Ulises de la Cruz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ulises de la Cruz | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ulises Hernán De la Cruz Bernoid | |
| Date of birth | February 8, 1974 (age 33) | |
| Place of birth | Piquiucho, Carchi, Ecuador | |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Reading | |
| Number | 23 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1998-2001 2001-2002 2002-2006 2006- |
Deportivo Quito Hibernian Aston Villa Reading |
52 (9) 32 (2) 89 (1) 4 (1) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1995- | Ecuador | 88 (5) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Ulises Hernán De la Cruz Bernoid (born 8 February 1974 in Piquiucho, Ecuador) is an Ecuadorian footballer who is currently playing for Reading.
Born in Piquiucho, a small village in the Valle del Chota, one Ecuador’s poorest regions, De la Cruz has set up a foundation there to fund a number of projects serving the local community to which he donates about 10% of his salary.[1] The foundation funds amongst other things a water treatment plant, a health centre and a sports ground. He has been named a UNICEF ambassador.
His first team was the Ecuadorian side Sociedad Deportivo Quito, for whom he started playing at the age of 16 in the junior division and later the professional division. On June 18, 2001, he moved to Scottish Premier League club Hibernian for a fee of £700,000, for whom he made 25 full league appearances, as well as 7 substitute appearances. He scored two goals for Hibs, both coming in the Edinburgh derby against Hibs' local rivals Hearts. He struggled to make the grade at Hibernian but had a good World Cup in Korea/Japan and was signed by Graham Taylor for Aston Villa shortly after that tournament.
In his first season at the club he was selected only occasionally, but he featured more in the 2003/04 season after David O'Leary took over, and an injury to Mark Delaney ensured that de la Cruz could start more games than he had previously, and he signed a new contract for the 2004/05 campaign.
During his third season with Aston Villa, de la Cruz became frustrated at his lack of first team opportunities and accused O'Leary of blocking transfers for him. On 25 August 2006, he signed a one year deal with Reading[2] on a free transfer.
Although not always a first choice for his club, he remained a linchpin of the national side picking up 84 caps and 5 goals in his career to date. He was a fixture in the Ecuador team in the 2006 World Cup which reached the second round.
In his homeland, de la Cruz is one of Ecuador's most popular players, both for his footballing talent and his charitable projects.[3] The Supporters Trust At Reading (STAR) have organised a facility to allow Reading and other supporters the means to donate to the Ulises de la Cruz Foundation.
He scored his first Reading goal against Sheffield United in a 3-1 win on 20th January 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ Sarah Sturdey. "Ecuadorean footballer rebuilds village", BBC News, 2007-01-27. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
- ^ "Royals complete free transfer signing of Ulises De La Cruz on one year deal", readingfc.co.uk, 2006-08-25. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
- ^ Sarah Sturdey. "Heroic Ulises on voyage of hope", The Daily Telegraph, 2007-02-15. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
[edit] External links
- Ulises de la Cruz profile at readingfc.co.uk
- Ulises de la Cruz career stats at Soccerbase
 |
Ecuador squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Cevallos | 2 Porozo | 3 Hurtado | 4 de la Cruz | 5 Obregón | 6 Guerrón | 7 Asencio | 8 L. Gómez | 9 Kaviedes | 10 Aguinaga | 11 Delgado | 12 Ibarra | 13 Fernández | 14 Burbano | 15 M. Ayoví | 16 Chalá | 17 Espinoza | 18 C. Tenorio | 19 Méndez | 20 E. Tenorio | 21 Sánchez | 22 Viteri | 23 W. Ayoví | Coach: H. Gómez |
||
|
Ecuador squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Villafuerte | 2 Guagua | 3 Hurtado | 4 de la Cruz | 5 Perlaza | 6 Urrutia | 7 Lara | 8 Méndez | 9 Borja | 10 Kaviedes | 11 Delgado | 12 Mora | 13 Ambrosi | 14 Castillo | 15 Ayoví | 16 Valencia | 17 Espinoza | 18 Reasco | 19 Saritama | 20 E. Tenorio | 21 C. Tenorio | 22 Lanza | 23 Benítez | Coach: Suárez |
||
| Reading F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Hahnemann | 2 Murty | 3 Shorey | 4 Sidwell | 5 Sonko | 6 Gunnarsson | 7 Little | 8 Lita | 9 Doyle | 10 Hunt | 11 Oster | 12 Kitson | 14 Halls | 15 Harper | 16 Ingimarsson | 17 Convey | 19 Seol | 22 Bikey | 23 de la Cruz | 24 Long | 25 Bennett | 27 Brown | 28 Halford | 29 Duberry | 32 Federici | 47 Máté | –– Andersen | –– Bozanic | Manager: Coppell |
