José Milton Melgar

José Milton Melgar Soruco (born September 20, 1959) is a retired Bolivian football midfielder. 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.[1]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Melgar and the second or maternal family name is Soruco.
Milton Melgar
Personal information
Full name José Milton Melgar Soruco
Date of birth (1959-09-20) September 20, 1959
Place of birth Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1985 Blooming 189 (46)
1985–1988 Boca Juniors 92 (3)
1988–1989 River Plate 23 (0)
1989–1990 Bolívar 22 (3)
1990 Oriente Petrolero 40 (5)
1991 Blooming 21 (1)
1992 Everton (VdM) 31 (2)
1993 The Strongest 25 (0)
1994–1995 Cobreloa 21 (2)
1995 Bolívar 20 (0)
1996 Real Santa Cruz 22 (2)
1997 Blooming 20 (1)
Total 526 (65)
International career
1980–1997 Bolivia 89 (6)
Managerial career
2000 Oriente Petrolero
2000 Blooming
2002–2003 Bolivia U-20
2003 Oriente Petrolero
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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.[2] 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,[3] and his club at that time was The Strongest.

Managerial career

Following his retirement, Melgar pursued 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.

Club titles
Season Club Title
1984BloomingLiga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano
1990Oriente PetroleroLiga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano
1993The StrongestLiga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano

References
  1. Escuela de Fútbol Milton Melgar Archived 2010-01-12 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  2. José Milton Melgar - International Appearances - RSSSF
  3. José Milton Melgar – FIFA competition record (archived)
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