Alexander Escobar Gañán (born 8 February 1965), also known as Álex Escobar, is a Colombian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder.^[4] He is the current manager of the under-20 squad of América de Cali.^[5]

Escobar is highly regarded in América de Cali and LDU Quito, as well as in the Colombia national team. With América, he won six Primera A titles, whilst with the Ecuadorian club he won four Serie A titles. He is also the player with most appearances in América de Cali.

Escobar was born in Cali on 8 February 1965. His father was Hernán Escobar Echeverry, a retired defender that played in América de Cali, Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín.^[6] Escobar scored 14 goals in 83 matches in the Copa Libertadores from 1984 to 2004, making him the 9th player with most appearances in the tournament on 27 March 2004.^[7]

Escobar made his international debut on 3 November 1985 (at just 20 years old), while playing for América de Cali, in the match against Paraguay for the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifying. The match ended with a 2–1 win, but Colombia (who had lost the previous game 4–0) was eliminated.

Two years later he was part of the national squad for the 1987 Copa América, in which Colombia finished third. Escobar only played one match, the 2–1 win against the host Argentina in the third-place match.^[9]

Escobar scored his only goal for the national team in the 74th minute of the 2–2 draw against South Korea on 26 February 1994 in a friendly match.