Christian Benítez
Christian Benítez was born in Quito, Pichincha Province, Ecuador on May 1st, 1986 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 27, Christian Benítez biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 27 years old, Christian Benítez has this physical status:
Christian Rogelio Bentez Betancourt (May 1, 1986 – July 29, 2013, also known as Chucho), an Ecuadorian footballer who appeared as a forward for El Jaish of the Qatar Stars League at the time of his death. He began his career with El Nacional in Ecuador and then moved to Santos Laguna, where he received the award for Best Player of the Clausura 2008.
He spent the 2009-10 season on loan to Birmingham City in the Premier League, then migrated to Club América, where he was a regular scorer.
From his debut in 2005, Benitez played 58 times for Ecuador's national football team, scoring 24 goals.
He appeared for them at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and two Copa America tournaments. The Ecuadorian Football Federation has banned Bentez's number 11 jersey from the national team following his death.
However, they were forced to reinstate it for the 2014 World Cup squad due to FIFA rules.
Personal life
Benitez was born in Quito, the son of former Ecuadori national footballer Ermen Bentez and Rita Betancourt. Liseth, Cléber Chalá's daughter, was born in 2007 in Ecuador; she gave birth to twins in August 2009.
He was born Chucho, a term "used in the Spanish-speaking Americas when referring affectionately to a small, pesky dog."
Club career
Bentez was recruited by teams like Villarreal CF of Spain as a result of his strong results for El Nacional, but El Nacional denied any information about the rumoured interest.
Bentez captured both the 2005 Clausura and the 2006 League Championships by scoring 29 goals in 83 league matches for El Nacional.
In July 2007, he moved to Santos Laguna of the Mexican Primera División. Santos had a fruitful season, winning over numerous top Mexican clubs after his inception and that of Vicente Matas Vuoso. Bentez was named as the best Ecuadorian footballer playing outside of Ecuador in 2007, succeeding PSV Eindhoven's Édison Méndez.
Despite being keen on Benfica, Bentez decided to stay in Mexico despite the Portuguese club's interest. His ten goals were instrumental in Santos winning the Clausura 2008 title, and his personal award was selected as the best player of the season.
Birmingham City reported the signing of Bentez on a three-year deal for an undisclosed club record transfer fee, which press reports estimated the cost was in the region of £6 million to £9 million. The striker's transfer was conditional upon receiving a work permit and passing a medical exam. The medical presented unexpected knee pains, causing the contract to be renegotiated on a "secured purchase" basis. The club will pay an initial $2 million (£1.2 million) with the option to withdraw from the contract on medical grounds after the first year; thereafter, the fee could rise to a club record $12.5 million (£7.7 million). On July 7, the player was finally signed. He later confirmed that he was in fact on loan. Bentez played in an all-star match in Ecuador while recovering from shoulder surgery and awaiting his visa.
In Birmingham's first match of the season, a 1–0 loss at Manchester United, he made his Birmingham debut as a second-half replacement, and came close to equalizing by grabbing a "wonderful one-handed diving save" from Ben Foster. On September 19th, Boaz Myhill's first Premier League appearance came against Hull City; he was instrumental in the 1–0 victory but "could have a hat-trick but not for the supreme goalkeeping." Bentez scored his first goal for the Blues on November 9th against Liverpool with a close-range header after Scott Dann had nodded the ball on, a game that ended 2–2. Birmingham knocked Everton out of the FA Cup at Goodison Park, with Alex McLeish scoring the first of what manager Alex McLeish described as "two classy goals." However, after his season, he scored only four goals and Birmingham's attempt to renegotiate the agreed transfer fee was unsuccessful, the club decided not to buy, and the player returned to Santos Laguna.
After his return to Santos Laguna in the first tournament on July 21, 2010, Bentez scored 16 goals on his first tournament appearance. Chucho was the top scoring table on the 2010 Apertura Finals, leading Santos to the sacking of Monterey.
On May 22, 2011, Benitez signed to play for América. The transfer fee was estimated to be US$10 million, which tied for a Mexican club. In the 2–1 win over Querétaro on July 24, he scored a goal on his debut in his debut on July 24th. Bentez won by 5–2 on August 21st, his first hat trick with América. Bentez scored a header in his first Sper Clásico defeat to Chivas, defeating Chivas 3–1.
In a 2–0 victory over Querétaro, Bentez scored the first goal for Club América's Clausura 2012 season. Bentez scored 14 goals and ended up being the league's top scorer alongside Iván Alonso.
Bentez played his first game of the 2012–13 season on July 21 against Monterey in a 0–0 away draw. In a 4–2 victory over Chiapas on July 28, he scored his first goals of the season. Benitez, the 2012 Apertura's joint top goal-scoring team with Atlante's Esteban Paredes, became joint top goal-scoring team. In a 2–0 away play-off quarter-final match against Morelia on November 14, Bentez scored two goals.
In a 2–0 away victory over Jaguares de Chiapas, Bentez scored his first three goals of the 2013 Clausura season. In a 3–0 victory over Cruz Azul, Bentez scored a hat trick, 2 headers, and a left-footed shot. América defeated Guatemala 4–2 on Saturday, after losing 2–0 in an away match against Pachuca. Benitez scored a hat-trick to lead América to a 4–2 victory. Benitez was named the top scorer in Clausura 2013 Liga MX for the third straight season. After beating Cruz Azul 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out on May 26, Benitez became the Liga MX 2013 Clausura champions, where he converted the second penalty.
He officially left the club on July 6, 2013 and signed a deal with Qatari team El Jaish. According to El Jaish officials, he made his debut in a Sheikh Jassim Cup match against Qatar SC "without complaining of any health problems." This was his first match for the club. He died of cardiac arrest at the age of 27 a day later.
International career
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Bentez was a member of the Ecuador national team. Despite being regarded by some as a surprise pick by coach Luis Fernando Suárez in addition to his 2006 Copa Libertadores experience, he was impressed with his dynamism, elusiveness, and ability in pre-World Cup showings against the Netherlands and Japan. He was a nominee for the Gillette Best Young Player Award, a new award given at the FIFA World Cup to the best young player born on or after January 1, 1985. Felix Borja was forced to leave early in the match after his first appearance in the 3–0 loss to Germany.
In September 2006, he scored his first international goal against Peru. In Ecuador's 2–0 victory in a friendly match held in the Mini Estadi in Barcelona, Spain, then scored another goal against Peru in April 2007. He scored in a 1–1 draw with the Republic of Ireland, also in a friendly, while playing in New Jersey on May 23. This boosted the belief that he would do well in Europe.
Bentez played in all three games during the 2007 Copa América, scoring against Chile as Ecuador was eliminated in the first stage, losing all three matches. Bentez scored twice in an international friendly against El Salvador on September 8, 2007 in Quito's empathetic 5–1 victory.
In a 3–1 win over Bolivia in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier, he scored his country's third goal. He scored the only goal against Chile a month later.