Iván López (footballer, born 1978)

Iván Leonardo López Licht (born 13 May 1978) is a former Colombian footballer. He primarily played as a central defender, and was called El Centre de oro, "the golden centre", although he also played as a right wingback. López was projected to be a great player, but his career was frustrated and eventually ended early by injuries. He mostly played at Colombian clubs, and is most known for his performances for Independiente Santa Fe. As an international player for Colombia he was part of the squad that won the 2001 Copa América.

For other people named Iván López, see Iván López (disambiguation).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Licht.
Iván López
Personal information
Full name Iván Leonardo López Licht
Date of birth (1978-05-13) 13 May 1978
Place of birth Bogotá, Colombia
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1995–1998 Independiente Santa Fe
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2002 Independiente Santa Fe 95 (6)
2002–2003 América de Cali 21 (2)
2003–2004 Independiente Santa Fe 21 (2)
2005–2006 Millonarios Fútbol Club 24 (0)
2006 Deportivo Azogues 4 (1)
2009 Atlético Bucaramanga 0 (0)
Total 165 (11)
National team
1999–2003 Colombia 11 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

López spent his youth career at Independiente Santa Fe of Bogotá, making his professional debut for them in 1998. During his time there, he was named Bogotá Sportsman of the Year several times, and selected for the national team. In 2002, he moved to América de Cali, but he returned to Santa Fe the next year. In 2005, he started playing for Millonarios Fútbol Club. Toward the end of the season, he was injured badly enough that he could not play in the next season.

Later in the 2006 season, López signed with the second-division Ecuadorean club Deportivo Azogues to try to revive his career, but after only four games he had to withdraw due to another injury. Three years later in 2009, he tried to return to his professional career at Atlético Bucaramanga,[1] but never played a game for the team.

International career

As an international player, he made 11 caps for Colombia. He made his international debut in 1999, and was part of the squad that came second in the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup. A free kick he took in the final of the Copa América in 2001 was converted into a goal by Iván Córdoba, giving Colombia its first title in the cup.[2]

References
  1. "Iván López se prueba con el Atlético Bucaramanga". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 25 August 2009.
  2. "Colombia win Copa America". The Guardian. 29 July 2001.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.