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. He is the current manager of the under-20 squad of América de Cali and assistant manager for the first team.
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
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. 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.
América de Cali 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.
International career 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.
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
Club 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 Total1983América de CaliCampeonato Profesional21000021198438800-0388198547400-04741986433002+14541987374003+3407198837500-0375198936800003681990Categoría Primera A4390000439199138400814651992463001+147419932130013334619944670000467199520200002021995–964214001545718 Brazil League Cup South America Total1996Atlético MineiroCampeonato Brasileiro80000080 Colombia League Cup South America Total1996–97América de CaliCategoría Primera A90003+1121 Ecuador League Cup South America Total1997LDU de QuitoEcuadorian Serie A??----??1998??--?0??1999344--704142000282--60342 Colombia League Cup South America Total2001MillonariosCategoría Primera A21000002102001Deportivo Pereira2100000210 Ecuador League Cup South America Total2002LDU de QuitoEcuadorian Serie A34300003432003382--404222004373--50423200520--0020 Total Brazil80000080 Colombia5477500451459289 Ecuador237340022025934 Career total792109006714859123
International
International appearances TeamYearAppsGoalsColombia198510198710199120199471199510Total121
International goals
Honours
Player América de Cali Primera A (6): 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992 Runner-up (3): 1987, 1991, 1995 Copa Libertadores Runner-up (4): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1996
Atlético Mineiro Copa Master de CONMEBOL Runner-up (1): 1996
LDU Quito Serie A (4): 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 Apertura
Assistant coach América de Cali Primera A (1): 2008 Finalización Runner-up (1): 2008 Apertura
Juan Aurich Torneo Descentralizado (1): 2011
Junior Primera A (1): 2010 Apertura
References
External links