Luis Tejada facts for kids

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Luis Tejada

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 Tejada Hansell (born March 28, 1982 – died January 28, 2024) was a famous football player from Panama. People often called him "Matador" because of his amazing goal-scoring skills. He played as a striker, which means he was usually the player who scored goals for his team.

Luis Tejada's Club Career

Starting His Football Journey

Luis Tejada began his professional football career with Tauro in Panama. He played well and soon moved to Colombia to join Deportes Tolima. In 2004, he played for Envigado. After showing off his talent in a big tournament called the Gold Cup, he went to play in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2005, he signed a three-year contract with Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. However, things didn't go as planned there. After a short time, he returned to Panama.

Back in Panama, he played for Plaza Amador. He worked hard to get back into top shape. Later, he moved to Colombia again for a short time with Once Caldas. He then returned to play for Plaza Amador once more. In 2006, he signed with Real Salt Lake in the United States, but his time there was very brief. He soon went back to Tauro in Panama, where he scored four goals in just four games!

Playing for América de Cali

In August 2007, Luis Tejada joined the Colombian club América de Cali. He became a very important player for them, especially in the 2008 tournament. He scored 12 goals in 19 matches, making him the top scorer for his team. His goals helped América de Cali reach the finals. The Colombian news even nicknamed him "America's golden tooth" because of his golden tooth. Many big teams from South America and Europe became interested in him after this success.

Time with Millonarios

After his great performance, Tejada moved to another Colombian club, Millonarios, in 2008. He signed a three-year contract. However, he couldn't score as many goals as he did at América de Cali. He left the club after scoring only one goal in 25 games.

Success with Juan Aurich

In 2009, Tejada returned to Tauro. Then, in early 2010, he moved to Peru to play for the champions, Juan Aurich. In his first season, he scored 16 league goals and helped his team qualify for the Copa Sudamericana. He also scored six goals in the 2010 Copa Libertadores tournament.

In the 2011 season, Tejada was the top scorer in the league with 17 goals. He helped Juan Aurich win their first-ever league title! He left Juan Aurich having scored an impressive 48 goals in 96 games. This made teams from bigger leagues in Mexico and Brazil want him.

Playing in Mexico and Later Years

In late 2012, Tejada moved to the Mexican team Toluca. He started well, scoring four goals in five matches. In 2013, he joined Veracruz on loan. For the 2014 season, he played for another Peruvian club, Universidad César Vallejo. He scored 11 league goals for them.

In January 2015, Tejada returned to Peru and played for Juan Aurich again for two years. He had another excellent time there, scoring 39 goals in 58 games. He continued to play for different clubs in Peru and Panama until 2022.

Luis Tejada's International Career

Luis Tejada was a very important player for the Panama national football team. He played his first international game in June 2001. By the time he retired from international football in 2018, he had played 108 games and scored 43 goals. This made him Panama's all-time top goalscorer!

He played in 34 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. In March 2005, he scored an amazing goal with an overhead kick against Mexico in a World Cup qualifying match. This goal was so good that Fox Sports voted it the best goal of the year!

Tejada led Panama to the final of the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They finished as runners-up to the United States. He scored three goals in that tournament, making him one of the top scorers. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament for his great efforts.

In May 2018, he was chosen to be part of Panama's team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. This was a huge moment for him and his country.

Death

Luis Tejada passed away on January 28, 2024, at the age of 41. He had a suspected heart attack while playing a pick-up game in his hometown of San Miguelito, Panama.

Career Statistics

International Goals

Luis Tejada scored many goals for his country. Here is a list of his international goals for Panama:

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

Awards and Achievements

Luis Tejada won several awards and honors during his football career:

Juan Aurich

• Peruvian First Division: 2011 (Won the league title)

Individual Awards

• CONCACAF Gold Cup MVP: 2005 (Most Valuable Player)
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2005 (Named one of the best 11 players)
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Top Goalscorer: 2005 (Scored the most goals)

See also

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