Wikipedia

Álex Escobar

For the Major League Baseball outfielder, see Alex Escobar.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Escobar and the second or maternal family name is Gañán.

Alexander Escobar Gañán (born 8 February 1965), also known as Álex Escobar, is a Colombian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder.[4] He is the current manager of the under-20 squad of América de Cali.[5]

Álex Escobar
Personal information
Full name Alexander Escobar Gañán
Date of birth (1965-02-08) 8 February 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Cali, Colombia
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 América de Cali (U20 manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1996 América de Cali 505 (75)
1996 → Atlético Mineiro (loan)[1] 8 (0)
1997–2000 LDU Quito[2] 126 (26)
2001 Millonarios[3] 21 (0)
2001 Deportivo Pereira[2] 21 (0)
2002–2005 LDU Quito 111 (8)
Total 792 (109)
International career
1985–1995 Colombia 12 (1)
Managerial career
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)
2016–2017 Orsomarso
2024– América de Cali U20
2024 América de Cali (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Club career

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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

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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.[8]

International career

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Escobar made his international debut on 3 November 1985 (at just 20 years old), 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.[9]

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

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Club

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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
1997 LDU de Quito Ecuadorian Serie A ? ? - - - - ? ?
1998 ? ? - - ? 0 ? ?
1999 34 4 - - 7 0 41 4
2000 28 2 - - 6 0 34 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
2002 LDU de Quito Ecuadorian Serie A 34 3 0 0 0 0 34 3
2003 38 2 - - 4 0 42 2
2004 37 3 - - 5 0 42 3
2005 2 0 - - 0 0 2 0
Total Brazil 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Colombia 547 75 0 0 45 14 592 89
Ecuador 237 34 0 0 22 0 259 34
Career total 792 109 0 0 67 14 859 123

International

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International appearances

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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

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International goals
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 1994-02-26 Weingart Stadium, Los Angeles, USA   South Korea 1–2 2–2 Friendly match

Honours

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Player

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América de Cali
Runner-up (3): 1987, 1991, 1995
Runner-up (4): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1996
Atlético Mineiro
Runner-up (1): 1996
LDU Quito

Assistant coach

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América de Cali
Runner-up (1): 2008 Apertura
Juan Aurich
Junior

References

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  1. ^ "Jogadores Estrangeiros do Clube Atlético Mineiro". RSSSF Brasil (in Portuguese).
  2. ^ a b "Alexander Escobar Gañán – Historia". América de Cali Sitio Oficial (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Alexander Escobar's profile". Worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Alexander Escobar's profile". BDFA.
  5. ^ "Alex Escobar es el nuevo entrenador del equipo sub 20 del América de Cali" [Alex Escobar is the new manager of América de Cali's under-20 team] (in Spanish). El País. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Alexander Escobar". América.com.co (Fan site) (in Spanish).
  7. ^ Ballesteros, Frank (27 March 2004). "Players in the Copa Libertadores". RSSSF.com.
  8. ^ "América de Cali football club history". www.footballhistory.org. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  9. ^ Tabeira, Martín (22 August 2008). "1987 Copa América". RSSSF.com.
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