José Milton Melgar Soruco (born September 20, 1959) is a retired Bolivian football midfielder. In 2006, he was appointed by the Bolivian Government under President Evo Morales as Minister of Sports, but he resigned a year later. He currently runs his own youth football academy in his hometown.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Milton Melgar Soruco | ||
| Date of birth | September 20, 1959 | ||
| Place of birth | Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1985 | Blooming | 189 | (46) |
| 1985–1988 | Boca Juniors | 92 | (3) |
| 1988–1989 | River Plate | 23 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Bolívar | 22 | (3) |
| 1990 | Oriente Petrolero | 40 | (5) |
| 1991 | Blooming | 21 | (1) |
| 1992 | Everton (VdM) | 31 | (2) |
| 1993 | The Strongest | 25 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Cobreloa | 21 | (2) |
| 1995 | Bolívar | 20 | (0) |
| 1996 | Real Santa Cruz | 22 | (2) |
| 1997 | Blooming | 20 | (1) |
| Total | 526 | (65) | |
| International career | |||
| 1980–1997 | Bolivia | 89 | (6) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2000 | Oriente Petrolero | ||
| 2000 | Blooming | ||
| 2002–2003 | Bolivia U-20 | ||
| 2003 | Oriente Petrolero | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editClub
editAt the club level, Melgar played for Blooming, Bolívar, Oriente Petrolero and Real Santa Cruz in Bolivia, as well as Everton (VdM) and Cobreloa in Chile.
He also played in Argentina for the two giants and fierce rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate.
In addition, during his career, he also had 53 Copa Libertadores appearances with 2 goals scored.
International
editMelgar was capped 89 times and scored 6 international goals for Bolivia between 1980 and 1997.[2] His tally of 89 caps was a national record until January 31, 2002, when it was broken by Marco Sandy who obtained his 90th cap in a friendly match against Brazil. Melgar played all three matches at the 1994 FIFA World Cup,[3] and his club at that time was The Strongest.
| International Goals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 31 August 1983 | Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia |  Colombia |
2–1 | 2–2 | Copa América |
| 2. | 20 August 1989 | Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia |  Peru |
1–1 | 2–1 | World Cup Qualifier |
| 3. | 8 August 1993 | Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia |  Uruguay |
3–0 | 3–1 | World Cup Qualifier |
| 4. | 22 August 1993 | Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia |  Venezuela |
2–0 | 7–0 | World Cup Qualifier |
| 5. | 22 August 1993 | Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia | Venezuela |
7–0 | 7–0 | World Cup Qualifier |
| 6. | 14 May 1995 | Estadio Félix Capriles, Cochabamba, Bolivia |  Paraguay |
1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
Managerial career
editThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (July 2023) |
Following his retirement, Melgar pursued a managerial career. In 2000, he made his official debut as manager with Oriente Petrolero. Later in the year he also managed Blooming. In October 2002 he assumed his duties as the U-17 and U-20 national teams, but his stint was unsuccessful.
Honours
edit| Season | Club | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Blooming | Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano |
| 1990 | Oriente Petrolero | Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano |
| 1993 | The Strongest | Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano |
References
edit- ^ Escuela de Fútbol Milton Melgar Archived 2010-01-12 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- ^ José Milton Melgar - International Appearances - RSSSF
- ^ José Milton Melgar – FIFA competition record (archived)
External links
edit- José Milton Melgar at National-Football-Teams.com