Delgado turning from tin into gold for Ecuador

Ecuadorian forward Agustin Delgado (R) vies with Costa Rican defender Michael Umana during the 2006 World Cup Group A football match Ecuador vs. Costa Rica, in Hamburg, Germany. Ecuador won 3 to 0.

From the Andes via an unglamorous southern English port to headline-maker at the World Cup might be one of the more circuitous routes to stardom in the tournament's recent history.

But it will do very nicely for Ecuador's Agustin Delgado, otherwise known as 'Tin'.

A place in the second phase of a World Cup looked a distant pipedream for the veteran from El Juncal who, after travels taking him from his homeland to Mexico via an injury-ridden spell in the English Premiership with Southampton and back again, is now turning out in the unheralded Liga de Quito.

Here, however, brilliant finishing against Poland and Costa Rica have helped Luis Suarez's men into the last 16 ahead of time with a match against Germany to come.

Fans had better make the most of their man as "El Tin" said afterwards that "I will retire from the national side after the World Cup. We have a number of youngsters coming along and the national team makes a lot of demands on you."

A draw against the hosts would see the Latin American minnows, previously dubbed as only a threat at high altitude, win Group A - not bad for a side who crashed out in the opening phase four years ago, their only previous visit to the finals.

"I think we can win that game and win the group," Delgado said of Tuesday's encounter in Berlin, knowing that would condemn the Germans to runners-up spot and a potentially trickier last 16 rival.

"It is going to be a really great game against Germany because we have both already qualified," added the 31-year-old for whom the cliche 'has had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus' could have been invented, at least in a Latin American context.

His goals here in two stirring wins have had them dancing in the streets back home, and the celebrations have reverberated as far as Spain, where in recent years hundreds of thousands of his compatriots have been making their new livelihoods to help out struggling families back home.

Born in Imbabura province two days before Christmas in 1974, Agustin Javier Delgado Chala cut his footballing teeth with Barcelona SC Guayaquil, for whom he was active between 1992 and 1996.

During that time he made an inauspicious international debut in a 2-0 loss to neighbours Peru, but he stuck at his task and was on target in the 2002 finals in a loss to Mexico in Japan which ultimately meant an early flight home.

That won't happen this time with Suarez's side yet to concede a goal and mimicking Brazil with flowing moves and incisive passing when it comes to going forward.

Five goals in 11 qualifiers from Delgado helped the side come third in the Latin American qualifiers behind the Brazilians and Argentina.

By the start of that campaign, Delgado, who has a rebellious streak, had swanned in and out of Independiente Medellin (1996-97), El Nacional Quito (1997) and Barcelona SC Guayaquil (1997-1999), where he would return in 2005 after further moves to Cruz Azul and Necaxa in Mexico, as well as Southampton.

At the Dell between 2001 and 2004 he found his time blighted by knee and back problems and after barely a dozen games he eventually returned home, first to Aucas, then Pumas in Mexico and then Barcelona - not to be confused with the Spanish, or rather Catalan, version.

Earlier this year he joined Liga de Quito seeking to add to Ecuadorean title wins in 1996 and 1997 and Mexican equivalents in 2001 and 2004.

Now he goes up against the Germans, who after his performances over the past week will be only too aware of his towering aerial threat.