Álex Darío Aguinaga Garzón (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈaleks aɣiˈnaɣa], born 9 July 1969) 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.[1] Aguinaga is known as one of the best Ecuadorian men's footballers of all time. On the club level, Aguinaga has played for Deportivo Quito, Necaxa, Cruz Azul and LDU Quito.

Álex Aguinaga
Aguinaga coaching Deportivo Cuenca in 2015
Personal information
Full name Alex Darío Aguinaga Garzón
Date of birth (1969-07-09) July 9, 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth Ibarra, Ecuador
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1989 Deportivo Quito 147 (38)
1989–2003 Necaxa 476 (85)
2003–2004 Cruz Azul 14 (0)
2004–2005 LDU Quito 71 (9)
Total 708 (132)
International career
1987–2004 Ecuador 109 (23)
Managerial career
2011 América (assistant)
2011 Barcelona SC
2012 San Luis
2013–2014 LDU Loja
2014–2015 Correcaminos UAT
2015–2016 Deportivo Cuenca
2016 LDU Quito
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

edit

Necaxa

edit

Aguinaga spent the majority of his club career at Necaxa, whom he joined in 1989, winning 3 championships with the club. In 1999 Aguinaga was crucial for Necaxa's first CONCACAF Champions Cup title. Necaxa would go on to participate in the first edition of the FIFA Club World Cup where in the group stage Aguinaga scored against Vasco da Gama, but missed a penalty against Manchester United.[2] He scored in the penalty shootout against Real Madrid in the 3rd place match.[3]

He also holds a Mexican passport. His grandfather is of Spanish descent.

LDU Quito

edit

After winning a league title in Ecuador, Aguinaga decided to retire from football.

International career

edit

Aguinaga earned his first cap for Ecuador on March 5, 1987. In the same match, he scored his first goal for the team. Over the year, he would form an integral part of the national team. He would captain the team for a number of years and assisted in the goal by Iván Kaviedes that assured Ecuador's first qualification to the FIFA World Cup in 2002, in which he played. This was the only World Cup where Aguinaga participated.

Managerial career

edit

Aguinaga's managerial career began in late 2010 as an assistant to Manuel Lapuente at Mexican club América. He left the club in early 2011 when Lapuente was sacked. In March of the same year, he was named to his first full-time managerial post as the new manager of Guayaquil-based club Barcelona following the sacking of Rubén Darío Insúa.[4] In late May of the same year, he resigned from his position to not interfere and influence the club's presidential elections the following month. He has not ruled out a return after the election.[5]

In September 2014, Aguinaga became the manager of Correcaminos UAT, which plays in the Ascenso MX second professional level league of the Mexican football league system.[6]

Personal life

edit

Aguinaga's daughter Cristiane is an actress and has appeared in several Mexican series and telenovelas such as Carita de Ángel and La rosa de Guadalupe.[7]

Career statistics

edit
List of Álex Aguinaga's international goals[8]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 March 1987 Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana   Cuba 1–2 1–2 Friendly
2 7 June 1988 Albuquerque Sports Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico   United States 0–1 0–1 Friendly
3 10 June 1988 Unknown, Houston, Texas   United States 0–1 0–2 Friendly
4 15 June 1988 Estadio Francisco Morazán, San Pedro Sula   Honduras 1–1 1–1 Friendly
5 24 September 1989 Estadio Monumental de Barcelona, Guayaquil   Paraguay 1–1 3–1 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier
6 30 June 1991 Estadio Nacional, Santiago   Chile 3–1 3–1 Friendly
7 9 July 1991 Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar   Uruguay 0–1 1–1 1991 Copa América
8 13 July 1991 Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar   Bolivia 1–0 4–0 1991 Copa América
9 15 June 1993 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito   Venezuela 6–1 6–1 1993 Copa América
10 22 June 1993 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito   Uruguay 2–1 2–1 1993 Copa América
11 6 July 1996 Estadio Nacional, Santiago   Chile 1–1 4–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
12 1 September 1996 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito   Venezuela 1–0 1–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
13 12 February 1997 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito   Uruguay 1–0 4–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
14 2 April 1997 Estadio Nacional, Lima   Peru 1–1 1–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
15 30 April 1997 Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires   Argentina 2–1 2–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
16 20 August 1997 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito   Paraguay 1–1 2–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
17 10 September 1997 Estádio Fonte Nova, Salvador   Brazil 3–1 4–2 Friendly
18 29 March 2000 Estadio Casa Blanca, Quito   Venezuela 2–0 2–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
19 26 April 2000 Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo (Morumbi), São Paulo   Brazil 0–1 3–2 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
20 22 January 2002 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami   Canada 1–0 2–0 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
21 22 January 2002 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami   Canada 2–0 2–0 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
22 20 November 2002 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito   Costa Rica 1–2 2–2 Friendly
23 2 June 2003 Estadio Bellavista, Ambato   Guatemala 2–0 2–0 Friendly

Honors

edit

Necaxa

LDU Quito

Ecuador

Individual

  • Ideal team of South America: 1989
  • Number 7 retired by Club Necaxa as a recognition to his contribution to the club.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ rsssf: Ecuador record international footballers
  2. ^ "Beckham off in Man Utd epic". BBC. 6 January 2000. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Mexican penalty kings depose Real". BBC News. 14 January 2000. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  4. ^ "El legendario Álex Aguinaga es el nuevo director técnico de Barcelona" [The legendary Álex Aguinaga is the new manager of Barcelona] (in Spanish). El Universo. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  5. ^ "Hasta ahí nomás" [Enough] (in Spanish). futbolecuador.com. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  6. ^ "Llega Alex Aguinaga a Ciudad Victoria" (in Spanish). Milenio. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  7. ^ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1039219/ [user-generated source]
  8. ^ "Alex Darío Aguinaga - International Appearances". RSSSF. 25 July 2004. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  9. ^ "Necaxa". FIFA. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
edit