Juan Bautista Esquivel

Juan Bautista Esquivel
Personal information
Full name Juan Bautista Esquivel Lobo
Date of birth (1980-08-12) 12 August 1980
Place of birth San Ramón, Costa Rica
Playing position Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2005 Saprissa
National team‡
2002–2003 Costa Rica 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 June 2014

Juan Bautista Esquivel Lobo (born 12 August 1980) is a retired Costa Rican professional footballer who played his entire career for Saprissa.[1]

Club career

Born in San Ramón, Esquivel made his professional debut for Saprissa against Limonense.[2] With Saprissa, Esquivel won three national championships, as well as a UNCAF Cup title and a CONCACAF Champions Cup title.

He participated in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup with his team, who ended up in third place, behind São Paulo and Liverpool[3] After his sudden retirement, he was offered a coaching job at Saprissa´s minor league system.

Forced retirement

Better known as Juanbau, he used to play as a left winger, before a heart condition cut his promising career short in 2005.[4] He was forced to leave professional football at the short age of 25, despite being considered as a future star for his team and the Costa Rica national football team. His father Santiago had died from the same heart disease.[5]

In June 2009, Bautista Esquivel was named assistant to manager Luis Torres at second division side Barrio México.[6]

International career

Esquivel played at the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Egypt,[3] and the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship held in Nigeria.[3]

Esquivel then made four appearances for the senior Costa Rica national football team, his debut coming in a friendly against Morocco on March 27, 2002.[7] His final international was a November 2003 friendly match against Finland.

References

  1. ↑ Debe retirarse del futbol Mal cardíaco faulea a Juan Bautista - Nación (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ El corazón detiene a Esquivel - Al Día (in Spanish)
  3. 1 2 3 Juan Esquivel – FIFA competition record (archive)
  4. ↑ "Esquivel, va por ti". Al Día. 2006-01-28.
  5. ↑ Saprissista Juan Bautista Esquivel podría retirarse del futbol por mal cardiaco - Nación (in Spanish)
  6. ↑ Barrio México cambia de técnico - Nación (in Spanish)
  7. ↑ "Costa Rica - Details International Matches 1993-2003". RSSSF. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
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