Christian Benítez

Christian Rogelio Benítez Betancourt (1 May 1986 – 29 July 2013), also known as Chucho, was an Ecuadorian professional footballer who played as a striker.

Benitez played 58 times for the Ecuador national football team from his debut in 2005, scoring 24 goals.

Benítez contributed 29 goals in 83 league matches as El Nacional won both the 2005 Clausura and 2006 League Championships.

He played for them at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and two Copa America tournaments.

Following his death, the Ecuadorian Football Federation retired Benítez's number 11 jersey from the national team.

In 2007, he married Liseth, daughter of Cléber Chalá, also an Ecuador international; she gave birth to twins in August 2009.

He played under the nickname Chucho, a name "used in the Spanish-speaking Americas when referring affectionately to a small, pesky dog".

Due to a series of strong performances for El Nacional, Benítez was scouted by clubs such as Villarreal of Spain, though El Nacional denied any knowledge of the rumoured interest.

In July 2007, he moved to Santos Laguna of the Mexican Primera División.

With his arrival and that of Vicente Matías Vuoso, Santos had an impressive season with wins over several top Mexican clubs.

In 2007, Benítez received an award as the best Ecuadorian footballer playing outside Ecuador, succeeding PSV Eindhoven's Édison Méndez.

Despite interest from Portuguese club Benfica, Benítez decided to remain in Mexico.

He began his career with El Nacional in Ecuador and then joined Santos Laguna, with whom he won the award for Best Player of the Clausura 2008.

His 10 goals made a major contribution to Santos winning the Clausura 2008 title, and his personal reward was selection as best player of the season.

He spent the 2009–10 season on loan to Premier League club Birmingham City, and then moved to Club América for a Mexican record US$10 million, where he was a regular scorer.

He played for El Jaish of the Qatar Stars League at the time of his death.

On 3 June 2009, Birmingham City announced the signing of Benítez on a three-year contract for an undisclosed club record transfer fee, which press reports speculated to be in the region of £6 million rising to £9m.

The move was subject to the striker receiving a work permit and passing a medical.

The medical revealed unforeseen knee problems, which prompted the deal to be renegotiated on a "protected purchase" basis.

The club would pay an initial $2m (£1.2m) with an option to abort the deal on medical grounds after the first year; thereafter the fee could potentially rise, depending on appearances and success, to a club record $12.5m (£7.7m).

The player eventually signed on 7 July.

The club later clarified that the initial £1.2m was in fact a loan fee.

While recovering from shoulder surgery and awaiting his visa, Benítez played in an all-star match in Ecuador without asking the club's permission.

He made his debut as a second-half substitute in Birmingham's opening match of the season, a 1–0 defeat at Manchester United, and came close to equalising, drawing a "wonderful one-handed diving save" from Ben Foster.

His first Premier League start came against Hull City on 19 September; he played a key role in a 1–0 win and "could have had a hat-trick but for the supreme goalkeeping of Boaz Myhill".

Benítez scored his first goal for the Blues on 9 November away to Liverpool, with a close-range header after Scott Dann had nodded the ball on, in a game which finished 2–2.

He scored the first of what manager Alex McLeish described as "two classy goals" as Birmingham knocked Everton out of the FA Cup at Goodison Park.

However, after his season produced only four goals and Birmingham's attempt to renegotiate the agreed transfer fee was unsuccessful, the club chose not to take up their option to purchase, and the player returned to Santos Laguna.

On 21 July 2010, Benítez signed a new three-year deal with Santos Laguna, in the first tournament after his return he was the top goalscorer with 16 goals.

Leading the scoring table, Chucho led Santos to the 2010 Apertura Finals, losing to Monterrey.

Benitez signed to play for América on 22 May 2011.

The transfer fee was reported to be of $10 million, which established a record for a club in Mexico.

He scored a goal in his debut on 24 July in the 2–1 win against Querétaro.

On 21 August, Benítez made his first hat trick with América against Atlas in a 5–2 win.

In his first Súper Clásico, Benítez scored a header in a 3–1 loss to Chivas.

Benítez scored the opening goal for Club América's Clausura 2012 season in a 2–0 win against Querétaro.

He ended the season with 14 goals and ended up being the league's top scorer along with Iván Alonso.

Benítez played his first game of the 2012–13 season on 21 July against Monterrey, in a 0–0 away draw.

However, due to FIFA regulations they had to reinstate it for the 2014 World Cup squad.

Benitez was born in Quito, the son of former Ecuador international footballer Ermen Benítez, and of Rita Betancourt.