups. After retirement, Pumpido moved into club management. His nephew Facundo Pumpido is also a professional fo ...

, Gaitán and Tigres lost the finals against

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...

in the Estadio Universitario. In the Apertura 2004, as revenge of the elimination on the Clausura 2003 playoffs, Tigres won the ''

Clásico Regiomontano Clásico Regiomontano, Clásico Regio, Clásico del Norte or Clásico Norteño is a football derby in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, between crosstown rival teams Monterrey and Tigres. Since the first Clásico in 1974, the two teams have competed over 100 ...

'' by the biggest difference ever, beating

by 6-2, he scored twice. Gaitán became the top goal-scorer of the 2005 Apertura. He was also named Best Player of the Clausura 2006 tournament. He scored a goal in the 2-1 victory of Tigres over city rival Monterrey in the finals of the

2006 InterLiga America was originally set to participate in the 2006 InterLiga tournament, but their 2005 clausura championship qualified the team for the 2006 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Therefore, the club was replaced by Cruz Azul. The teams Tigres and Chiva ...

and secured

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 ...

. He was selected to wear the number 7, retired to honor team icon

Gerónimo Barbadillo Gerónimo Barbadillo González (born September 29, 1954) is a retired Peruvian footballer. A right winger, he spent his best seasons with Tigres UANL of the Liga MX and was known for his speed, dribbling and goal-scoring ability. He also played ...

, in

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

where regulations command that the number be used. Gaitán scored a total of four goals in Copa Libertadores with Tigres. When Tigres qualified for the Copa Libertadores, he wore the shirt of

at the celebration. In October 2007, Gaitán, citing personal reasons, asked for a three-month license to be absent from the team until the end of the season. In December 2007,

Club Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria. History Foundation (Light and Power Company ...

announced the incorporation of Gaitán to the team, along with Omar Ortiz. Playing for Necaxa, he scored against Tigres and former archrival Monterrey. In 2010, Gaitán played briefly for

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

but was ceased due professional differences.

United States

In February 2011, Gaitán was officially introduced to the squad for the

Los Angeles Blues Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games a ...

of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

Legacy

Gaitán was nicknamed in Mexico as "El Divino" (

Spanish 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 ...

for "The

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

"), due his gifted touch of the ball, vision and feel of the game. In Argentina, he was known as "El Chueco" (Spanish for "The Crooked"), for being left-footed. He is considered by Mexican media and fans as one of the greatest attacking midfielders ever to play in Mexico. Gaitán declined to play the

2006 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 ...

with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

despite the call of then coach,

Ricardo La Volpe Ricardo Antonio La Volpe Guarchoni (; born 6 February 1952) is an Argentine former professional footballer and manager. He is a World Cup-winning goalkeeper who played for most of his career in Argentina and Mexico. As a coach, La Volpe was in ...

. Being a midfielder, he finished the Apertura 2005 season as the top goal scorer of Liga MX with 14 goals. He is one of the top scorers of the Clasico Regiomontano, with eight goals. Gaitán did not achieve the League championship with Tigres, still, he is considered by the media and audience as an icon of the team, next to players such as

Tomás Boy Tomás Juan Boy Espinoza (28 June 1951 – 8 March 2022) was a Mexican professional manager and footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his technical skills and field vision, Boy is considered as one of the greatest Mexica ...

Osvaldo Batocletti Osvaldo Daniel Batocletti Ronco (January 22, 1950 – May 17, 2019), known by audience and fans as ''Bato'', was an Argentine football manager and player, who played as a defender. Batocletti coached Tigres UANL and Querétaro F.C. He resided ...

Claudio Núñez Claudio Patricio Núñez Caamaño (born October 16, 1975 in Valparaiso) is a Chilean former footballer who played as a striker. He is nicknamed "El Diablo", which means, "the Devil". He made his name playing for Tigres UANL, where he had his ...

Lucas Lobos Lucas Armando Lobos (born August 3, 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is a Mexican naturalized citizen. Lobos is a two-time winner of the Liga MX Balón de Oro for Best Player and f ...

and

André-Pierre Gignac André-Pierre Christian Gignac (born 5 December 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Tigres UANL. Gignac is described as a "powerful and dangerous" striker who is known for his "aerial presence". He ...

Titles

References

External links

Statistics
at Guardian Stats Centre
Walter Gaitán – Argentine Primera statistics
at Fútbol XXI
Football Database profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaitan, Walter 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from La Rioja Province, Argentina Argentine footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Naturalized citizens of Mexico Association football forwards Rosario Central footballers Boca Juniors footballers La Liga players Villarreal CF players Tigres UANL footballers Club Necaxa footballers C.D. Veracruz footballers Orange County SC players Atlético de Rafaela footballers Argentine Primera División players Liga MX players Expatriate footballers in Mexico Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate soccer players in the United States USL Championship players Monterrey Flash players Professional Arena Soccer League players