Óscar Duarte (footballer, born 1989)

Óscar Esaú Duarte Gaitán (born 3 June 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Wehda. Born in Nicaragua, he represents the Costa Rica national team.

Formed at Deportivo Saprissa in Costa Rica, he moved to Europe in 2013 to play for Club Brugge in Belgium. He spent seven years in Spain's La Liga with Espanyol and Levante, making 111 appearances and scoring four goals.

Duarte made his international debut for Costa Rica in 2010. He represented the nation at three FIFA World Cups, three CONCACAF Gold Cups and two editions of the Copa América.

Early career
Duarte was born in Catarina, Masaya, Nicaragua. After making 52 appearances in five years at Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa, Duarte joined Club Brugge in the Belgian Pro League in 2013.

Espanyol
On 26 January 2016, Duarte agreed a permanent transfer to RCD Espanyol in Spain. The three-year deal cost the club €1.15 million and included a buyout clause of €15 million. He made his debut five days later, coming on at half time and scoring an own goal in a 6–0 loss at Real Madrid. In his next game on 14 February, he scored his only goal in 57 games for the club from Barcelona, opening a 2–1 loss at Valencia CF.

Levante
Duarte moved to fellow La Liga team Levante UD on 1 August 2019, on a two-year deal, though the signing was not registered for three more weeks due to UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations. His first season in the city of Valencia was marred by serious injuries; on 21 January 2020 he scored his first goal to equalise in a 3–1 loss at Sevilla FC in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey. He missed only three league games in 2020–21, scoring in two minutes to open a 4–3 home win over Real Betis on 29 December.

On 30 April 2021, Duarte added another year to his Levante contract by playing his 26th game of the season, against RC Celta de Vigo. He chose to let his deal expire in May 2022.

Al-Wehda
On 24 June 2022, Duarte joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Wehda.

International career
Duarte made his debut for the Costa Rica national team against Jamaica on 17 November 2010 and played for the team at the 2011 Copa Centroamericana, where they lost to Honduras in the final.

In June 2014, Duarte was named in Costa Rica's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Nicaragua-born player at a World Cup finals.

In the team's opening match, he scored his first goal for Los Ticos in a 3–1 defeat of Uruguay. In their second match, the team beat Italy, a 1–0 win that qualified Costa Rica for the knockout stage. Costa Rica completed the group stage unbeaten, recording a second consecutive clean sheet in a 0–0 draw with England in Belo Horizonte. On 29 June, Duarte was sent off for receiving two yellow cards in Costa Rica's round of 16 match against Greece. The team advanced via a penalty shootout to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, where they lost on penalties to the Netherlands.

In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica’s 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

International



 * Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Duarte goal.

Honours
Saprissa
 * Costa Rican Primera División: Clausura 2008, Apertura 2008

Brugge
 * Belgian Pro League: 2015–16
 * Belgian Cup: 2014–15