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Luis Tejada
PAN-TUN (28) (cropped).jpg
Tejada with Panama at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-03-28)28 March 1982
Place of birth Panama City, Panama
Date of death 28 January 2024(2024-01-28) (aged 41)
Place of death San Miguelito, Panama
Height 1.83 m
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001 Tauro 26 (9)
2002 Plaza Amador 27 (14)
2003 Deportes Tolima 2 (0)
2004 Envigado 22 (8)
2005 Al Ain 15 (4)
2005–2006 Plaza Amador 30 (19)
2006 Once Caldas 3 (0)
2007 Real Salt Lake 1 (0)
2007 Tauro 4 (4)
2007–2008 América Cali 30 (16)
2008–2009 Millonarios 25 (1)
2009 Tauro 30 (4)
2010–2012 Juan Aurich 96 (48)
2012–2013 Toluca 30 (7)
2013 Veracruz (loan) 12 (2)
2014 Universidad César Vallejo 26 (11)
2015–2016 Juan Aurich 58 (39)
2017 Universitario 37 (18)
2018 Sport Boys 30 (16)
2019 Pirata 25 (6)
2020 CD Universitario 6 (1)
2020 Plaza Amador 8 (2)
2021 Herrera 31 (10)
2022 San Francisco 6 (1)
2022 Deportivo del Este 9 (1)
National team
2001–2018 Panama 108 (43)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Luis Carlos "Matador" Tejada Hansell (28 March 1982 – 28 January 2024) was a Panamanian professional footballer who played as a striker.

Club career

Early career

Tejada's debut in professional soccer was with Tauro in the local league, where he managed to make a good impression and quickly moved to Colombia to play with Colombian side Deportes Tolima. Later on he was transferred to first division team Envigado in 2004, and after a splendid participation in the Gold Cup, he set off to the United Arab Emirates.

In 2005, he signed a three-year contract to send him to Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates. However, he did not yield the same results he obtained in the Gold Cup, reason why shortly after finished the AFC Champions League, and he returned to Panama.

Returning to Panama, he participated in the Clausura Championship with Plaza Amador, one of the best teams in the local league, but he only participated in a few matches. His conditioning was not optimal, and he acquired the nickname of "Gordito (fatty)". Growing into better form, he moved on to Colombia, where he played a short spell with ex Copa Libertadores champions Once Caldas, from which he was fired for disciplinary problems. He then returned to Panama to play for Plaza Amador.

Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer announced the signing of Tejada on 12 December 2006, for the 2007 season. He played only two minutes in five games, however, before he was released by head coach Jason Kreis in early June. He returned to Panamanian side Tauro for a very brief stint, scoring four goals in four matches.

America de Cali

In August 2007, Tejada was signed by Colombian club América de Cali. Tejada scored only three goals in the 2007 Torneo Finalizacion; however, he became a key player for América in the next tournament, the 2008 Torneo Apertura, where he scored 12 goals in 19 matches, becoming América de Cali's top-scorer and second overall in the tournament. Tejada's goals helped America reached the finals, with Tejada scoring a goal in the second leg to send the match into penalties, where America lost to Boyacá Chicó on penalties. He was nicknamed by the Colombian press as America's golden tooth (el diente de oro del America) because of his golden tooth. After the tournament, there was much interest for Tejada across big teams from South America and Europe, including Argentine club River Plate; however, nothing was finalized.

Millonarios

Shortly after the 2008 Apertura concluded, Tejada was sold to another club in Colombia, Millonarios, on a three-year contract. He made his debut on 16 August 2008 in the Embajadores victory over Deportes Quindío. However, Tejada was unable to replicate his form at America with his new club, and he was released shortly after Millonarios failed to quality for the 2009 Apertura playoffs, having scored just once in 25 appearances.

Juan Aurich

Tejada returned to Tauro in summer 2009, and afterwards moved to Peru to play for champions Juan Aurich in early 2010. In Tejada's first season at the club, the 2010 Torneo Descentralizado, he scored 16 league goals and helped his club secure a Copa Sudamericana spot. In the 2010 Copa Libertadores, Tejada scored six goals, placing fourth in the top scoring chart, including a brace against Tecos on 28 January 2010.

In the following season Tejada finished as topscorer of the league, with 17 goals, as he helped his club win the league title for the first time in history and achieve direct qualification for the 2012 Copa Libertadores. He left Juan Aurich with an impressive 48 goals in 96 games, which attracted interest from teams in stronger leagues such as Mexico and Brazil.

Toluca

Tejada finally moved to Mexican side Deportivo Toluca in late 2012 as a replacement for the Uruguyan striker Iván Alonso. His spell at Toluca began promising after a late arrival, scoring four goals in five matches; however, his performance and consistency dropped for the liguilla, the Clausura 2013 and in the disappointing performance of Toluca at Copa Libertadores.

Later career

In summer 2013 he joined Veracruz on loan. For the 2014 season he joined another Peruvian club, Universidad César Vallejo. He scored 11 league goals and participated in the 2014 Copa Sudamericana with the club, but failed to score in any of the Sudamericana games.

In January 2015, Tejada returned to Peru where he played with Juan Aurich for two years and had an excellent spell, scoring 39 goals in 58 appearances.

International career

Tejada made his debut for Panama in a June 2001 friendly against Trinidad and Tobago and, until his international retirement in 2018, earned a total of 108 caps, scoring 43 goals. This made him Panama's all-time record goalscorer, just ahead of Blas Pérez. Tejada represented his country in 34 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, and in March 2005, he scored a goal from an overhead kick against Mexico in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match to draw Panama level with the CONCACAF giants. This goal was voted the best goal of the year by Fox Sports.

Tejada led Panama to the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, where they finished as runners-up to the United States. He scored three goals to end up as joint top scorer, but unfortunately, he missed his penalty kick in the penalty shoot-out against the United States in the final. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament for his efforts. Tejada is currently the all-time leading scorer in Panama history.

Tejada was ejected from the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup semi final against Mexico after receiving a red card.

In May 2018, he was named in Panama's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Death

Tejada died on 28 January 2024 of a suspected heart attack after a pick-up game in his hometown of San Miguelito. He was 41 years old.

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tejada goal.
List of international goals scored by Luis Tejada
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 27 June 2003 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Cuba 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2 29 June 2003 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Cuba 1–0 1–0 Friendly
3 28 April 2004 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Bermuda 3–0 4–1 Friendly
4 13 June 2004 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Saint Lucia 2–0 4–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 20 June 2004 Vieux Fort Stadium, Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia  Saint Lucia 1–0 3–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 30 March 2005 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Mexico 1–1 1–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 5 July 2005 Orange Bowl, Miami, United States  Colombia 1–0 1–0 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
8 9 July 2005 Orange Bowl, Miami, United States  Trinidad and Tobago 1–1 2–2 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
9 2–2
10 3 September 2005 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Costa Rica 1–3 1–3 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 7 October 2006 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  El Salvador 1–0 1–0 Friendly
12 19 November 2006 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Peru 1–0 1–2 Friendly
13 14 January 2007 Weingart Stadium, Monterey Park, United States  Armenia 1–0 1–1 Friendly
14 18 February 2007 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador  Costa Rica 1–0 1–1 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup
15 4 June 2008 Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States  Canada 1–1 2–2 Friendly
16 15 June 2008 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  El Salvador 1–0 1–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
17 31 March 2009 Estadio Agustín Sánchez, La Chorrera, Panama  Haiti 1–0 4–0 Friendly
18 7 June 2009 National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica  Jamaica 2–2 2–3 Friendly
19 12 July 2009 University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, United States  Nicaragua 3–0 4–0 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
20 4–0
21 11 August 2010 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Venezuela 2–1 3–1 Friendly
22 3 September 2010 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Costa Rica 1–1 2–2 Friendly
23 2–1
24 7 September 2010 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Trinidad and Tobago 2–0 3–0 Friendly
25 17 November 2010 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Honduras 1–0 2–0 Friendly
26 7 June 2011 Ford Field, Detroit, United States  Guadeloupe 2–0 3–2 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
27 14 June 2011 Livestrong Sporting Park, Kansas City, United States  Canada 1–1 1–1 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
28 19 June 2011 RFK Stadium, Washington, United States  El Salvador 1–1 1–1 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
29 10 August 2011 Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia  Bolivia 1–1 3–1 Friendly
30 2–1
31 6 September 2011 Estadio Nacional de Fútbol, Managua, Nicaragua  Nicaragua 1–0 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
32 7 October 2011 Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica  Dominica 2–0 5–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
33 11 October 2011 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Nicaragua 1–0 5–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
34 4–0
35 26 March 2013 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Honduras 1–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
36 11 October 2013 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Mexico 1–1 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
37 15 October 2013 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  United States 2–1 2–3 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
38 31 March 2015 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Costa Rica 2–0 2–1 Friendly
39 10 July 2015 Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States  Honduras 1–0 1–1 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
40 19 July 2015 MetLife Stadium, New York City, United States  Trinidad and Tobago 1–0 1–1 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
41 17 November 2015 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Costa Rica 1–2 1–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
42 8 January 2016 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Cuba 2–0 4–0 Copa América Centenario qualification
43 6 September 2016 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  Costa Rica 1–3 1–3 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Juan Aurich

  • Peruvian First Division: 2011

Individual

  • CONCACAF Gold Cup MVP: 2005
  • CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2005
  • CONCACAF Gold Cup Top Goalscorer: 2005

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Luis Tejada (futbolista) para niños

  • List of top international men's football goalscorers by country
  • List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
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