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, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 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 ...

club

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

Career

Argentina and Spain

Walter Gaitán began his career in Argentina with

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

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

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 ( ...

of the Spanish

Liga Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Ame ...

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

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

by request of coach

Carlos Bianchi Carlos 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 best kno ...

. Gaitán became a regular substitute of

Juan Román Riquelme Juan Román Riquelme (; born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer and current 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 The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

at the

Estádio Palestra Itália The Palestra Itália Stadium () 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 from 1917 to 2010, and was al ...

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

Superclásico ''SuperClásico'' is a 2011 Danish romantic comedy film set in Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American coun ...

'' 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 former professional football manager and former player. After an unassuming career as a player and after working as a primary school ...

, he became a regular starter in League and Copa Libertadores 2002, 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, is a Brazilian-Mexican professional football manager and former player who currently works for ESPN Deportes and ESPN Mexico as an analyst. As a player, Ferretti was ...

. 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 (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

. After a remarkable Apertura 2003 season under coach

Nery Pumpido Nery Alberto Pumpido (born 30 July 1957) is an Argentine Association football, football coach and former Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper who played for Argentina national football team, Argentina in two FIFA World Cup, World Cups. ...

, Gaitán and Tigres lost the finals against

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

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

Clásico Regiomontano The Clásico Regiomontano, Clásico Regio, Clásico del Norte or Clásico Norteño is a football derby in Nuevo León, Mexico, between crosstown rival teams C.F. Monterrey and Tigres UANL. Since the first Clásico in 1974, the two teams have comp ...

'' 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 Chivas ...

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 took part, starting with the first qualifying round played on 24 January 2006. ...

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

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

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 Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...

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, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

but was ceased due professional differences.

United States

In February 2011, Gaitán was officially introduced to the squad for the Los Angeles Blues of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "The

Divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

"), 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 Crooked may refer to: * Crooked Creek (disambiguation) * Crooked Island (disambiguation) * Crooked Lake (disambiguation) * Crooked River (disambiguation) * Crooked Harbour, Hong Kong * Crooked Forest, West Pomerania, Poland * Crooked Bridge, a ...

"), 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 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 event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

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 i ...

. 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 ...

, Gerónimo Barbadillo,

Osvaldo Batocletti Osvaldo Agustín 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,

Lucas Lobos Lucas Armando Lobos Mack (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 Playe ...

and

André-Pierre Gignac André-Pierre Christian Gignac (born 5 December 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward. Gignac began his career in his home Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône, playi ...

Titles

References

External links

Statistics
at Guardian Stats Centre * at Fútbol XXI
Football Database profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaitan, Walter 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from La Rioja Province, Argentina Argentine men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Naturalized citizens of Mexico Men's 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 men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States USL Championship players Monterrey Flash players Major Arena Soccer League players