.jpg) Duarte withClub Brugge in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Óscar Esaú Duarte Gaitán[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-06-03)3 June 1989 (age 36) | ||
| Place of birth | Catarina, Nicaragua | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Saprissa | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2008 | Saprissa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2013 | Saprissa | 48 | (2) |
| 2010 | →Puntarenas (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2013–2016 | Club Brugge | 84 | (7) |
| 2016–2019 | Espanyol | 51 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Levante | 60 | (3) |
| 2022–2024 | Al-Wehda | 46 | (4) |
| 2024– | Saprissa | 24 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2023 | Costa Rica | 76 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 March 2023 | |||
Óscar Esaú Duarte Gaitán (born 3 June 1989) is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forSaprissa. Born in Nicaragua, he represents theCosta Rica national team.
Formed atDeportivo Saprissa in Costa Rica, he moved to Europe in 2013 to play forClub Brugge in Belgium. He spent seven years in Spain'sLa Liga withEspanyol andLevante, making 111 appearances and scoring four goals.
Duarte made his international debut for Costa Rica in 2010. He represented the nation at threeFIFA World Cups, threeCONCACAF Gold Cups and two editions of theCopa América.
Duarte was born inCatarina, Masaya,Nicaragua.[2] After making 52 appearances in five years at Costa Rican clubDeportivo Saprissa, Duarte joinedClub Brugge in theBelgian Pro League in 2013.[3]
On 26 January 2016, Duarte agreed a permanent transfer toRCD Espanyol in Spain. The three-year deal cost the club €1.15 million and included abuyout clause of €15 million.[4] He made his debut five days later, coming on at half time and scoring anown goal in a 6–0 loss atReal Madrid.[5] In his next game on 14 February, he scored his only goal in 57 games for the club fromBarcelona, opening a 2–1 loss atValencia CF.[6]
Duarte moved to fellow La Liga teamLevante UD on 1 August 2019, on a two-year deal,[7] though the signing was not registered for three more weeks due toUEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations.[8] His first season in the city ofValencia was marred by serious injuries; on 21 January 2020 he scored his first goal to equalise in a 3–1 loss atSevilla FC in the last 32 of theCopa del Rey.[9] He missed only three league games in2020–21, scoring in two minutes to open a 4–3 home win overReal Betis on 29 December.[10]
On 30 April 2021, Duarte added another year to his Levante contract by playing his 26th game of the season, againstRC Celta de Vigo.[11] He chose to let his deal expire in May 2022.[12]
On 24 June 2022, Duarte joined Saudi Arabian clubAl-Wehda.[13]
He was eligible to play for Nicaragua through his mother's family, and Costa Rica through his father's family.
Duarte made his debut for theCosta Rica national team againstJamaica on 17 November 2010 and played for the team at the2011 Copa Centroamericana, where they lost toHonduras in the final.[3]
In June 2014, Duarte was named in Costa Rica's squad for the2014 FIFA World Cup,[14] becoming the first Nicaragua-born player at aWorld Cup finals.[2]
In the team's opening match, he scored his first goal forLos Ticos in a 3–1 defeat ofUruguay.[15] In their second match, the team beatItaly, a 1–0 win that qualified Costa Rica for theknockout stage.[16] Costa Rica completed the group stage unbeaten, recording a second consecutive clean sheet in a 0–0 draw withEngland inBelo Horizonte.[17] On 29 June, Duarte wassent off for receiving twoyellow cards in Costa Rica'sround of 16 match againstGreece. The team advanced via apenalty shootout to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, where they lost on penalties to the Netherlands.[18]
In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica's 23-man squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[19]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Saprissa | 2010–11 | Primera División | 5 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 27 | 1 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||||
| 2012–13 | 16 | 2 | — | — | — | 16 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 48 | 3 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 51 | 3 | ||||
| Puntarenas (loan) | 2010–11 | Primera División | 15 | 1 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| Club Brugge | 2012–13 | Belgian Pro League | 17 | 3 | — | — | — | 17 | 3 | |||
| 2013–14 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 1 | — | 25 | 1 | |||
| 2014–15 | 31 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 15[b] | 1 | — | 51 | 5 | |||
| 2015–16 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| Total | 84 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 9 | ||
| Espanyol | 2015–16 | La Liga | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 51 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 57 | 1 | ||||
| Levante | 2019–20 | La Liga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 60 | 3 | 9 | 1 | — | — | 69 | 4 | ||||
| Al Wehda | 2022–23 | Saudi Pro League | 27 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | |||
| Total | 45 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 50 | 4 | |||
| Career total | 303 | 19 | 26 | 1 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 355 | 22 | ||
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| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 2010 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 76 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 June 2014 | Estádio Castelão,Fortaleza Brazil |  Uruguay | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 | 14 October 2014 | Seoul World Cup Stadium,Seoul, South Korea |  South Korea | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 16 November 2021 | Estadio Nacional,San José, Costa Rica |  Honduras | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 9 November 2022 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica |  Nigeria | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
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