Ulises Cruz

Early career

De la Cruz was born in Piquiucho, Carchi. His first team was the Ecuadorian side 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 McLeish and Franck Sauzée both left and 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

The 28-year-old 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,…

Although not always a first choice for his club, De la Cruz remained an important member of the Ecuador national team. The 21 year-old debuted in May 1995 winning 101 caps for his country until his last match in May 2010 aged 36. He was a fixture in the Ecuadorian team at 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. Due to Ecuador's poor start in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, de la Cruz and his teammate, Ivan Hurtado sharply criticised the coach and the atmosphere in the team. As a result, they were excluded from selection for the last two matches of 2007 against Paraguay and Peru.

Born in Piquiucho, a small village in the Valle del Chota, one of Ecuador's poorest regions, De la Cruz set up the charity Friends of FundeCruz to fund a number of projects serving the local community, to which he donates about 10% of his salary. Friends of FundeCruz is also a British registered charity. At one of the Reading matches, fans were asked to donate money to his fund and he raised a few thousand pounds. Money would also be raised at the Ruta del Sol in February 2008. The foundation funds amongst other things a water treatment plant, a health centre and a sports ground. De la Cruz has been named a UNICEF ambassador.

In the Ecuadorian general election of 2013, De la Cruz was chosen as member of the National Assembly for Carchi Province. De la Cruz serves as member of PAIS Alliance. Agustín Delgado and Iván Hurtado, former team-mates of De la Cruz for the national team, also serve for the PAIS Alliance in the National Assembly.