Ulises de la Cruz

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Ulises de la Cruz
Personal information
Full name Ulises Hernán de la Cruz Bernoid
Date of birth 8 February 1974 (1974-02-08) (age 34)
Place of birth    Piquiucho, Carchi, Ecuador
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club Reading
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1991–1994
1995
1995
1996
1997–1999
1999
2000
2001
2001–2002
2002–2006
2006–2008		 Deportivo de Quito
Barcelona S.C.
Cruzeiro
Aucas Quito
LDU de Quito
Cruzeiro
LDU de Quito
Barcelona S.C.
Hibernian
Aston Villa
Reading		 086 0(6)
014 0(0)
000 0(0)
032 0(3)
100 (15)
004 0(0)
030 0(5)
008 0(0)
032 0(2)
089 0(1)
015 0(1)   
National team2
1995– Ecuador 090 0(5)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 16:17, 16 May 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 00:00, 25 August 2006 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Ulises Hernán de la Cruz Bernoid (born 8 February 1974 in Piquiucho) is an Ecuadorian footballer, currently at Reading, although he is to be released by the club on 2008-06-30.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born in Piquiucho, a small village in the Valle del Chota, one of Ecuador’s poorest regions, De la Cruz has set up a foundation (FundeCruz) there to fund a number of projects serving the local community to which he donates about 10% of his salary.[1] FundeCruz is also a British registered charity[2]. At one of the Reading matches, fans were asked to donate money to his fund and he raised a few thousand pounds. Money will also be raised at the Ruta del Sol in February 2008[3]. The foundation funds amongst other things a water treatment plant, a health centre and a sports ground. He has been named a UNICEF ambassador.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

De la Cruz's 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. Nonetheless, De la Cruz's breakthrough season was with LDU Quito in 1999. He scored three goals in the final against Emelec (7-0). On June 18, 2001, he moved to Scottish Premier League club Hibernian for a club record fee of £700,000, for whom he made 25 full league appearances, as well as seven 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.

[edit] Aston Villa

In De la Cruz's 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, but on August 25, 2006, he signed a one year deal with Reading on a free transfer.[4]

[edit] Reading

De la Cruz scored his first Reading goal against Sheffield United in a 3-1 win on January 20, 2007.[5] After an impressive season with his English club, he was offered a contract that would tie him to the Madejski Stadium for two more years.[6] Following their relegation from the Premier League, Reading announced on 16 May 2008 that he would not be offered a new contract.[7]

[edit] International career

Although not always a first choice for his club, he remained an important member of the national side picking up 90 caps and five goals in his career to date. He was a fixture in the Ecuador team in the 2006 FIFA 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.[8] 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.

Due to Ecuador's poor start in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, de la Cruz and his teammate, Ivan Hurtado sharply criticized the coach and the atmosphere in the team. As a result, they were excluded from selection for the last two matches of 2007 against Paraguay and Peru. [9][10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Ecuadorean footballer rebuilds village", BBC News, 2007-01-27. Retrieved on 2007-02-16. 
  2. ^ "Ulises' FundeCruz foundation", readingfc.co.uk, 2007-12-18. Retrieved on 2008-01-02. 
  3. ^ "Help Ulises with his charity work", readingfc.co.uk, 2007-12-20. Retrieved on 2008-01-02. 
  4. ^ "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. 
  5. ^ "Reading 3-1 Sheff Utd", BBC Sport, 2007-01-20. Retrieved on 2007-04-03. 
  6. ^ "Royals eye up new De La Cruz deal", BBC Sport, 2007-05-14. Retrieved on 2007-05-19. 
  7. ^ "Four offered deals, six released", readingfc.co.uk, 2008-05-16. Retrieved on 2008-05-16. 
  8. ^ "Heroic Ulises on voyage of hope", The Daily Telegraph, 2007-02-15. Retrieved on 2007-02-18. 
  9. ^ "Ecuador snub Hurtado and De la Cruz", FIFA, 2007-11-06. Retrieved on 2007-11-15. 
  10. ^ "World Cup: Troubled Ecuador try to break duck", ESPNsoccernet, 2007-11-15. Retrieved on 2007-11-15. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
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
 Flag of Ecuador
v • d • e
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
 Flag of Ecuador
Persondata
NAME Cruz, Ulises de la
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ulises Hernán de la Cruz Bernoid (in formal contexts)
SHORT DESCRIPTION Footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 1974-02-08
PLACE OF BIRTH Piquiucho, Carchi, Ecuador
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH