Walter Chalá

Walter Chalá's career took an unlikely detour to Russia before it ever really got going. Raised in Valle del Chota, a region that has produced a steady stream of Ecuadorian footballers, he started out at Deportivo Cuenca and, in 2011, moved to Rubin Kazan. The transfer never turned into first-team football: Chalá spent his time with Rubin's reserve side, Rubin-2, and was later sent out on loan to Neftekhimik.

He found a way back into it through Ecuadorian and Mexican football, playing for Independiente del Valle, Barcelona in Guayaquil and Correcaminos. He returned to Deportivo Cuenca as a free agent in 2024.

In February 2025, Chalá moved to Bolivia to join Oriente Petrolero, making 23 appearances in the Bolivian top flight and scoring four or five goals, along with nine outings in the Bolivian Cup. He signed for Manta in July 2026.

Chalá made his Ecuador debut in a friendly against Bolivia in March 2021, one of two caps that also brought him a goal for the national team. He had earlier been named in Ecuador's squad for a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Brazil in September 2016 without getting onto the pitch.