Jonathan Santana

Jonathan Santana

Personal information
Full name	Jonathan Santana Gehre
Date of birth	(1981-10-19) 19 October 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2000	San Telmo	35	(3)
2000–2001	Almagro	14	(0)
2001	San Lorenzo	3	(0)
2002–2003	Nueva Chicago	33	(3)
2003–2005	San Lorenzo	62	(3)
2005–2006	River Plate	24	(4)
2006–2010	VfL Wolfsburg	41	(1)
2009	→ San Lorenzo (loan)	10	(2)
2010–2012	Kayserispor	35	(4)
2012	Libertad	15	(2)
2012–2013	Independiente	15	(2)
2013	Belgrano de Córdoba	2	(0)
2014–2016	Cerro Porteño	53	(2)
2016–2017	Sarmiento	9	(1)
2017–2018	Nacional Asunción	4	(0)
2018–2019	Sportivo Luqueño
2020	Sportivo Trinidense
International career^‡
2007–2016	Paraguay	34	(1)
Medal record Representing  Paraguay Copa América Runner-up 2011 Argentina Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 March 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 December 2015

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Santana and the second or maternal family name is Gehre.

Jonathan Santana Gehre (born 19 October 1981) is an Argentina-born Paraguayan former football midfielder and current model. He played for the Paraguay national team from 2007 to 2016.[2] Santana was a key part of Paraguay's national team whilst under management of Tata Martino, featuring in three major competitions, the 2007 Copa América, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2011 Copa América. Santana missed the final of the latter due to a red card in the semi-final against Venezuela. Santana's career ran from 1998 to 2020, playing in Argentina, Germany, Turkey and Paraguay.[2][3] In 2021, Santana retired as a footballer and became a model.[4][5]

Career

Santana's debut was in the 1998–99 season in Argentina's lower leagues, appearing in the squad with Japanese defender Shinji Muraki.[6] He went on to play for a number of Argentine Primera clubs, including San Lorenzo and River Plate.

San Lorenzo

For the 2001–02 season, Santana joined San Lorenzo de Almagro for the 2002 Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana tournaments, winning the latter and forming the squad with Cameroon midfielder William Tabi.[7] In the 2004–05 season, Santana appeared for San Lorenzo in the Copa Libertadores in the squad with Ezequiel Lavezzi.[8]

River Plate

For the 2005–06 season, Santana joined Argentine River Plate, reaching the quarter-final stages of the Copa Libertadores. Santana formed part of a high-profile team that included Juan Pablo Carrizo, German Lux, Diego Buonanotte, Marcelo Gallardo, Daniel Montenegro, Oscar Ahumada, Matias Abelairas, Luciano Figueroa, Gaston Fernandez, Gonzalo Higuaín, Colombian striker Radamel Falcao and future Paraguay national team colleague Julio Cesar Caceres.[9]

Wolfsburg

In August 2006, he signed a five-year contract with German VfL Wolfsburg. Whilst Santana was at Wolfsburg during the 2006–07 season, he formed part of the team with Paraguayan Julio dos Santos.[10] For his second season at the club, Santana was teammates with Edin Dzeko.[11]

San Lorenzo (loan)

During a loan move to San Lorenzo in the 2008–09 Argentine Primera División season, he joined Paraguayan Aureliano Torres in the squad.[12]

Santana returned to Wolfsburg for the 2009–10 season, where the team participated in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.[13]

Kayserispor

Following the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Santana joined Turkish Super Lig team Kayserispor, partnering up with Marcelo Zalayeta, Franco Cangele, Ali Bilgin, Önder Turaci, Mehmet Boyraz and James Troisi in his first season at the club.[14] Santa made 20 league appearances and scored four goals in his first season at the club, which saw Kayserispor finish in sixth position in the Super Lig table.[2] In Santana's second season at the club, he amassed 15 league appearances before being loaned out to Primera División Paraguaya team Libertad for the 2012 season. Prior to his loan move, he was joined at Kayserispor by national team colleague Cristian Riveros.[15][16][2]

Cerro Porteño

Santana debuted for Cerro Porteño in a 3–1 away victory against Club 12 de Octubre on 16 February 2014. Santana was substituted onto the field for Fidencio Oviedo in the 83rd minute of the match.[17]

International career

In June 2007, Santana received Paraguayan citizenship (his mother is a Paraguayan citizen born in San Ignacio, Misiones Department and Argentina did not recognize dual citizenship).[18] He played for Paraguay in the 2007 Copa América. He was also named in Paraguay's final 23-men squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He entered the field during Paraguay's first game, a 1–1 draw with Italy, but suffered an injury during the match. However, as Paraguay's coach Gerardo Martino had already made the three available substitutions, Santana had to stay on the field and play injured for the remaining time.[19]

Modeling career

Following his retirement from football in 2021, Santana and his wife modelled for a clothes store at Asunción shopping centre Paseo la Galeria.[4]

Career statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cerro Porteño	2014	9	0	–	–	–	–	1	0	10	0
Career total		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Honours

San Lorenzo

• Copa Mercosur: 2001

VfL Wolfsburg

• Bundesliga: 2008–09

References

1. "Jonathan Santana Ghere". Fichajes Futbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 June 2021.
2. Jonathan Santana at National-Football-Teams.com
3. "Un ex River se retiró del fútbol para iniciar su carrera como modelo". depo.com.ar (in Spanish). 28 April 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
4. "Jonathan Santana ¡colgó los botines y se hizo modelo!". Crónica (in Spanish). 3 January 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
5. "Jonathan Santana el ex River que dejó el futbol para ser modelo". pasionfutbol.com (in Spanish). 30 April 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
6. "San Telmo 1998/1999". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
7. "San Lorenzo 2001/2002". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
8. "San Lorenzo 2004/2005". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
9. "River Plate 2005/2006". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
10. "Wolfsburg 2006/2007". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
11. "Wolfsburg 2007/2008". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
12. "San Lorenzo 2008/2009". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
13. "Wolfsburg 2009/2010". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
14. "Kayserispor 2010/2011". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
15. "Kayserispor 2011/2012". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
16. "Jonathan Santana 2019". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
17. "12 de Octubre vs. Cerro Porteño 1 – 3". Soccerway. 16 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
18. "Jonathan Santana se nacionalizó paraguayo". adnmundo.com (in Spanish). 4 June 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
19. "Este Santana suena mal" (in Spanish). Olé. 16 June 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2010.

External links

• Jonathan Santana at playmakerstats.com
• Jonathan Santana at Fichajes.com (in Spanish)
• Jonathan Santana at FBref.com
• Jonathan Santana at Soccerway
• Jonathan Santana – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Jonathan Santana at National-Football-Teams.com