Jefferson Gottardi was a Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

n footballer.

Club

Gottardi began his career in his native Bolivia, attending the prestigious Tahuichi Academy (which also produced Marco Etcheverry

Marco Etcheverry

Marco Antonio Etcheverry Vargas is a retired Bolivian footballer, considered one of the greatest Bolivian players of all time.-Career:...

 and Jaime Moreno

Jaime Moreno

Jaime Moreno Morales is a former Bolivian footballer now serving as Youth Academy Technical Training Coach for D.C. United in Major League Soccer, and as the head coach of D.C. United's U-23 side....

), and playing for Oriente Petrolero

Oriente Petrolero

Club Deportivo Oriente Petrolero is a Bolivian football club based in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Founded on November 5, 1955 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia by workers of the Bolivian oil company . They play at the 38,000-capacity Estadio Tahuichi Aguilera. Oriente have been Bolivian champions four times, Copa...

 and Bolívar

Club Bolívar

Club Bolívar, a football team from Bolivia, was founded in La Paz on April 12, 1925, with the name Atletico Bolívar Literario Musical later changed to "Club Atlético Bolívar"...

 in the Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano

Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano

-List of champions:*Torneo adecuacion was celebrate to adequate seasons to European style -Titles by team :-List of all-time topscorers:...

.

He secured a loan move to the United States in 1999 to play for Tampa Bay Mutiny

Tampa Bay Mutiny

The Tampa Bay Mutiny was a charter franchise of Major League Soccer active from 1996 - 2001. They initially played in Tampa Stadium and were immediately successful, winning the first MLS Supporters' Shield behind MLS MVP Carlos Valderrama and high-scoring forward Roy Lassiter, whose 27 goals in...

, and scored two goals on his MLS debut in a 5-2 loss to D.C. United

D.C. United

D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...

, but never truly settled in Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

. He was waived by the team in August 1999, having played just 11 games, scoring 4 goals.

After leaving Tampa, Gottardi went on loan at Deportivo Táchira

Deportivo Táchira Fútbol Club

Deportivo Táchira Fútbol Club is a traditional and a popular Venezuelan football club. It was founded in 1974 by the initiative of Gaetano Greco...

 in Venezuela, and then moved to Goiás

Goiás Esporte Clube

Goiás Esporte Clube, also known as Goiás, is a Brazilian football team in Goiânia, Goiás state. It is one of the largest clubs of the Central-Western part of Brazil and they won the 'Série B once.Its main rival is Vila Nova...

 in Brazil, his final club.

International

Gottardi was a member of the Bolivian national team

Bolivia national football team

The Bolivia national football team is the national team of Bolivia and is controlled by the Federación Boliviana de Fútbol. After playing in the 1930 and 1950 World Cups, they qualified just once—in 1994...

, having competed in the qualifying tournament for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and in qualifying for the Copa America 1999

Copa América 1999

The 1999 Copa América was a football tournament held in Paraguay, from June 29 to July 18, 1999. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body.There is no qualifying for the final tournament...

 in Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

.

Health problems and death

While playing for Goiás

Goiás Esporte Clube

Goiás Esporte Clube, also known as Goiás, is a Brazilian football team in Goiânia, Goiás state. It is one of the largest clubs of the Central-Western part of Brazil and they won the 'Série B once.Its main rival is Vila Nova...

 in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...

, Gottardi began to suffer from "unusual problems with his heart", and was forced to retire from competitive play. He travelled to Cuba for treatment, to which he initially responded well, but was eventually diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. He suffered a heart attack on September 4, 2003, and died at the Virgen de la Asunción hospital in La Paz

La Paz

Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...

. He was 27.