Playing position Team Apps Position Midfielder | Years Team Height 1.76 m | |
 | ||
Full name José Milton Melgar Soruco Date of birth (1959-09-20) September 20, 1959 (age 57) Similar Luis Cristaldo, Marco Etcheverry, Juan Manuel Peña, Erwin Sánchez, Ramiro Castillo | ||
José Milton Melgar Soruco (born September 20, 1959 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra) is a retired Bolivian football midfielder.
Contents
In 2006, he was appointed by the Bolivian Government under President Evo Morales as Minister of Sports, but he resigned a year later. He currently runs his own youth football academy in his hometown.
Club
At the club level, Melgar played for Blooming, Bolívar, Oriente Petrolero and Real Santa Cruz in Bolivia, as well as Everton (VdM) and Cobreloa in Chile.
He also played in Argentina for the two giants and fierce rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate.
In addition, during his career, he also had 53 Copa Libertadores appearances with 2 goals scored.
International
Melgar was capped 89 times and scored 6 international goals for Bolivia between 1980 and 1997. His tally of 89 caps was a national record until January 31, 2002, when it was broken by Marco Sandy who obtained his 90th cap in a friendly match against Brazil. Melgar played all three matches at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and his club at that time was The Strongest.
Managerial career
Following his retirement, Melgar pursed a managerial career. In 2000, he made his official debut as manager with Oriente Petrolero. Later in the year he also managed Blooming. In October 2002 he assumed his duties as the U-17 and U-20 national teams, but his stint was unsuccessful.
