Christian Benitez dies aged 27: Former Birmingham striker remembered by agent Barry McIntosh
Christian Benitez dies aged 27: Former Birmingham striker remembered by agent Barry McIntosh
"It is a loss in a football sense but obviously more for the quiet, nice person he was and I'll remember him always smiling"
In action: Benitez scored four in 36 for Birmingham
Getty
Christian Benitez will be fondly recalled at Birmingham as a
skillful, unpredictable striker who helped the club record their
best-ever Premier League finish. The shock news of his death at the age of just 27 has saddened both fans and former team-mates who knew the popular forward .
Benitez, nicknamed Chucho, only spent a season on loan at promoted Brum in 2009/2010 from Mexican club Santos Laguna.
But
many fans wanted City to sign the diminutive marksman permanently after
his year at St Andrews such was the impact he made as Alex McLeish's
side came ninth.
He scored just four times in 36 appearances but
his tricks and running created space for team-mates like Cameron Jerome -
who profited by scoring 10 League goals - to exploit.
Birmingham
decided against paying his £8.5million price tag at Santos and he
returned there before joining Mexican rivals Club America a year later
where he hit top goal-scoring form.
It led to a £10million move to Qatar side El Jaish earlier this month.
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Christian Benitez: 1986-2013
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And the agent who helped bring Benitez to England told me
Benitez could potentially have been a big star at the World Cup next
summer for his country Ecuador, who are well on course to qualify.
I
spoke to Barry McIntosh today and told mirror.co.uk: "It's a very sad
day to lose a talented player who was set to do well at the World Cup
next year.
"I'd like to pass on my condolences to his family.
"He
has young twins and was married to the daughter of a former Ecuador
national team player called Kleber Chala who used to play for
Southampton.
"I really liked Christian as a player and a person.
"On the pitch he was very skillful and was now scoring more goals.
"He didn't score loads for Birmingham but he was a crowd favourite as he was exciting to watch.
"He was instrumental in helping Birmingham secure their Premier League status. Sadly missed: Christian Benitez was a goal threat during his career
Getty
"The opposition - and sometimes even his team-mates - didn't know what he was going to do with the ball.
"But it was only now he had probably reached his best vein of form.
"His exploits at Club America had just led to a mega-money move.
"It's a shame as he had only just unpacked his bags there in Qatar.
"It is a loss in a football sense but obviously more for the quiet, nice person he was and I'll remember him always smiling."
Former Brum team-mates of Benitez like Craig Gardner and Liam Ridgewell have been quick to pass on their condolences on Twitter.
Birmingham
City as a club will pay tribute to their former striker on Saturday in
their Championship curtain-raiser against Watford.
While Ecuador and it's national team, for whom he earned 58 caps and scoring 24 goals, are distraught.
His cause of death remains muddied in confusion and conflicting reports.
But
the clear impression from those who knew him at St Andrews is that he
will certainly be sorely missed as a decent man and on the pitch too
where his career was just peaking. Christian Benitez dies aged 27: Former Birmingham striker remembered by agent Barry McIntosh
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