Alejandro Escalona

Alejandro Adrián Escalona Martínez, (born 14 August 1979) is a retired Chilean footballer who played as wing–back.

Alejandro Escalona
Personal information
Full name Alejandro Adrián Escalona Martínez
Date of birth (1979-08-14) August 14, 1979
Place of birth Santiago, Chile
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Wing–back
Youth career
1995–1996 Colo-Colo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1999 Colo-Colo 28 (0)
2000 Torino 3 (0)
2000–2001 Benfica 9 (0)
2001–2002 River Plate 1 (0)
2003–2006 CD Everton 23 (0)
2005–2006 → Grêmio (loan) 5 (0)
2007 Naútico 0 (0)
2007 CD Everton 17 (1)
2009–2010 San Luis Quillota 24 (0)
2011 CD Everton 10 (0)
2011 San Luis Quillota 15 (1)
2012 Curicó Unido 31 (1)
Total 166 (3)
National team
1999 Chile U20 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

A youth international for Chile, Escalona played for Colo-Colo, Torino, Benfica, River Plate and Grêmio, but was mostly linked to Everton de Viña del Mar, representing them on three spells.

Career

Born in Santiago, Escalona joined Colo-Colo in 1995, where he finish his youth development. He made his professional debut in 1997, in a single appearance, winning his first honour, the 1997 Torneo Clausura.[1] The following season, he played 16 matches with one goal, adding another league title. He started 1999 at Colo-Colo, but after a receiving praise in the 1999 South American U-20 Championship, he moved to Torino. In Italy, he was unable to replicate his performances, and played only three games and saw the team being relegated.[1][2]

In early July 2000, Escalona was set to join Napoli, but no agreement was reached with Torino.[3] On the 12th, Benfica successfully signed with Escalona, with Cristián Uribe playing an important role in convincing the 21 year-old.[1] He made his debut for Benfica in a friendly against Linfield on 3 August, during the Carlsberg Belfast Challenge.[4] After the match, in an interview for the Portuguese media, he downplayed the fact that he was unknown in Portugal, saying: "I will show on the field what I am worth".[5]

However, in a season that saw three managers pass through Benfica, Escalona could never gain his place, battling with the youngster Diogo Luís and the Paraguayan Rojas for the position and playing just nine league matches.[6] In January 2001, his agent, Pablo Tallarico was involved in a fake Italian passports scandal, that included Uribe and Pablo Contreras.[7] Initially, he denied knowledge of any wrongdoing,[8][9] but in May, he had his passport seized by the Polícia Judiciária, and his contract with Benfica terminated.[10][11]

On 30 July 2001, Escalona signed a one-year deal with River Plate,[12] but played just one league game under Manuel Pellegrini.[13] Released by River Plate, he returned to Chile in January 2003, joining Everton de Viña del Mar in the second tier.[14][15] His good performances, which included a promotion to the top tier, helped secure a loan deal to Grêmio in March 2005.[16] He helped Grêmio win the 2005 Série B and earn promotion back to the Série A, despite being sent-off in the crucial match, dubbed the Batalha dos Aflitos.[17]

After his loan deal expired, Escalona joined Naútico in December 2006,[18] but failed to impress, and was released just four months later.[19] In July 2007, he re-signed with Everton for six months, playing 13 games in the 2007 season.[20] After not competing in 2008, he moved to San Luis Quillota in 2009, where he helped them win promotion from the second tier in the first year and played 24 matches in the 2010 Primera División campaign that ended with relegation.[21] In his last two seasons, he had a third spell at Everton, returned to San Luis Quillota and finished at Curicó Unido in 2012.[21][22]

References
  1. "Alejandro Escalona ingressa no Benfica" [Alejandro Escalona joins Benfica]. Record (in Portuguese). 12 July 2000. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  2. "¡Tú puedes Nico Castillo! Diez figuras de los Sub 20 que no rindieron en Europa" [You can do it Nico Castillo! Ten players of the U20 that failed in Europe]. Pelotudos (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  3. "Inzaghi Milan, c'è un'ipotesi" [Inzaghi could join Milan]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 9 July 2000. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  4. "Linfield-Benfica em directo" [Linfield-Benfica Live]. Record (in Portuguese). 2 August 2000. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  5. "Escalona: "Mostrarei no campo quem sou"" [Escalona: "I will show on the field what I am worth"]. Record (in Portuguese). 4 August 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  6. Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. p. 587. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.
  7. "Passaportes de Escalona e Uribe podem estar a ser investigados" [Escalona and Uribe's passports might be under investigation]. Record (in Portuguese). 16 January 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  8. "Escalona tem de explicar origem de passaporte italiano" [Escalona has to explain origin of Italian passport]. Record (in Portuguese). 22 March 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  9. "Escalona garante que "caso" do passaporte está resolvido" [Escalona assures that "passport scandal" is over]. Record (in Portuguese). 22 April 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  10. "Passaporte de Escalona apreendido pela Polícia Judiciária" [Escalona's passport seized by the Policia Judiciaria]. Record (in Portuguese). 18 May 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  11. "Escalona já rescindiu e Carlos Bossio está em risco" [Escalona rescinded and Bossio is at risk]. Record (in Portuguese). 29 May 2001.
  12. "Escalona prestes a assinar pelo River Plate" [Escalona close to sign with River Plate]. Record (in Portuguese). 30 July 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  13. "Alejandro Escalona". Futbol XXI (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  14. "Un jugador de peso" [An 'important' player]. Mercurio Valpo (in Spanish). 29 January 2003. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  15. "Otro logro para Alejandro Escalona" [Another achievement for Alejandro Escalona]. Laromperion.cl (in Spanish). 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 24 December 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  16. "Alejandro Escalona se apresenta no Olímpico" [Alejandro Escalona presented at Olimpico]. ZH Desportes (in Portuguese). 22 March 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  17. "Grêmio volta à elite após jogo tumultuado" [Grêmio returns after tumultuous game]. Terra (in Portuguese). 26 November 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  18. "Náutico acerta com chileno Escalona" [Náutico signs with Chilean Escalona]. O Globo (in Portuguese). 17 December 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  19. "Escalona é dispensado" [Escalona is released]. Globoesporte (in Portuguese). 17 April 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  20. "Comienza a desesperarse" [Starting to lose patience]. Mercurio Valpo (in Spanish). 11 July 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  21. "Alejandro Escalona encendió el ventilador en su regreso a San Luis" [Alejandro Escalona agrees to return to San Luis]. El Observador (in Spanish). 20 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  22. "Sem clube, Alejandro Escalona treina em Santiago" [Without team, Alejandro Escalona practises in Santiago]. Planeta Bola (in Portuguese). 12 August 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
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