Alex McLeish, watched de la Cruz play in international matches for Ecuador, and then signed him in June 2001 for a club record fee of £700,000. De la Cruz scored two goals for Hibs, an Edinburgh derby match against Hibs’ local rivals Hearts. He only played for Hibs in one season; after de la Cruz played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he was signed by Graham Taylor for Aston Villa.