Óscar Duarte (footballer, born 1989)

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

Óscar Esaú Duarte Gaitán (born 3 June 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saprissa. Born in Nicaragua, he represents the Costa Rica national team.

Óscar Duarte

Duarte with Club Brugge in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Óscar Esaú Duarte Gaitán[1]
Date of birth	(1989-06-03) 3 June 1989 (age 36)
Place of birth	Catarina, Nicaragua
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Saprissa
Number	6
Youth career
0000–2008	Saprissa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2013	Saprissa	48	(2)
2010	→ Puntarenas (loan)	15	(1)
2013–2016	Club Brugge	84	(7)
2016–2019	Espanyol	51	(1)
2019–2022	Levante	60	(3)
2022–2024	Al-Wehda	46	(4)
2024–	Saprissa	24	(5)
International career‡
2010–2023	Costa Rica	76	(4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 March 2023

Formed at Deportivo Saprissa in Costa Rica, he moved to Europe in 2013 to play for Club Brugge in Belgium. He spent seven years in Spain's La Liga with Espanyol and Levante, making 111 appearances and scoring four goals.

Duarte made his international debut for Costa Rica in 2010. He represented the nation at three FIFA World Cups, three CONCACAF Gold Cups and two editions of the Copa América.

Club career

Early career

Duarte was born in Catarina, Masaya, Nicaragua.^[2] After making 52 appearances in five years at Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa, Duarte joined Club Brugge in the Belgian Pro League in 2013.^[3]

Espanyol

On 26 January 2016, Duarte agreed a permanent transfer to RCD Espanyol in Spain. The three-year deal cost the club €1.15 million and included a buyout clause of €15 million.^[4] He made his debut five days later, coming on at half time and scoring an own goal in a 6–0 loss at Real Madrid.^[5] In his next game on 14 February, he scored his only goal in 57 games for the club from Barcelona, opening a 2–1 loss at Valencia CF.^[6]

Levante

Duarte moved to fellow La Liga team Levante UD on 1 August 2019, on a two-year deal,^[7] though the signing was not registered for three more weeks due to UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations.^[8] His first season in the city of Valencia was marred by serious injuries; on 21 January 2020 he scored his first goal to equalise in a 3–1 loss at Sevilla FC in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey.^[9] He missed only three league games in 2020–21, scoring in two minutes to open a 4–3 home win over Real Betis on 29 December.^[10]

On 30 April 2021, Duarte added another year to his Levante contract by playing his 26th game of the season, against RC Celta de Vigo.^[11] He chose to let his deal expire in May 2022.^[12]

Al-Wehda

On 24 June 2022, Duarte joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Wehda.^[13]

International career

He was eligible to play for Nicaragua through his mother's family, and Costa Rica through his father's family.

Duarte made his debut for the Costa Rica national team against Jamaica on 17 November 2010 and played for the team at the 2011 Copa Centroamericana, where they lost to Honduras in the final.^[3]

In June 2014, Duarte was named in Costa Rica's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,^[14] becoming the first Nicaragua-born player at a World Cup finals.^[2]

In the team's opening match, he scored his first goal for Los Ticos in a 3–1 defeat of Uruguay.^[15] In their second match, the team beat Italy, a 1–0 win that qualified Costa Rica for the knockout stage.^[16] Costa Rica completed the group stage unbeaten, recording a second consecutive clean sheet in a 0–0 draw with England in Belo Horizonte.^[17] On 29 June, Duarte was sent off for receiving two yellow cards in Costa Rica's round of 16 match against Greece. The team advanced via a penalty shootout to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, where they lost on penalties to the Netherlands.^[18]

In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.^[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 May 2024^[20]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Saprissa	2010–11	Primera División	5	0	—		3[a]	0	—		8	0
	2011–12		27	1	—		—		—		27	1
	2012–13		16	2	—		—		—		16	2
	Total		48	3	—		3	0	—		51	3
Puntarenas (loan)	2010–11	Primera División	15	1	—		—		—		15	1
Club Brugge	2012–13	Belgian Pro League	17	3	—		—		—		17	3
	2013–14		22	0	1	0	2[b]	1	—		25	1
	2014–15		31	4	5	0	15[b]	1	—		51	5
	2015–16		14	0	1	0	6[c]	0	0	0	21	0
	Total		84	7	6	0	23	2	0	0	113	9
Espanyol	2015–16	La Liga	14	1	—		—		—		14	1
	2016–17		15	0	2	0	—		—		17	0
	2017–18		11	0	2	0	—		—		13	0
	2018–19		11	0	2	0	—		—		13	0
	Total		51	1	6	0	—		—		57	1
Levante	2019–20	La Liga	8	0	1	1	—		—		9	1
	2020–21		29	1	6	0	—		—		35	1
	2021–22		23	2	2	0	—		—		25	2
	Total		60	3	9	1	—		—		69	4
Al Wehda	2022–23	Saudi Pro League	27	2	4	0	—		—		31	2
	2023–24		18	2	1	0	—		0	0	19	2
	Total		45	4	5	0	—		0	0	50	4
Career total			303	19	26	1	26	2	0	0	355	22

1. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions Cup
2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
3. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, Two appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

Duarte's goal against Uruguay at the 2014 FIFA World Cup

As of match played 25 March 2023^[21]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Costa Rica	2010	1	0
	2011	6	0
	2013	2	0
	2014	11	2
	2015	6	0
	2016	7	0
	2017	2	0
	2018	9	0
	2019	8	0
	2020	4	0
	2021	12	1
	2022	7	1
	2023	1	0
Total		76	4

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Duarte goal.

List of international goals scored by Óscar Duarte

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 June 2014	Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza Brazil	Uruguay	2–1	3–1	2014 FIFA World Cup
2	14 October 2014	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	South Korea	3–1	3–1	Friendly
3	16 November 2021	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Honduras	1–0	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	9 November 2022	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Nigeria	1–0	2–0	Friendly

Honours

Saprissa

• Costa Rican Primera División: Clausura 2008, Apertura 2008

Brugge

• Belgian Pro League: 2015–16
• Belgian Cup: 2014–15