Despite his lumbering appearance, Delgado has surprisingly good control on the ground and can provide clinicial first-time finishes with either foot. In the air, he is as strong as his build suggests.

Affectionately known as "El Tin", Delgado led Ecuador to their first World Cup finals appearance in 2002 by scoring an impressive nine goals in the qualifiers.

He was snapped up by Southampton, then in the Premier League, in England, even though it was already known that he was suffering from knee and back injuries.

Delgado made only five starts in more than two years for the Saints, frequently returning home for treatment.

In 2004, he finally went back for good to play first for Aucas before joining Barcelona, the country's most popular club, the following year.

At the same time, he won his way back into favour with the national team. Having been left out of Ecuador's first five World Cup qualifiers for 2006, he was brought back and scored in successive games against Colombia and Bolivia.

After that, he was regularly included, injury permitting, and scored both goals in the 2-1 win away to Bolivia which effectively clinched Ecuador's place in Germany.

In between, off-field problems continued. He turned up late for the Copa America in Peru after being initially prevented from leaving Ecuador in a dispute over maintenance payments to his former wife.

Last year, he was sacked by Barcelona after being accused by club directors of lack of effort, finally moving to LDU after a complicated contractual dispute.

Now 31 and tired of battling against injuries, he has already said that he will call it a day after Germany.

Updated on Monday, May 22, 2006 10:02