Marcelo Elizaga
Encyclopedia
Marcelo Ramón Elizaga Ferrero (born April 19, 1972 in Morón
) is an Argentine
-born, naturalized Ecuador
ian football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Deportivo Quito in the Ecuadorian Serie A and the Ecuadorian national team
in the Primera Division Argentina
.
In 2000 he joined Quilmes Atlético Club
in the 2nd division and helped them gain promotion to the Primera. Since transferring to Emelec
he has received awards including Goalkeeper of the Year in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 from the Ecuadorian Championship.
Elizaga became a citizen of Ecuador
after declaring his intention of playing in the international stage. He has also stated that he has a love for his new country.
in 2004 as one of four foreign players signed by Emelec
for that season. He immediately started showing great goalkeeping skills and despite or because Emelec
's poor season he quickly became a fan favourite thanks to his performances for the club, and he won his first award of many for best goalkeeper of the year in Ecuador. He was ratified in the club for the next season and once again he became Emelec
's best player helping the club avoid relegation for the second season in a row, and winning his second best goalkeeper of the year award in a row.
Six years later he remains in the club despite many opportunities to leave and he is its captain and fan favourite. He has openly declared his intentions of retiring playing for Emelec
, but not before winning a title with the club, he was very close in 2006 when Emelec
finished second behind El Nacional
and in 2009 when they finished third in the Ecuadorian tournament.
In 2010, Elizaga helped Emelec
to qualify to that year's final matches against LDU Quito, but controversially was sent to the bench in this two matches by the team's manager Jorge Luis Sampaoli
. Emelec
couldn't score more than two goals in the final match, so Liga won the championship (Emelec lost the away match 2-0, so had to won at least 2 - 0 to secure penalty definition, but only scored one goal).
On 30 December 2010, Elizaga left Emelec
and signed with Deportivo Quito for one season, a transfer that was met with lot of surprise specially by Emelec
's fans.
against Ireland
. They later tied 1-1. Selected for the 2007 Copa América
, he demonstrated superb goalkeeping skill during Ecuador's final match against giants Brazil
keeping the score level until Robinho
's penalty. They were eliminated 1-0.
Elizaga later got called up for the 3rd and 4th rounds of the FIFA World Cup Qualification in the CONMEBOL region against Paraguay
and Peru
. Elizaga kept the Peruvians off the scoreboard until he was substituted off. He did not receive a call up for a while but is being put back on the line-up and has demonstrated good showings including Ecuador's victory over Colombia at Giants Stadium
, where he stopped a penalty kick as well as the rebound.
He continually receives call-ups for the national team, often as a back-up for José Francisco Cevallos. In June 2009, he started in World Cup qualifiers against Peru
and Argentina
in place of the injured Cevallos. During those matches, he helped the squad earn crucial points for qualification, including a clean-sheet against Argentina in which he saved a penalty kick against Carlos Tévez
during the first half of the match.
In 2011, he was called up once again to guard Ecuador's goal posts, this time during the Copa America
played in Argentina.
Morón, Buenos Aires
Morón is a city in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, capital of the Morón Partido, located in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, at...
) is an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
-born, naturalized Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
ian football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Deportivo Quito in the Ecuadorian Serie A and the Ecuadorian national team
Ecuador national football team
The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. They generally play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, but often play friendlies in other stadiums around the country...
Club career
Elizaga started his career in 1992 for Nueva Chicago in the Argentine 2nd division. In 1998 he transferred to Club Atlético LanúsClub Atlético Lanús
Club Atlético Lanús is a sports club from Lanús, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Founded on 3 January 1915, the club's main sports are football and basketball. In both sports, Lanús plays in Argentina's top divisions: Primera División and Liga Nacional de Básquet...
in the Primera Division Argentina
Primera División Argentina
The Primera División is a professional football league in Argentina. It is the country's premier football division and is at the top of the Argentine football league system. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Primera B Nacional. The season runs...
.
In 2000 he joined Quilmes Atlético Club
Quilmes Atlético Club
Quilmes Atlético Club is a sports clubs of Argentina, based on the Partido de Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province. Quilmes is one of the oldest clubs of Argentina, having been founded in 1887. Its football squad currently plays in the Primera B Nacional Division....
in the 2nd division and helped them gain promotion to the Primera. Since transferring to Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
he has received awards including Goalkeeper of the Year in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 from the Ecuadorian Championship.
Elizaga became a citizen of Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
after declaring his intention of playing in the international stage. He has also stated that he has a love for his new country.
Emelec
He arrived to EcuadorEcuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
in 2004 as one of four foreign players signed by Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
for that season. He immediately started showing great goalkeeping skills and despite or because Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
's poor season he quickly became a fan favourite thanks to his performances for the club, and he won his first award of many for best goalkeeper of the year in Ecuador. He was ratified in the club for the next season and once again he became Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
's best player helping the club avoid relegation for the second season in a row, and winning his second best goalkeeper of the year award in a row.
Six years later he remains in the club despite many opportunities to leave and he is its captain and fan favourite. He has openly declared his intentions of retiring playing for Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
, but not before winning a title with the club, he was very close in 2006 when Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
finished second behind El Nacional
Club Deportivo El Nacional
Club Deportivo "El Nacional" is a Ecuadorian sports club from Quito, known best for their professional football team. The team currently plays in the Serie A, the top-flight football league in the country....
and in 2009 when they finished third in the Ecuadorian tournament.
In 2010, Elizaga helped Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
to qualify to that year's final matches against LDU Quito, but controversially was sent to the bench in this two matches by the team's manager Jorge Luis Sampaoli
Jorge Luis Sampaoli
Jorge Luis Sampaoli is a football coach and former player. He currently manages Universidad de Chile in Chile.-Playing career:...
. Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
couldn't score more than two goals in the final match, so Liga won the championship (Emelec lost the away match 2-0, so had to won at least 2 - 0 to secure penalty definition, but only scored one goal).
On 30 December 2010, Elizaga left Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
and signed with Deportivo Quito for one season, a transfer that was met with lot of surprise specially by Emelec
Club Sport Emelec
Club Sport Emelec is a Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country....
's fans.
International career
He made his international debut in May 2007 with EcuadorEcuador national football team
The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. They generally play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, but often play friendlies in other stadiums around the country...
against Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
. They later tied 1-1. Selected for the 2007 Copa América
Copa América 2007
The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams...
, he demonstrated superb goalkeeping skill during Ecuador's final match against giants Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
keeping the score level until Robinho
Robinho
Robson de Souza , more commonly known as Robinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays as second striker and winger for Serie A club AC Milan...
's penalty. They were eliminated 1-0.
Elizaga later got called up for the 3rd and 4th rounds of the FIFA World Cup Qualification in the CONMEBOL region against Paraguay
Paraguay national football team
The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...
and Peru
Peru national football team
The Peru national football team, known as 'el equipo inca', represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation . The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America...
. Elizaga kept the Peruvians off the scoreboard until he was substituted off. He did not receive a call up for a while but is being put back on the line-up and has demonstrated good showings including Ecuador's victory over Colombia at Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
, where he stopped a penalty kick as well as the rebound.
He continually receives call-ups for the national team, often as a back-up for José Francisco Cevallos. In June 2009, he started in World Cup qualifiers against Peru
Peru national football team
The Peru national football team, known as 'el equipo inca', represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation . The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America...
and Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
in place of the injured Cevallos. During those matches, he helped the squad earn crucial points for qualification, including a clean-sheet against Argentina in which he saved a penalty kick against Carlos Tévez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...
during the first half of the match.
In 2011, he was called up once again to guard Ecuador's goal posts, this time during the Copa America
Copa América
The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
played in Argentina.