Alexander Escobar Gañán

Álex Escobar

Personal information
Full name	Alexander Escobar Gañán
Date of birth	8 February 1965
Place of birth	Cali, Colombia
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1996	América de Cali	505	(75)
1996	→ Atlético Mineiro (loan)[2]	8	(0)
1997–2000	LDU Quito[3]	129	(27)
2001	Millonarios[4]	21	(0)
2001	Deportivo Pereira[3]	21	(0)
2002–2005	LDU Quito	111	(8)
Total		795	(110)
National team
1985–1995	Colombia	12	(1)
Teams managed
2005–2006	LDU Quito (assistant)
2007	América de Cali
2007–2009	América de Cali (assistant)
2010	Junior (assistant)
2011	Juan Aurich (assistant)
2013	América de Cali (assistant)
2016–	Orsomarso
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Alexander Escobar Gañán (born 8 February 1965), also known as Álex Escobar, is a retired Colombian footballer who played as a midfielder.^[5] He is currently head coach for Orsomarso S.C.

Escobar is highly regarded in América de Cali and LDU de Quito, as well as in the Colombia national team. With the first he won six Primera A titles, and with the second won four Serie A titles. He is also the player with most appearances in América de Cali.

Club career

Escobar in the commemorative plaque of the 1998 LDU Quito Final.

Escobar was born in Cali on 8 February 1965. His father was Hernán Escobar Echeverry, a retired defender that played in América de Cali, Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín.^[6] Escobar scored 14 goals in 83 matches in the Copa Libertadores from 1984 to 2004, making him the 9th player with most appearances in the tournament on 27 March 2004.^[7]

América de Cali

Escobar was part of the youth team of América de Cali, and played for the national football team of Valle del Cauca on 1982 and 1983. He debuted for América on 1983, and played for the team until 1997, when was transferred to LDU de Quito. Escobar is the player with most appearances for América, with 505 games played, and with 75 goals scored.

International career

Escobar made his international debut on 3 November 1985 (with just 20), while playing for América de Cali, in the match against Paraguay for the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifying. The match ended with a 2–1 win, but Colombia (who had lost the previous game 4–0) was eliminated.

Two years later he was part of the national squad for the 1987 Copa América, in which Colombia finished third. Escobar only played one match, the 2–1 win against the host Argentina in the third-place match.^[8]

Escobar scored his only goal for the national team in the 74th minute of the 2–2 draw against South Korea on 26 February 1994 in a friendly match.

Career statistics

Club

This table is incomplete, thus some stats and totals could be incorrect.

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Colombia			League		Cup		South America		Total
1983	América de Cali	Campeonato Profesional	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
1984			38	8	0	0	-	0	38	8
1985			47	4	0	0	-	0	47	4
1986			43	3	0	0	2+	1	45	4
1987			37	4	0	0	3+	3	40	7
1988			37	5	0	0	-	0	37	5
1989			36	8	0	0	0	0	36	8
1990		Categoría Primera A	43	9	0	0	0	0	43	9
1991			38	4	0	0	8	1	46	5
1992			46	3	0	0	1+	1	47	4
1993			21	3	0	0	13	3	34	6
1994			46	7	0	0	0	0	46	7
1995			20	2	0	0	0	0	20	2
1995–96			42	14	0	0	15	4	57	18
Brazil			League		Cup		South America		Total
1996	Atlético Mineiro	Campeonato Brasileiro	8	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Colombia			League		Cup		South America		Total
1996–97	América de Cali	Categoría Primera A	9	0	0	0	3+	1	12	1
Ecuador			League		Cup		South America		Total
1999	LDU de Quito	Ecuadorian Serie A	34	4	0	0	0	0	34	4
2000			29	2	0	0	0	0	29	2
Colombia			League		Cup		South America		Total
2001	Millonarios	Categoría Primera A	21	0	0	0	0	0	21	0
2001	Deportivo Pereira		21	0	0	0	0	0	21	0
Ecuador			League		Cup		South America		Total
2003	LDU de Quito	Ecuadorian Serie A	33	2	0	0	4	0	37	2
2004			39	3	0	0	16	0	55	3
Total	Brazil		8	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	Colombia		547	75	0	0	45	14	592	89
	Ecuador		240	35	0	0	20	0	260	35
	Career total		795	110	0	0	83	14	878	124

International

International appearances

Team	Year	Apps	Goals
Colombia	1985	1	0
	1987	1	0
	1991	2	0
	1994	7	1
	1995	1	0
Total		12	1

International goals

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1994-02-26	Weingart Stadium, Los Angeles, USA	South Korea	1–2	2–2	Friendly match

Honours

Player

América de Cali

• Primera A (6): 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992

Runner-up (3): 1987, 1991, 1995

• Copa Libertadores

Runner-up (4): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1996

Atlético Mineiro

• Copa Master de CONMEBOL

Runner-up (1): 1996

LDU Quito

• Serie A (4): 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 Apertura

Assistant coach

América de Cali

• Primera A (1): 2008 Finalización

Runner-up (1): 2008 Apertura

Juan Aurich

• Torneo Descentralizado (1): 2011

Junior

• Primera A (1): 2010 Apertura

References

1. Alexander Escobar Gañán at thefinalball.com
2. "Jogadores Estrangeiros do Clube Atlético Mineiro". RSSSF Brasil (in Portuguese).
3. "Alexander Escobar Gañán – Historia". América de Cali Sitio Oficial (in Spanish).
4. "Alexander Escobar's profile". Worldfootball.net.
5. "Alexander Escobar's profile". BDFA.
6. "Alexander Escobar". América.com.co (Fan site) (in Spanish).
7. Ballesteros, Frank (27 March 2004). "Players in the Copa Libertadores". RSSSF.com.
8. Tabeira, Martín (22 August 2008). "1987 Copa América". RSSSF.com.

External links

• Alexander Escobar Gañán at National-Football-Teams.com
• Álex Escobar – FIFA competition record