Héctor Manuel Cuéllar Rosales (born 16 August 2000) is a Bolivian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Club Always Ready and the Bolivia national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Héctor Manuel Cuéllar Rosales | ||
| Date of birth | 16 August 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Santa Cruz, Bolivia | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Always Ready | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2023 | Universitario Vinto | 41 | (1) |
| 2023– | Always Ready | 42 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Bolivia | 14 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:30, 29 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:24, 19 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
He has played for Universitario de Vinto and Always Ready in the Bolivian Primera División. He made his senior international debut for Bolivia in 2023 and was chosen for the 2024 Copa América.
Club career
editBorn in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Cuéllar began his career at F.C. Universitario de Vinto. He made his debut in the Bolivian Primera División on 2 April 2022, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–2 home draw with Club Independiente Petrolero. He made 41 top-flight appearances and scored once for the club, equalising with a penalty in a 1–1 draw with the same opponents also at the Estadio Félix Capriles.[1]
In June 2023, Cuéllar transferred to Club Always Ready halfway through the season, in a deal involving the trade of another player.[2] On his debut on 25 June, he scored the first goal of a 2–0 home win over Club Blooming;[3] in his next game on 9 July he scored from 35 metres in a 3–1 comeback win over Club Aurora at the Estadio Municipal de El Alto.[4]
On his continental debut on 21 February 2024, Cuéllar scored in a 6–1 home win over Peru's Sporting Cristal in the Copa Libertadores. After Always Ready were eliminated and dropped into the Copa Sudamericana, he netted in a 2–0 group stage win against Club Deportivo Universidad César Vallejo visiting from the same country,[5] as well as a 3–0 win in the next game against Argentina's Defensa y Justicia.[6]
International career
editCuéllar made his debut for the Bolivia national team on 27 August 2023 in a 2–1 friendly loss to Panama in Cochabamba. He played the first 64 minutes before being replaced by Julio Herrera.[7][8] On 8 September, he made his competitive bow in a 5–1 loss away to Brazil in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers; he came into the game in place of Diego Bejarano around the hour, and was praised for his performance by manager Gustavo Costas.[9]
Cuéllar was named in the 29-man preliminary squad for the 2024 Copa América in the United States.[10] On 15 June, in a pre-tournament friendly against Colombia, he committed a foul on Luis Díaz that caused a brawl that led to a player on each team being sent off, though Cuéllar received only a yellow card.[11]
In Bolivia's first game of the tournament, Cuéllar debuted as a half-time substitute with his country losing 2–0 to the United States at the AT&T Stadium; there were no more goals from either side.[12] He then started in defence in further defeats to Uruguay and Panama in a group-stage elimination.[13][14]
Career statistics
editInternational
edit- As of match played 19 November 2024[15]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolivia | 2023 | 6 | 0 |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ Caero Rodríguez, Gabriel (12 February 2023). "Universitario de Vinto salva un punto en casa ante Oriente Petrolero" [Universitario de Vinto snatch a point at home against Oriente Petrolero]. Los Tiempos (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Caero Rodríguez, Gabriel (13 June 2023). "Cuéllar pasa a Always Ready y se espera un trueque para reforzar la "U"" [Cuéllar heads to Always Ready and a makeweight is waiting to bolster the "U"]. Los Tiempos (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Apaza, Paulo (25 June 2023). "Always Ready venció a Blooming (2-0), con goles de Cuéllar y Robles" [Always Ready beat Blooming (2-0) with goals from Cuéllar and Robles]. La Razón (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "En gran reacción Always Ready vence a Aurora" [With a great comeback Always Ready beat Aurora]. Ahora El Pueblo (in Spanish). 10 July 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Torrez Clavijo, Samuel (26 April 2024). "Héctor Cuéllar, la pieza clave ante equipos peruanos" [Héctor Cuéllar, the key against Peruvian teams] (in Spanish). Late!. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Always Ready golea a Defensa y Justicia y es puntero de su grupo" [Always Ready thrash Defensa y Justicia and top their group]. El Diario (in Spanish). 8 May 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Cuéllar, Rojas y Abrego son las novedades en el once" [Cuéllar, Rojas and Abrego are the new faces in the starting XI]. El Diario (in Spanish). 27 August 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Panameño Kaiser Lenis castiga a Bolivia en Cochabamba" [Panamanian Kaiser Lenis punishes Bolivia in Cochabamba] (in Spanish). Panamá América. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Apaza, Paulo (9 September 2023). "DT Costas mira con buenos ojos a Víctor Ábrego y Héctor Cuéllar" [Manager Costas looks at Víctor Ábrego and Héctor Cuéllar with good eyes]. La Razon (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "El brasileño Zago anuncia la nómina de Bolivia para la Copa América con siete 'foráneos'" [Brazilian Zago announces Bolivia's preliminary squad for the Copa América with seven 'foreigners'] (in Spanish). SWI swissinfo. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Cuéllar le pegó una patada criminal a Luis Díaz y descontroló Colombia-Bolivia" [Cuéllar hit Luis Díaz with a criminal kick and unravelled Colombia-Bolivia] (in Spanish). ESPN. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "United States vs. Bolivia highlights: USA picks up 2-0 win in first Copa América match". Fox Sports. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "Zago cambia medio equipo en la Verde para enfrentar a Uruguay en Nueva Jersey" [Zago changes half the team of La Verde to take on Uruguay in New Jersey] (in Spanish). Unitel Bolivia. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "Panamá logra histórica clasificación a cuartos de final de Copa América" [Panama achieve historic qualification for the Copa América quarter finals]. La Prensa (Honduras) (in Spanish). 1 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ Héctor Cuéllar at National-Football-Teams.com
External links
edit- Héctor Cuéllar at National-Football-Teams.com
- Héctor Cuéllar at WorldFootball.net
- Héctor Cuéllar at Soccerway
