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Marco Etcheverry

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Etcheverry (from the Basque "Etxeberria") and the second or maternal family name is Vargas.
Marco Etcheverry
Etcheverry in 2000
Personal information
Full name Marco Antonio Etcheverry Vargas
Date of birth (1970-09-26) 26 September 1970 (age 54)
Place of birth Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1984–1986 Tahuichi Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1989 Destroyers 81 (17)
1989–1991 Bolívar 41[1] (21[1])
1991–1992 Albacete 15 (2)
1993–1994 Colo-Colo 28 (8)
1994–1995 América de Cali 21 (0)
1996–2003 D.C. United 191 (34)
1997 → Barcelona SC (loan) 13 (6)
1998 → Emelec (loan) 6 (0)
1999 → Barcelona SC (loan)
2001 → Oriente (loan) 4 (1)
2004 Bolívar 7 (0)
International career
1989–2003 Bolivia 71 (13)
Managerial career
2008 United States U20 (assistant)
2009 Aucas
2023 D.C. United (academy)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marco Antonio Etcheverry Vargas (born 26 September 1970) is a Bolivian former professional footballer who played as a forward or midfielder. A creative playmaker, he is considered one of the greatest Bolivian players of all time.[2] Etcheverry played for D.C. United of Major League Soccer from 1996 to 2003. He helped D.C United win eight trophies during that time, and was nominated to the MLS Best XI in four consecutive seasons from 1996 to 1999.

Club career

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Etcheverry, is nicknamed El Diablo (The Devil).

Etcheverry was trained at Bolivia's Tahuichi Academy, after which he played professionally with Bolivian sides (Destroyers, Bolívar, Oriente Petrolero), Spain (Albacete), Chile (Colo-Colo), Colombia (América de Cali) and Ecuador (Barcelona, Emelec).

Etchverry joined D.C. United of Major League Soccer in its 28th season of 1996, and led the team to three MLS Cups and was named MLS MVP in 1998. In eight years with the team, Etcheverry played 191 league games, scoring 34 goals and registering 101 assists (the games and assists were DC records). He retired at the end of the 2003 season.

DC United honors

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In 2005, he was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI.

On 23 September 2006, Etcheverry was honored at a home game against the New York Red Bulls. During halftime he was put up on the "D.C. United Tradition of Excellence" sign in the stadium. After all of this Etcheverry walked over to the La Barra Brava part of the stadium and did his trademark clap in front of them, he did after every game, win or lose.

On 20 October 2007, Etcheverry was honored with a tribute match at RFK Stadium, prior to United's regular-season finale versus Columbus. Etcheverry is the first United player to be so honored. Etcheverry, playing with teammates from the club's 1997 MLS Cup winning side, defeated Hollywood United (a collection of former players and actors), 2–1, with Etcheverry drawing and scoring the winning penalty in the final minute.

International career

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Etcheverry compiled 71 caps and scored 13 goals for the Bolivia national team between 1989 and 2003.[3] He scored four times during qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, including an 88th minute opening goal in a 2–0 defeat of Brazil in La Paz - the first ever loss by the Seleção in World Cup qualifying, to help Bolivia participate in its first FIFA World Cup since 1950.[4] At the tournament finals, Etcheverry was sent off for kicking Lothar Matthäus four minutes after appearing as a substitute in the tournament's opening game against Germany.[5] The subsequent suspension meant that Etcheverry played no further part in Bolivia's tournament, as La Verde finished bottom of Group C with two losses and a draw to South Korea.[6]

Etcheverry scored twice in the 1997 Copa América as Bolivia reached the final to achieve its best performance in the competition since winning in 1963. He went on to represent the team in the subsequent FIFA Confederations Cup in 1999.[7]

On 12 April 2006, the Bolivian Congress awarded him with the "Order of Merit" and a title of "Distinguished Citizen", for his sport achievements, shortly after his retirement.[8]

International goals

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Scores and results list Bolivia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Etcheverry goal.
List of international goals scored by Marco Etcheverry
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 20 June 1993 Estadio 9 de Mayo, Machala, Ecuador  Colombia 1–0 1–1 1993 Copa América
2 25 July 1993 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Brazil 1–0 2–0 1994 World Cup qualification
3 8 August 1993 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Uruguay 2–0 3–1 1994 World Cup qualification
4 22 August 1993 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Venezuela 5–0 7–0 1994 World Cup qualification
5 6–0
6 11 July 1995 Estadio Parque Artigas, Paysandú, Uruguay  United States 1–0 1–0 1995 Copa América
7 25 October 1995 Estadio Ramón Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia  Ecuador 1–0 2–2 Friendly
8 14 February 1996 Estadio Olímpico Patria, Sucre, Bolivia  Paraguay 4–1 4–1 Friendly
9 7 July 1996 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Venezuela 2–0 6–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 12 January 1997 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Ecuador 2–0 2–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 15 June 1997 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Peru 1–0 2–0 1997 Copa América
12 21 June 1997 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Colombia 1–0 2–1  1997 Copa América
13 20 July 1997 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Uruguay 1–0 1–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Coaching career

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Etcheverry made his debut as football coach in early 2008 after he accepted an offer from second division club Sociedad Deportiva Aucas, but he was sacked after only four months in charge.[9] On 6 October 2009, Etcheverry was announced as the new Oriente Petrolero coach, replacing Pablo Sánchez.[10][failed verification] But in the middle of the negotiations he decided not to go through.

He returned to the United States in 2023 to coach the under-15 boys' team for the D.C. United Academy.[11]

Honours

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Bolivar

Colo-Colo

D.C. United

Barcelona S.C.

Oriente Petrolero

Bolivia Youth

Bolivia

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b R.Moya, Ruben (23 August 2014). "El "Diablo" Etcheverry, a legend of Bolivian football". Hanging by Futbol.
  2. ^ "FIFA". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010.
  3. ^ "Bolivia - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009.
  4. ^ "Classic Football - Bolivia vs Brazil". FIFA. Archived from the original on 27 April 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Klinsmann provides Germany's first thrust". The Independent. 18 June 1994. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  6. ^ "MARCO ETCHEVERRY AND THE TWO-TOUCH WORLD CUP". In Bed With Maradona. 19 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Happy Birthday to you!". FIFA. 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Etcheverry fue distinguido como "Ciudadano Meritorio"". 13 April 2006.
  9. ^ Ed, Uncle (19 December 208). "Football in Miami and Beyond: DC United's old Captain Marco "El Diablo"Etcheverry to coach Aucas in Ecuador".
  10. ^ "2009 Soccer news, photos, stats, schedules, standings and videos". sports.yahoo.com.
  11. ^ Goff, Steven (16 August 2023). "Marco Etcheverry returns to D.C. United as an academy coach". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  12. ^ All-Star Game flashback, 1996 Archived December 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at MLSsoccer.com
  13. ^ All-Star Game flashback, 1997 at MLSsoccer.com
  14. ^ "1998 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. 2 August 1998. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  15. ^ "1999 MLS All-Star Game". MLSsoccer.com. 17 July 1999. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  16. ^ "2022 Fact & Record Book". Major League Soccer. January 2023. p. 184. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  17. ^ "Marco Etcheverry Elected To National Soccer Hall Of Fame". National Soccer Hall of Fame. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
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