Marco Antonio Etcheverry Vargas is a retired Bolivian footballer who played as a forward. A creative playmaker, he is considered one of the greatest Bolivian players of all time. Etcheverry played for D.C. United of Major League Soccer from 1996 to 2003. He helped D.C United win eight trophies during that time, and was nominated to the MLS Best XI in four consecutive seasons from 1996 to 1999.
Club career
Etcheverry, is nicknamed El Diablo. Etcheverry was trained at Bolivia's Tahuichi Academy, after which he played professionally with Bolivian sides, Spain, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Etchverry joined D.C. United of Major League Soccer in its inaugural season of 1996, and led the team to three MLS Cups and was named MLS MVP in 1998. In eight years with the team, Etcheverry played 191 league games, scoring 34 goals and registering 101 assists. He retired at the end of the 2003 season.
DC United honors
In 2005, he was named to the MLS All-Time. On September 23, 2006, Etcheverry was honored at a home game against the New York Red Bulls. During halftime he was put up on the "D.C. United Tradition of Excellence" sign in the stadium. After all of this Etcheverry walked over to the La Barra Brava part of the stadium and did his trademark clap in front of them, he did after every game, win or lose. On October 20, 2007, Etcheverry was honored with a tribute match at RFK Stadium, prior to United's regular-season finale versus Columbus. Etcheverry is the first United player to be so honored. Etcheverry, playing with teammates from the club's 1997 MLS Cup winning side, defeated Hollywood United, 2–1, with Etcheverry drawing and scoring the winning penalty in the final minute.
International career
Etcheverry compiled 71 caps and scored 13 goals for the Bolivian national team between 1989 and 2003. He scored four times during qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, including an 88th minute opening goal in a 2–0 defeat of Brazil in La Paz - the first ever loss by the Seleção in World Cup qualifying, to help Bolivia participate in its first FIFA World Cup since 1950. At the tournament finals, El Diablo was sent off for kicking Lothar Matthäus four minutes after appearing as a substitute in the tournament's opening game against Germany. The subsequent suspension meant that Etcheverry played no further part in Bolivia's tournament, as La Verde finished bottom of Group C with two losses and a draw to South Korea. Etcheverry scored twice in the 1997 Copa América as Bolivia reached the final to achieve its best performance in the competition since winning in 1963. He went on to represent the team in the subsequent FIFA Confederations Cupin 1999. On April 12, 2006, the Bolivian Congress awarded him with the "Order of Merit" and a title of "Distinguished Citizen", for his sport achievements, shortly after his retirement.
