How many soccer players from Ecuador have been declared top scorers in national championships in other countries? The question arises after the 29 goals scored by Enner Valencia in the 2022-2023 season. in the Turkish Superliga. The attacker from Esmeralda recorded 29 notes in the jersey of Fenerbahce – the runner-up of the Turkish championship. That’s how he became the greatest gunner in the campaign of that nation.

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What Valencia did is historic and relevant for several reasons. He is the first Ecuadorian footballer to receive the top scorer award in the country’s UEFA national tournament. In addition, at the end of the season in Europe, the tricolor was eighth in the top ten gunboats on the entire Old Continent. This selection consists, from first to seventh, of Erling Haaland (Manchester City, 36 goals), Harry Kane (Tottenham, 30), Kylian Mbappé (PSG, 29 goals), Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon, 27), Víctor Osimhen (Naples, 26 comments), Jonathan David (Lille, 24) and Robert Lewandowski (FC Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​23). Ninth and tenth are Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan, 21) and Lois Openda (Lens, 21).

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Valencia, now signed for Inter Porto Alegre, has already brought the goalscoring trophy to his display cases while in Mexico. In the land of the Aztecs, he left his name forever as the top scorer of the 2014 Clausura tournament, with fourteen wins (in any case, league events are not counted for scoring). Due to a combination of circumstances, despite this individual difference, he had to settle, in Mexico and Turkey, with the national runner-up.

‘Magic Head’

The last link so far in the chain of Ecuadorian gunboats that are dedicated as such in competitions in other countries is Enner Valencia, but the first was forged by Alberto Spencer, with Peñarol from Uruguay.

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In 1969, the Uruguayan journalist Ricardo Lombardo said of the great Ecuadorian that he arrived in 1960 “as a destined man” to lead, in the Aurinegro club from Montevideo, “a complete change of course: from regional football he went to world football”. It is about Spencer being the most influential player in three starts for Peñarol in the Copa Libertadores (1960, 1961, 1966) and in winning two world crowns (1961, 1966).

But in addition, the native Ancón (1937-2006) was more destructive in the domestic Uruguayan tournament than the Tasmanian Devil, beating him eight times and leaving his signature in the scorebook of the competition four times. Call A man of important cause He did it in 1961 with 18 remarks in as many dates. He repeated in 1962, with 16 goals in 18 days; In 1967 and 1968 he was the scorer with eleven and eight goals in the short tournament: only 18 games.

And although it is not a domestic championship in the Libertadores, Spencer holds the record for the number of goals scored: 54: 48 with Peñarola and six with Barcelona.

Aztec troops

In Mexico, it is the country where the most strikers from Ecuador have taken the shooting prize. In addition to Enner Valencia, Agustín Delgado with Necax also reached it, with fourteen hits in the Summer 2000 tournament (Tin shared it with Uruguayan Sebastián Abreu, from Tecos, and Azteca Everard Bejines, from León). But Unforgettable in the land of Cantinflas is Christian Benítez (1986-2013).

on Mutt It’s a feat: he was the scorer of the Mexican championship four times. The now-deceased footballer confirmed with these numbers that he is a real scorer: in the 2010 Apertura, he scored fourteen goals with Santos Laguna from Torreón. He went to the capital and there with América his star never stopped shining. Benítez was the top scorer in Clausura 2012 (fourteen goals), Aperture 2012 (eleven) and Clausura 2013 (eleven).

The case of Ángel Mena, also a net breaker at the competition in Mexico, because among the Ecuadorians who succeeded, the one baptized as Angel aims He is unique because unlike his compatriots, the man from Guayaquil is not a nominal centre-forward. In the 2019 Clausura, no one scored more goals than Mena, who scored fourteen times for León.

Carlos Tenorio

In Asia Demolition man Carlos Tenorio is remembered in Qatar’s Al Sadd for the fact that he won eight championships in that country, including the league and the Cup of Princes and Emirs, but also for what he did in the 2005-2006 season. On that course, he received a double award: the title of Qatar national champion and top scorer with 21 goals. But before that, the Emerald striker shone in the professional league of Saudi Arabia.

In the 2002-2003 campaign, Tenorio, now president of the Ecuadorian Footballers’ Association (AFE), was the first Latin American footballer to become the country’s top scorer with 15 goals for Al-Nassr of Riyadh. (D)