Álex Aguinaga

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Aguinaga and the second or maternal family name is Garzón.

Álex Darío Aguinaga Garzón (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈaleks aɣiˈnaɣa], born 9 July 1969) is an Ecuadorian former professional football player and manager. A midfielder during his playing career, he is one of the all-time cap leaders for Ecuador with 109 matches, scoring 23 goals.^[1] Aguinaga is known as one of the best Ecuadorian men's footballers of all time. On the club level, Aguinaga has played for Deportivo Quito, Necaxa, Cruz Azul and LDU Quito.

Álex Aguinaga

Aguinaga coaching Deportivo Cuenca in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Alex Darío Aguinaga Garzón
Date of birth	(1969-07-09) July 9, 1969 (age 56)
Place of birth	Ibarra, Ecuador
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1984–1989	Deportivo Quito	147	(38)
1989–2003	Necaxa	476	(85)
2003–2004	Cruz Azul	14	(0)
2004–2005	LDU Quito	71	(9)
Total		708	(132)
International career
1987–2004	Ecuador	109	(23)
Managerial career
2011	América (assistant)
2011	Barcelona SC
2012	San Luis
2013–2014	LDU Loja
2014–2015	Correcaminos UAT
2015–2016	Deportivo Cuenca
2016	LDU Quito
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Necaxa

Aguinaga spent the majority of his club career at Necaxa, whom he joined in 1989, winning 3 championships with the club. In 1999 Aguinaga was crucial for Necaxa's first CONCACAF Champions Cup title. Necaxa would go on to participate in the first edition of the FIFA Club World Cup where in the group stage Aguinaga scored against Vasco da Gama, but missed a penalty against Manchester United.^[2] He scored in the penalty shootout against Real Madrid in the 3rd place match.^[3]

He also holds a Mexican passport. His grandfather is of Spanish descent.

LDU Quito

After winning a league title in Ecuador, Aguinaga decided to retire from football.

International career

Aguinaga earned his first cap for Ecuador on March 5, 1987. In the same match, he scored his first goal for the team. Over the year, he would form an integral part of the national team. He would captain the team for a number of years and assisted in the goal by Iván Kaviedes that assured Ecuador's first qualification to the FIFA World Cup in 2002, in which he played. This was the only World Cup where Aguinaga participated.

Managerial career

Aguinaga's managerial career began in late 2010 as an assistant to Manuel Lapuente at Mexican club América. He left the club in early 2011 when Lapuente was sacked. In March of the same year, he was named to his first full-time managerial post as the new manager of Guayaquil-based club Barcelona following the sacking of Rubén Darío Insúa.^[4] In late May of the same year, he resigned from his position to not interfere and influence the club's presidential elections the following month. He has not ruled out a return after the election.^[5]

In September 2014, Aguinaga became the manager of Correcaminos UAT, which plays in the Ascenso MX second professional level league of the Mexican football league system.^[6]

Personal life

Aguinaga's daughter Cristiane is an actress and has appeared in several Mexican series and telenovelas such as Carita de Ángel and La rosa de Guadalupe.^[7]

Career statistics

List of Álex Aguinaga's international goals^[8]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 March 1987	Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana	Cuba	1–2	1–2	Friendly
2	7 June 1988	Albuquerque Sports Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico	United States	0–1	0–1	Friendly
3	10 June 1988	Unknown, Houston, Texas	United States	0–1	0–2	Friendly
4	15 June 1988	Estadio Francisco Morazán, San Pedro Sula	Honduras	1–1	1–1	Friendly
5	24 September 1989	Estadio Monumental de Barcelona, Guayaquil	Paraguay	1–1	3–1	1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier
6	30 June 1991	Estadio Nacional, Santiago	Chile	3–1	3–1	Friendly
7	9 July 1991	Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar	Uruguay	0–1	1–1	1991 Copa América
8	13 July 1991	Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar	Bolivia	1–0	4–0	1991 Copa América
9	15 June 1993	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito	Venezuela	6–1	6–1	1993 Copa América
10	22 June 1993	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito	Uruguay	2–1	2–1	1993 Copa América
11	6 July 1996	Estadio Nacional, Santiago	Chile	1–1	4–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
12	1 September 1996	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito	Venezuela	1–0	1–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
13	12 February 1997	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito	Uruguay	1–0	4–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
14	2 April 1997	Estadio Nacional, Lima	Peru	1–1	1–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
15	30 April 1997	Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires	Argentina	2–1	2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
16	20 August 1997	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito	Paraguay	1–1	2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
17	10 September 1997	Estádio Fonte Nova, Salvador	Brazil	3–1	4–2	Friendly
18	29 March 2000	Estadio Casa Blanca, Quito	Venezuela	2–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
19	26 April 2000	Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo (Morumbi), São Paulo	Brazil	0–1	3–2	2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
20	22 January 2002	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami	Canada	1–0	2–0	2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
21	22 January 2002	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami	Canada	2–0	2–0	2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
22	20 November 2002	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito	Costa Rica	1–2	2–2	Friendly
23	2 June 2003	Estadio Bellavista, Ambato	Guatemala	2–0	2–0	Friendly

Honors

Necaxa

• Primera División: 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998 Invierno
• CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup: 1994
• Mexican Cup: 1995
• Campeón de Campeones: 1995
• CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 1999
• FIFA Club World Cup third place: 2000^[9]

LDU Quito

• Serie A: 2005 Apertura

Ecuador

• Canada Cup: 1999

Individual

• Ideal team of South America: 1989
• Number 7 retired by Club Necaxa as a recognition to his contribution to the club.

See also

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps