Cleveland Force Signs Former MISL All-Star Eduardo Hurtado

Former Major League Soccer All-Star

“El Tanque” To Make His MISL Debut

CLEVELAND, OHIO – Cleveland Force President and General Manager Paul Garofolo announced Wednesday that the team has agreed to terms with forward Eduardo “El Tanque” Hurtado (Ed-War-Doe Her-Tot-Doe) to a one-year plus and option year contract. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Eduardo has had an international and domestic career as an offensive soccer juggernaut. If he can duplicate his scoring prowess in the MISL, we may have one of the most exciting and physical players to join the league in many years,” said Garofolo.

Hurtado, a 35-year old native of Ecuador, received the nickname El Tanque or The Tank because of his physical presence on and off the field. He will be among the largest forwards in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) perhaps second only to former Cleveland player and current Philadelphia KiXX forward Shawn Boney.

Hurtado had a five-year standout career in Major League Soccer (MLS) playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Metrostars and New England Revolution. In his five years in MLS, he appeared in 108 games with 102 starts and seeing action in 9,150 of a possible 9,720 minutes of action. He scored 47 goals and added 28 assists for a total of 122 points, which ranks him fourth on the all-time scoring list. Hurtado had his best year in MLS during the 1996 season as he tallied 21 goals in 26 games and was named to the inaugural MLS West All-Star team that year.

Hurtado was also involved in MLS Cup playoff action in each of his first three season scoring eight goals in nine games. He is tied for the fastest goal scored in MLS Cup history a mark he held alone for seven years until Ronnie Ekelund tied his mark in the 2003 MLS Cup. Hurtado scored a goal in the fifth minute of the inaugural MLS Cup championship match in 1996.

Since MLS, Hurtado has had tours of duty with Argentina clubs LDU and Argentinos Juniors, as well as Scottish club Hibernian. Most recently, he returned to Ecuador to play with El Nacional and also played in Chile with U. de Concepción.

In addition to his playing career, Hurtado is very active in his native country with youth soccer. He opened the first Logosport Training Center in Guyaquil, Ecuador. The Logosport football school houses 114 Ecuadorian children and hopes to attract some of the better athletes in Ecuador.