| Álex Escobar | |
| Fullname: | Alexander Escobar Gañán |
| Birth Date: | 1965 2, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Cali, Colombia |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | América de Cali (U20 manager) |
| Years1: | 1983–1996 |
| Clubs1: | América de Cali |
| Caps1: | 505 |
| Goals1: | 75 |
| Years2: | 1996 |
| Clubs2: | → Atlético Mineiro (loan)[1] |
| Caps2: | 8 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 1997–2000 |
| Clubs3: | LDU Quito[2] |
| Caps3: | 126 |
| Goals3: | 26 |
| Years4: | 2001 |
| Clubs4: | Millonarios[3] |
| Caps4: | 21 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2001 |
| Clubs5: | Deportivo Pereira |
| Caps5: | 21 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2002–2005 |
| Clubs6: | LDU Quito |
| Caps6: | 111 |
| Goals6: | 8 |
| Totalcaps: | 792 |
| Totalgoals: | 109 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1985–1995 |
| Nationalteam1: | Colombia |
| Nationalcaps1: | 12 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Manageryears1: | 2005–2006 |
| Managerclubs1: | LDU Quito (assistant) |
| Manageryears2: | 2007 |
| Managerclubs2: | América de Cali |
| Manageryears3: | 2007–2009 |
| Managerclubs3: | América de Cali (assistant) |
| Manageryears4: | 2010 |
| Managerclubs4: | Junior (assistant) |
| Manageryears5: | 2011 |
| Managerclubs5: | Juan Aurich (assistant) |
| Manageryears6: | 2013 |
| Managerclubs6: | América de Cali (assistant) |
| Manageryears7: | 2016–2017 |
| Managerclubs7: | Orsomarso |
| Manageryears8: | 2024– |
| Managerclubs8: | América de Cali U20 |
| Manageryears9: | 2024 |
| Managerclubs9: | América de Cali (caretaker) |
Alexander Escobar Gañán (born 8 February 1965), also known as Álex Escobar, is a Colombian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder.[4] He is the current manager of the under-20 squad of América de Cali.[5]
Escobar is highly regarded in América de Cali and LDU Quito, as well as in the Colombia national team. With América, he won six Primera A titles, whilst with the Ecuadorian club he won four Serie A titles. He is also the player with most appearances in América de Cali.
Escobar was born in Cali on 8 February 1965. His father was Hernán Escobar Echeverry, a retired defender that played in América de Cali, Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín.[6] Escobar scored 14 goals in 83 matches in the Copa Libertadores from 1984 to 2004, making him the 9th player with most appearances in the tournament on 27 March 2004.[7]
Escobar was part of the youth team of América de Cali, and played for the national football team of Valle del Cauca on 1982 and 1983. He debuted for América on 1983, and played for the team until 1997, when was transferred to LDU de Quito. Escobar is the player with most appearances for América, with 505 games played, and with 75 goals scored.[8]
Escobar made his international debut on 3 November 1985 (at just 20 years old), while playing for América de Cali, in the match against Paraguay for the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifying. The match ended with a 2–1 win, but Colombia (who had lost the previous game 4–0) was eliminated.
Two years later he was part of the national squad for the 1987 Copa América, in which Colombia finished third. Escobar only played one match, the 2–1 win against the host Argentina in the third-place match.[9]
Escobar scored his only goal for the national team in the 74th minute of the 2–2 draw against South Korea on 26 February 1994 in a friendly match.
This table is incomplete, thus some stats and totals could be incorrect.
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Colombia | League | Cup | South America | Total | ||||||
| 1983 | América de Cali | Campeonato Profesional | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1984 | 38 | 8 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 38 | 8 | ||
| 1985 | 47 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 47 | 4 | ||
| 1986 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2+ | 1 | 45 | 4 | ||
| 1987 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3+ | 3 | 40 | 7 | ||
| 1988 | 37 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 37 | 5 | ||
| 1989 | 36 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 8 | ||
| 1990 | Categoría Primera A | 43 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 9 | |
| 1991 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 46 | 5 | ||
| 1992 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1+ | 1 | 47 | 4 | ||
| 1993 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 34 | 6 | ||
| 1994 | 46 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 7 | ||
| 1995 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| 1995–96 | 42 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 57 | 18 | ||
| Brazil | League | Cup | South America | Total | ||||||
| 1996 | Atlético Mineiro | Campeonato Brasileiro | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Colombia | League | Cup | South America | Total | ||||||
| 1996–97 | América de Cali | Categoría Primera A | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+ | 1 | 12 | 1 |
| Ecuador | League | Cup | South America | Total | ||||||
| 1997 | LDU de Quito | Ecuadorian Serie A | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | ? | ? |
| 1998 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | 0 | ? | ? | ||
| 1999 | 34 | 4 | - | - | 7 | 0 | 41 | 4 | ||
| 2000 | 28 | 2 | - | - | 6 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||
| Colombia | League | Cup | South America | Total | ||||||
| 2001 | Millonarios | Categoría Primera A | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 2001 | Deportivo Pereira | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Ecuador | League | Cup | South America | Total | ||||||
| 2002 | LDU de Quito | Ecuadorian Serie A | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 |
| 2003 | 38 | 2 | - | - | 4 | 0 | 42 | 2 | ||
| 2004 | 37 | 3 | - | - | 5 | 0 | 42 | 3 | ||
| 2005 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | Brazil | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Colombia | 547 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 14 | 592 | 89 | ||
| Ecuador | 237 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 259 | 34 | ||
| Career total | 792 | 109 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 14 | 859 | 123 | ||
| Team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 1985 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1991 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1994 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 1995 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 12 | 1 | ||
|}
Runner-up (3): 1987, 1991, 1995
Runner-up (4): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1996
Runner-up (1): 1996
Runner-up (1): 2008 Apertura