Abel Aguilar

Abel Aguilar

Personal information
Full name	Abel Enrique Aguilar Tapias
Date of birth	6 January 1985 (1985-01-06)
Place of birth	Bogotá, Colombia
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Hércules
Number	14
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2005	Deportivo Cali	51	(3)
2005–2010	Udinese	2	(0)
2005	→ Ascoli (loan)	0	(0)
2007–2008	→ Xerez (loan)	48	(3)
2008–2009	→ Hércules (loan)	34	(9)
2009–2010	→ Zaragoza (loan)	27	(4)
2010–	Hércules	40	(1)
National team‡
2004–	Colombia	26	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 October 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 July 2011

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Aguilar and the second or maternal family name is Tapias.

Abel Enrique Aguilar Tapias (born 6 January 1985 in Bogotá) is a Colombian footballer who plays for Hércules CF in Spain, as a midfielder.

Club career

Italy

Serie A side Udinese Calcio bought Aguilar's rights in the summer of 2005, from local Deportivo Cali, and loaned him immediately to fellow league team Ascoli Calcio 1898 to borrow the non-EU registration quota. However, after some problems in the arrival of the transfer, the player missed pre-season training with Ascoli, only joining them a month into the season.

Aguilar returned to Udinese in January 2006, after having never played for Ascoli, but received few playing opportunities in the following months (one league match, and the UEFA Cup 0–1 defeat at RC Lens, all incomplete).

Spain

For the following three years, Aguilar was also loaned, always in the Spanish second division. He started out in January 2007 at Xerez CD, and continued at the club until the end of 2007–08, where he was first-choice.

In 2008–09, he represented Hércules CF, being a permanent fixture as the Alicante side fell three points short of a return to La Liga. On 24 July 2009, he was again loaned, now to Real Zaragoza, which in turn promoted to the topflight.

Aguilar was definitely released by Udinese in July 2010, immediately signing a four-year contract with former club Hércules, returned to the top division after an absence of 13 years.

International career

Aguilar was the captain of the Colombian national team at U17 and U20 levels. He rose to stardom as leader of the U20 side that finished third at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.

He was then promoted to the senior side for the 2004 Copa América held in Peru. There, he scored two goals, helping his country to the semifinals.

Subsequently, Aguilar again moved to the U20 (again as captain), helping them to a first-place finish at the 2005 South American Youth Cup, with the consequent qualification for the World Championship of the category, in Holland. After helping Colombia to three group stage wins, he could not prevent a round of 16 ousting at the ends of Argentina (1–2).

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 July 2004	Estadio Mansiche, Trujillo, Peru	Peru	1–2	2–2	2004 Copa América
2	17 July 2004	Mansiche Stadium, Trujillo, Peru	Costa Rica	0–1	0–2	2004 Copa América
3	12 July 2005	Orange Bowl, Miami, USA	Trinidad and Tobago	1–2	1–2	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
4	17 July 2005	Reliant Stadium, Houston, USA	Mexico	1–2	1–2	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
5	5 June 2011	Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín, Colombia	Senegal	1–0	2–0	Friendly

External links

• Hércules official profile (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• Abel Aguilar at National-Football-Teams.com
• Abel Aguilar – FIFA competition record
• Transfermarkt profile