Alex Aguinaga
 | Age: 33
Position: Mid-Fielder
Club: Necaxa (Mex) |
Alex Aguinaga will turn 34 just after the World Cup but is the playmaker in the Ecuador ranks and was brilliant in the qualifying campaign - his country's landmark appearance in the finals is a fitting crown to end a superb career.
He first came to world attention in the FIFA 1999 World Club Championship when - playing for Mexican outfit Necaxa - he outshone the likes of David Beckham of Manchester United and Fernando Redondo of Real Madrid in Brazil.
But he was already a well-known face in Latin America and was named player of the tournament when a teenager in the under-17 South American Championships in 1987.
The pony-tailed playmaker is so popular with Necaxa that he was recently offered a director's job when his playing career ends although he has no plans to hang up his boots yet.
And he earned a further honour in his adopted country - who are drawn with Mexico in Group G - when he was voted player of the decade in the Mexican league.
A freekick specialist Aguinaga can also contribute goals although his outstanding asset is his passing ability.
|
| |
|
• World Cup debut in 2002
|
|
|
