Christian Benítez

Benitez was born in Quito, the son of former Ecuador international footballer Ermen Benítez, and of Rita Betancourt. In 2007, he married Liseth, daughter of Cléber Chalá, also an Ecuador international; she gave birth to twins in August 2009.

He played under the nickname Chucho, a name "used in the Spanish-speaking Americas when referring affectionately to a small, pesky dog".

El Nacional

Due to a series of strong performances for El Nacional, Benítez was scouted by clubs such as Villarreal CF of Spain, though El Nacional denied any knowledge of the rumoured interest.

By scoring 29 goals in 83 league matches for El Nacional, Benítez won both the 2005 Clausura and 2006 League Championships.

Santos Laguna

In July 2007, he moved to Santos Laguna of the Mexican Primera División. With his arrival and that of Vicente Matías Vuoso, Santos had an impressive season with wins over several top Mexican clubs. In 2007, Benítez received an award as the best Ecuadorian footballer playing outside Ecuador, succeeding PSV Eindhoven's Édison Méndez.

Despite interest from Portuguese club Benfica, Benítez decided to remain in Mexico. His 10 goals made a major contribution to Santos winning the Clausura 2008 title, and his personal reward was selection as best player of the season.

Birmingham City

Benítez playing against Stoke City.

On June 3, 2009, Birmingham City announced the signing of Benítez on a three-year contract for an undisclosed club record transfer fee, which press reports speculated to be in the region of £6 million rising to £9m. The move was subject to the striker receiving a work permit and passing a medical. The medical revealed unforeseen knee problems, which prompted the deal to be renegotiated on a "protected purchase" basis. The club would pay an initial $2m (£1.2m) with an option to abort the deal on medical grounds after the first year; thereafter the fee could potentially rise, depending on appearances and success, to a club record $12.5m (£7.7m). The player eventually signed on July 7. The club later clarified that he was in fact on loan. While recovering from shoulder surgery and awaiting his visa, Benítez played in an all-star match in Ecuador without asking the club's permission.

2009–10 season

He made his Birmingham debut as a second-half substitute in Birmingham's opening match of the season, a 1–0 defeat at Manchester United, and came close to equalising, drawing a "wonderful one-handed diving save" from Ben Foster. His first Premier League start came against Hull City on September 19; he played a key role in a 1–0 win and "could have had a hat-trick but for the supreme goalkeeping of Boaz Myhill". Benítez scored his first goal for the Blues on November 9 away to Liverpool, with a close-range header after Scott Dann had nodded the ball on, in a game which finished 2–2. He scored the first of what manager Alex McLeish described as "two classy goals" as Birmingham knocked Everton out of the FA Cup at Goodison Park. However, after his season produced only four goals and Birmingham's attempt to renegotiate the agreed transfer fee was unsuccessful, the club chose not to take up their option to purchase, and the player returned to Santos Laguna.

Return to Santos Laguna 2010

On July 21, 2010, Benítez signed a new three-year deal with Santos Laguna, in the first tournament after his return he was the top goalscorer with 16 goals. Leading the scoring table, Chucho led Santos to the 2010 Apertura Finals, losing to Club de Futbol Monterrey.

Club América

2011–12 season

Benítez playing against Tijuana

Benitez signed to play for América on May 22, 2011. The transfer fee was reported to be of US$10 million, which established a record for a club in Mexico. He scored a goal in his debut on July 24, in the 2–1 win against Querétaro. On August 21, 2011 Benítez made his first hat trick with América against Club Atlas in a 5–2 win. In his first Súper Clásico, Benítez scored a header in a 3–1 loss to Chivas.

Benítez scored the opening goal for Club América's Clausura 2012 season in a 2–0 win against Querétaro. Benítez ended the season with 14 goals and ended up being the league's top scorer along with Iván Alonso.

2012–13 season

Benítez played his first game of the 2012–13 season on July 21 against Monterrey, in a 0–0 away draw. On July 28, he scored his first goals of the season in a 4–2 victory over Chiapas. On November 11, Benitez became joint top goal-scorer of the 2012 Apertura alongside Atlante's Esteban Paredes. On November 14, Benítez scored a two goals in a 2–0 away play-off quarter-final match against Morelia.

Benítez scored his first three goals of the 2013 Clausura season in a 2–0 away win against Jaguares de Chiapas. On March 2, Benítez scored a hat trick, 2 headers and a left-footed strike against Cruz Azul in a 3–0 win. On April 27 after losing 2–0 in an away match against Pachuca, Benitez scored a hat-trick to lead América to a 4–2 win. Benitez ended up being the Clausura 2013 Liga MX top scorer for the third consecutive season. On May 26, Benitez became Liga MX 2013 Clausura champions after defeating Cruz Azul 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out, where he converted the second penalty.

El Jaish Sports Club

He officially left the club on July 6, 2013, and signed a contract with Qatari club El Jaish. He made his debut in a match against Qatar SC in the Sheikh Jassim Cup on 28 July "without complaining of any health problems", according to El Jaish officials. This was the only match he played for the club. A day later, he died from cardiac arrest at age 27.

Benitez playing for Ecuador in 2009.

Benítez was a member of the Ecuador national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Although considered by many as a surprise selection by coach Luis Fernando Suárez, he had impressed with his speed, elusiveness and skill in pre-World Cup showings against the Netherlands and Japan, in addition to his 2006 Copa Libertadores experience. He was a candidate for the Gillette Best Young Player Award, a new award made at the end of the FIFA World Cup to the best young player born on or after January 1, 1985. His only appearance was in the 3–0 loss to Germany, replacing Felix Borja midway through the match.

His first international goal came in September 2006 against Peru. Then, in April 2007, he scored another goal against Peru in Ecuador's 2–0 win in a friendly match held in the Mini Estadi in Barcelona, Spain. He also scored in a 1–1 draw with the Republic of Ireland, also in a friendly, played in New Jersey on May 23, 2006. This added to the belief that he could excel in Europe.

Benítez started all three games during the 2007 Copa América, scoring against Chile as Ecuador were eliminated in the first stage, losing all three matches. In an international friendly against El Salvador on September 8, 2007, Benítez scored twice in an emphatic 5–1 home win in Quito.

In a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Bolivia, he scored his country's third goal in a 3–1 win. A month later, he scored the only goal against Chile.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Final	Competition
1	September 6, 2006	East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States	Peru	1–0	1–1	International friendly
2	May 23, 2007	East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States	Republic of Ireland	1–0	1–1	International friendly
3	June 6, 2007	Barcelona, Spain	Peru	1–0	2–0	International friendly
4	June 26, 2007	Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela	Chile	1–2	2–3	2007 Copa América
5	September 8, 2007	Quito, Ecuador	El Salvador	2–0	5–1	International friendly
6	September 8, 2007	Quito, Ecuador	El Salvador	4–1	5–1	International friendly
7	August 20, 2008	East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States	Colombia	1–0	1–0	International friendly
8	September 6, 2008	Quito, Ecuador	Bolivia	3–1	3–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	October 12, 2008	Quito, Ecuador	Chile	1–0	1–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	September 9, 2009	La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	1–3	1–3	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	September 4, 2010	Zapopan, Mexico	Mexico	0–1	1–2	International friendly
12	October 12, 2010	Montreal, Canada	Poland	1–0	2–2	International friendly
13	October 12, 2010	Montreal, Canada	Poland	2–2	2–2	International friendly
14	November 17, 2010	Quito, Ecuador	Venezuela	1–0	4–1	International friendly
15	November 17, 2010	Quito, Ecuador	Venezuela	2–0	4–1	International friendly
16	June 1, 2011	Toronto, Canada	Canada	1–1	2–2	International friendly
17	September 2, 2011	Quito, Ecuador	Jamaica	3–0	5–2	International friendly
18	September 2, 2011	Quito, Ecuador	Jamaica	4–0	5–2	International friendly
19	September 6, 2011	Quito, Ecuador	Costa Rica	4–0	4–0	International friendly
20	October 7, 2011	Quito, Ecuador	Venezuela	2–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
21	November 15, 2011	Quito, Ecuador	Peru	2–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
22	June 10, 2012	Quito, Ecuador	Colombia	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
23	March 21, 2013	Quito, Ecuador	El Salvador	2–0	5–0	International friendly
24	March 26, 2013	Quito, Ecuador	Paraguay	3–1	4–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

On July 29, 2013, Benítez entered a hospital in Doha, Qatar, because of a strong pain in his abdomen. According to Miguel Herrera and other team mates in an interview with Mexican morning show Matutino Express, he did not receive immediate medical attention and a few hours later, Benítez went into respiratory failure. He died from complications leading to cardiac arrest at the age of 27.

Tens of thousands of people filed past the body, which lay in a glass-topped casket in the Coliseo General Rumiñahui in Quito, before the public funeral ceremony, which was attended by sporting and political figures including the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. The cortege received a police motorcycle escort through crowded streets to a private interment.

Following his death, the Ecuadorian Football Federation announced that it would retire his number 11 jersey from the national team. His international teammate Antonio Valencia had Benítez's number tattooed onto his upper arm in tribute after his death.

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, due to FIFA regulations, Ecuador had to reinstate number 11 for the squad.

Club

El Nacional

• Serie A (2): 2005 Clausura, 2006

Santos Laguna

• Mexican Primera División: 2008 Clausura

Club América

• Liga MX: 2013 Clausura

Individual

• Serie A Best Player: 2006 Serie A
• Liga MX Best Player: 2008 Clausura, 2012 Apertura
• Liga MX Golden Boot (4): 2010 Apertura, 2012 Clausura, 2012 Apertura, 2013 Clausura