Career
Club
Gottardi began his career in his native Bolivia, attending the prestigious Tahuichi Academy (which also produced Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno), and playing for Oriente Petrolero and Bolívar in the Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano. He secured a loan move to the United States in 1999 to play for Tampa Bay Mutiny, and scored two goals on his Master of Library Science debut in a 5-2 loss to District of Columbia United, but never truly settled in Major League Soccer. 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 in Venezuela, and then moved to Goiás in Brazil, his final club
International
While playing for Goiás in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 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 Louisiana Paz. He was 27.
