10 Most Famous Football (Soccer) Players from Ecuador

Ecuador national football team sourced from Wikimedia

10 Most Famous Football (Soccer) Players from Ecuador

Ecuador is a country in found in the northwestern part of South America. It is among the top footballing country in South America coming behind the likes if Brazil and Argentina. The country is represented by their football team in matter of football(the world’s best sport. It is the 12th best team in the world according to the FIFA rankings. 

The Ecuadorian national football team has appeared at three FIFA World Cups, the world’s premier football tournament for national football teams, with an upcoming fourth appearance in 2022. Ecuador’s first participation in the World Cup was in 2002. Their best performance was in 2006, where they were eliminated in the Round of 16.

The country has a lot of talented players to their disposal. Let’s take a look at some of the most famous players from Equador;

1.Alberto Spencer

Ecuadorian footballer Alberto Spencer Photo by Eduardo Forte Wikimedia

Alberto Pedro Spencer Herrera who was born on 6 December 1937 was an Ecuadorian footballer who played as a forward, and is widely regarded as one of the best Ecuadorian footballers of all time. He was nicknamed “Cabeza Mágica” (Spanish for magic head. 

He is best known for his record for scoring the most goals in the Copa Libertadores, a record which still stands to date. He represented Ecuador on 11 occasions scoring 4 goals in the process. He also played 5 times for Uruguay national team scoring 1 goal. He died of heart attack on 3 November 2006 in the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. 

2.Antonio Valencia 

Antonio Valencia (in Red) Manchester United v West Ham United photo by Ardfern Wikimedia

Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera is an Ecuadorian former professional footballer who played primarily as a right-sided player throughout his career. He is Regarded as one of Ecuador’s top players in history.He has played for several top teams including; El Nacional, Manchester United and Wigan Athletic. 

He initially played as a right winger, before developing into a right-back and becoming one of the best right backs in the English premier league. He has played for the Equador national team in 99 caps and scored 11 goals in the process. He has also won several trophies in his career among them the English premier league while also winning a spot in the PFA Team of the Year in his debut season. 

3.Enner Valencia

Enner Valencia of West Ham celebrates his second goal during the game against Manchester City, January 2016 Photo Sourced fro Wikimedia

Enner Remberto Valencia Lastra is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish club Fenerbahce and he is the current captain of the Ecuador national team.He is capable of playing in both wings and his main place the centre forward or as a second striker. 

Valencia has earned over 70 caps for Ecuador since his debut in 2012. He has represented his country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and he is in line to represent them again in the upcoming 2022 world cup in Qatar. He has also represented them in the Copa America in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021.He is the country’s all time top scorer with 35 goals. 

4.Felipe Caicedo

Felipe Salvador Caicedo Corozo who was born on 5th September 1988 is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Arabian club Abha. He was full Equador international from 2005 to 2017 and represented Ecuador at the Copa America in 2007 and 2011, as well as at the 2014 World Cup. 

He is known for is ability to score goals from difficult angles and can play in all the forward positions. He is also Ecuador’s sixth highest goalscorer of all-time with 22 goals in 68 goals. He has played for some of the world’s biggest teams including Manchester City, Basel and Intermilan. He also announced his retirement from international team in 2017.

5.Agustin Delgado 

Agustin Javier Delgado Chala is a retired Ecuadorian footballer who played as a forward.He was previously Ecuador’s all time top scorer with the Ecuadorian national team with 31 goals in 71 games. He played professional club football in Ecuador, Mexico and England. 

He was nicknamed Tin during his time as a player for his style of play. He is currently the second highest all time top scorer after his record was broken by Enner Valencia. He played in the top leagues in the world including the premier league with Southampton. 

6.Ivan Hurtado

Ivan Jacinto Hurtado Angulo is an Ecuadorian former professional footballer who played as a centre back for several clubs and the Ecuador national team.He made a total of 168 international appearances for his country Ecuador between 1992 and 2014 which makes him the country’s most capped player. 

He is also South Americas most capped male player of all time and 15th all time most capped player in history of football in international stage. His experience and professionalism always made it possible for all the national team managers to give him a call up. 

7.Alex Aguinaga

Alex Dario Aguinaga Garzon is an Ecuadorian former professional football player and manager. A midfielder during his playing career, he is one of the all-time cap leaders for Ecuador with 109 matches, scoring 23 goals.Aguinaga is known as one of the best Ecuadorian footballers of all time. 

He is renowned for assisting in the goal by Ivan Kaviedes that assured Ecuador’s first qualification to the FIFA World Cup in 2002. He was also once Ecuador national team captain for very many years. He has also served as manager for several clubs in his home country and in abroad. 

8.Edison Mendez

Edison Mendez (right) Photo by sourced from Wikimedia

Edison Vicente Mendez Mendez is an Ecuadorian football coach and former player who played as either a winger or an attacking midfielder. He is known for his pace, accurate passing and long range shooting. He is also known as a dead-ball specialist.

He generally takes free kicks and corners for his country and club.He is right-footed but he can play on either wing as well as in the middle in the attack. He is Ecuador’s second-most capped player of all time with 111 capps and scored 18 goals in the process. 

9.Jeremy Sarmiento

Jeremy Leonel Sarmiento Morante is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Brighton & Hove Albion and the Ecuador national team. Born in Spain to Ecuadorian parents, he represented England as a youth international before making his Ecuador debut in October 2021.

His playing style earned him a call up to the Ecuador national team. He has made a total of 9 appearances for Equador and he is considered one of the best young players from Ecuador. He is set to represent his nation in the  upcoming. He was Brighton & Hove Albion’s Young Player of the Season: 2021–22.

10.Piero Hincapie

Piero Martin Hincapie Reyna who was born on 9th January 2002 is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a defender, mostly as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Ecuador national team. 

He is known as a defensive rick for Leverkusen because of his playing style which involves dangerous tackling and is able to come into the attack and score crucial goals. He has represented Equador national team in 21 appearances and scored 1 goal in the process. He is also set to feature in the upcoming 2022 world cup. 

With the talent the country possesses, they will be expecting to progress deep in the upcoming world cup tournament set to be held in Qatar in December 2022.Their first match which will also be the tournament’s first game will be against host Qatar at Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor.