Iván Hurtado

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Iván Jacinto Hurtado Angulo (born August 16, 1974 in Esmeraldas, Ecuador) is a professional football central defender. He is known in Spanish by his fans as "Bambam" for bamming the football with his feet like the Hanna-Barbera character does with his club. He currently plays for Al-Arabi after starting his career with the small club of his hometown, Club Deportivo Esmeraldas Petrolero, at the age of 16.

The year after, he moved on to one of Ecuador's biggest clubs in Guayaquil, Club Sport Emelec, and had two stellar seasons, including a championship with the club with a free kick goal he executed. His excellent play warranted a switch to the Mexican leagues where he even further developed his defending techniques and his intelligent read of the game. Ivan made a big impact in his first club, Celaya, where he led them to the Mexican league finals. He then moved to UANL Tigres.

Meanwhile, Ivan was one of the key players who played a major role in securing a first ever World Cup berth for Ecuador in 2002. He had such an impressive tournament, he was appointed the captain of a new generation of a hungry and ever-improving Ecuador side.

Hurtado has a humanitarian side to him as well, opening an orphanage in his hometown which houses over 300 children in poverty. Has 128 caps for the national team and counting after making his scoring debut back on 24 May 1992 against Guatemala in a 1-1 draw. He has 5 international goals.

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