Valdez
Sporting Club (Ecuador), Emelec (Ecuador), Los Angeles Galaxy
(USA - MLS), MetroStars (USA - MLS), New England Revolution (USA
- MLS), Hibernian (Scotland), Argentinos Juniors (Argentina),
Barcelona Sporting Club (Ecuador), Liga Deportiva Universitaria
(Peru), El Nacional (Ecuador), Universidad de Concepcion (???),
Audaz Octubrino (???)
Honours
???
Biography
Eduardo Hurtado Roa (born January 12, 1969, in Esmeraldas,
Ecuador) is a soccer striker, one of the all-time leading
scorers for the Ecuador national team with 26 goals in 74 caps.
Hurtado, nicknamed El Tanque for trying to roll over everything
in his path, has played for many teams in different countries.
His first teams were now defunct Valdez Sporting Club from
Milagro and Emelec from Guayaquil, in his native Ecuador, and he
also had stops in Switzerland, Chile, Mexico, the United States,
Argentina, and Scotland. He later returned to Ecuador.
Hurtado was one of the early stars of Major League Soccer. In
1996, the league's first year, he finished second in goals,
scoring 21 for the Los Angeles Galaxy. He added three in the
playoffs as Galaxy fell short in the MLS Cup final and was named
to the MLS Best XI after the season. After only eight goals in
1997, Hurtado was traded to the MetroStars two games into the
1998 season and finished the year with 11 goals and 15 assists
(10 and 14 of those for the Metros), plus added a goal in the
playoffs.
And then 1999 came. After scoring two goals in the Metro season
opener, Hurtado scored just five the rest of the way. Playing
for the worst team in league history, he was the epitome of
everything wrong with the squad, missing easy sitters and empty
nets game after game. El Tanque became known as El Stanque, and
the Metros let him go on waivers after the season. The New
England Revolution picked him up, but he only lasted three
goalless games there before getting his release.
Since his departure from MLS, Hurtado played for Hibernian,
Argentinos Juniors, Barcelona Sporting Club, Liga Deportiva
Universitaria, El Nacional, the team of Universidad de
Concepción, and Audaz Octubrino from Machala. In 2004, he came
back to the United States to play indoor soccer, signing with
the Cleveland Force of the MISL in December. However, he
couldn't adjust to the indoor game and was released in less than
a month, going back to Ecuador to play for Olmedo.
