Alejandro Escalona

Early life

Born in Santiago, Escalona joined Colo-Colo in 1995, where he finish his youth development. He made his professional debut in 1997, in a single appearance, winning his first honour, the 1997 Torneo Clausura. The following season, he played 16 matches with one goal, adding another league title. He started 1999 at Colo-Colo, but after a receiving praise in the 1999 South American U-20 Championship, he moved to Torino. In Italy, he was unable to replicate his performances, and played only three games and saw the team being relegated.

Europe, Argentina and Brazil

In early July 2000, Escalona was set to join Napoli, but no agreement was reached with Torino. On the 12th, Benfica successfully signed with Escalona, with Cristián Uribe playing an important role in convincing the 21 year-old. He made his debut for Benfica in a friendly against Linfield on 3 August, during the Carlsberg Belfast Challenge. After the match, in an interview for the Portuguese media, he downplayed the fact that he was unknown in Portugal, saying: "I will show on the field what I am worth". However, in a season that saw three managers pass through Benfica, Escalona could never gain his place, battling with the youngster Diogo Luís and the Paraguayan Rojas for the position and playing just nine league matches. In January 2001, his agent, Pablo Tallarico was involved in a fake Italian passports scandal, that included Uribe and Pablo Contreras. Initially, he denied knowledge of any…