Aviles Hurtado

Avilés Hurtado is a Columbian football who currently plays for Liga MX club Monterrey and the Colombian national football team. Born on 20th April 1987, the attacking midfielder is known for his insane dribbling skills. Hurtado was the top scorer in Liga MX in the last season and was also included in Liga MX Best XI.

Early days

Hurtado was a part of the youth system of Athletico FC which is a club based in Cali, playing in Columbia’s second division. Impressive performances at youth tournaments was a reason he was scouted by América de Cali in 2009

Debut

Hurtado made his professional debut in Primera A playing for Athletico FC. He spent most of his first season on the bench, but managed to secured his spot in the team in the second season. Hurtado finished his two year spell at the club with 4 goals coming from his boot in 39 appearances across all competitions.

Rise to glory

Following the two year stint at Athletico FC, Hurtado moved to another Primera A team, Atlético Nacional for a period of two years. Hurtado regularly played in the first team and finished with 7 goals in 45 league matches.

His successful campaign for Athletico FC prompted Liga MX club Pachuca to buy him in 2013. Unable to adapt quickly to new conditions in Mexico, Hurtado did not impress much and ended his underwhelming spell with 1 goal from 31 appearances.

Hurtado was sent on loan to Chiapas halfway through the 2013-14 season impressed right from the beginning. In the 17 matches he played Hurtado netted the ball on 6 occasions. The club the bought him in 2015, where he continued his form, scoring 14 times across all competitions in 47 games.

The next season saw him moving to Tijuana, where he became one of best players in the 2016-17 season, scoring 12 goals in 40 games across all competitions. His tally of 8 goals in Clausura 2017 Tournament was one of the highest and he was included in the tournament's best XI

In 2017, Hurtado was bought by Monterrey for a sum of 9 million dollars, making him the club’s highest ever signing. Scoring 18 goals in 33 matches, Hurtado became Liga MX top scorer in Apertura 2017 while Monterrey won the Copa MX.

After brilliant performances for Monterrey, Hurtado recurved a call up for the national team in 2017 for a friendly match. With World Cup due in 3 months, it will be interesting to see how the Columbian footballing sensation fares.