Ulises Hernán de la Cruz Bernardo (born 8 February 1974 in Piquiucho, Carchi) is a retired Ecuadorian footballer, who since 2013 has been a member of his country's National Assembly for the governing PAIS Alliance.
A defender, he played 101 times for the Ecuador national football team between 1995 and 2010, and was selected for two FIFA World Cup tournaments. He spent his club career at Deportivo Quito, Barcelona S.C., Aucas, Cruzeiro, Hibernian, Aston Villa, Reading and Birmingham City.
De la Cruz has set up a charity, Friends of FundeCruz, in his home village to fund a number of projects serving the local community.
Club career
Early career
De la Cruz's first team was the Ecuadorian side Sociedad Deportivo Quito, for whom he started playing at the age of 16 in the junior division and later the professional division. Nonetheless, De la Cruz's breakthrough season was with LDU Quito in 1998. He scored three goals in the final against Emelec (7–0).
Hibernian
Alex McLeish, the manager of Scottish Premier League club Hibernian, watched de la Cruz play in international matches for Ecuador, and then signed him in June 2001 for a club record fee of £700,000. De la Cruz scored two goals for Hibs, both coming in an Edinburgh derby match against Hibs' local rivals Hearts. He only played for Hibs in one season before he was sold after de la Cruz played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. De la Cruz said before the tournament that he wanted to use the World Cup as a showcase, desiring a move to Spain or Italy.
Aston Villa
De la Cruz was signed by Graham Taylor for Aston Villa ahead of the 2002–03 season. He previously made hints of leaving the club, feeling that joining Aston Villa is one of the highlights of his career LDU Quito claimed that Hibernian failed to pay them a sell-on fee, but this was settled by agreement. Having made his debut, De la Cruz expressed his delight, playing in the Premier League and soon became a fan favourite at Aston Villa
In his first season at the club, he played 24 times, scoring one league goal, against Charlton Athletic. He featured more in the 2003–04 season after David O'Leary took over, and an injury to Mark Delaney ensured that de la Cruz could start more games than he had previously, and he signed a new contract for the 2004–05 campaign.
During his third season with Aston Villa, de la Cruz became frustrated at his lack of first team opportunities and accused O'Leary of blocking transfers for him.
Reading
On 25 August 2006, he signed a one-year deal with Reading on a free transfer. De la Cruz scored his first Reading goal against Sheffield United in a 3–1 win on 20 January 2007. After an impressive first season with Reading, he was offered a contract that would tie him to the Madejski Stadium for two more years. Following their relegation from the Premier League, Reading announced on 16 May 2008 that he would not be offered a new contract.
Birmingham City
After a few weeks' training with the club, de la Cruz signed a one-month contract with Birmingham City of the Football League Championship in March 2009. The player was initially given squad number 27, previously allocated to Krystian Pearce who had been loaned out for the season; however the Football League ruled that the number could not be re-used and De la Cruz was given number 36 instead. He made his Birmingham debut as a second-half substitute in the 2–0 win away at Doncaster Rovers on 14 March. When his contract expired, the player chose not to accept the offer of an extension until the end of the season.
LDU Quito
Following his release, de la Cruz returned to Ecuador to play for FIFA World Club Cup runner-up LDU Quito, his third spell at the club. De la Cruz played in both 2009 Recopa Sudamericana matches against Sport Club Internacional de Porto Alegre. LDU Quito won the Recopa giving Ulises his first international title.
Retirement
In February 2013, de la Cruz announced he would retire from football and devote his time to politics in Ecuador. De la Cruz was given a farewell match.
International career
Although not always a first choice for his club, he remained an important member of the Ecuador national football team. De la Cruz won 101 caps for his country, between May 1995 and May 2010. He was a fixture in the Ecuador team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup which reached the second round.
In his homeland, de la Cruz is one of Ecuador's most popular players, both for his footballing talent and his charitable projects. The Supporters' Trust at Reading (STAR) organised a facility to allow supporters the means to donate to the Ulises de la Cruz Foundation.