Darwin Quintero might not have known much about the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup before joining Minnesota United last year. But the Colombian has exploded onto the tournament scene, tallying four goals in two games as the Loons have advanced to a Quarterfinal date with New Mexico United at their brand-new Allianz Field on Wednesday [ESPN+].
United knocked out 2017 Open Cup champions Sporting Kansas City by a 4-1 score in the Fourth Round and defeated defending champion Houston Dynamo 3-2 in the Round of 16 with Quintero bagging a brace in both contests. Quintero might not have realized United was taking down former Open Cup champs but he knows well that in a knockout tournament nearly anything can happen.
“Even though we have won two important games, if we don’t win the Cup, those two games don’t hold much value,” said Quintero who spent the most successful stretches of his career in Mexico with Santos Laguna and Club America. “We must remain calm and take it as it comes game by game.
“We know it’s only one game and there is no other so we stay focused on the best outcome for each game, put forth extra determination,” the creative attacker added. “Because, in the end we know if we lose, we are out of the tournament.”
Quintero moved to Mexico as a 21-year-old in 2009, going on to win three Liga MX championships with Santos Laguna and two CONCACAF Champions League titles with Club America. Quintero was known in Mexico for speedy runs off the wing or out of a deep-lying striker position, earning the nickname “El Cientifico del Gol” (“The Goal Scientist”), partly because of his namesake, Charles Darwin. Quintero proved to be a dependable finisher in Liga MX, but his specialty was setting up strikers Dario Benedetto at America and Oribe Peralta at both Santos and America. Quintero, who stands 5-5, also paired with the 5-6 Juan Pablo Rodriguez, a former San Jose Earthquakes midfielder, for many years with Santos, based in the Northern Mexican city of Torreon.
