Mariano Andújar

Mariano Andújar
Andújar playing for Napoli in 2015
Personal information
Full name Mariano Andújar[1]
Date of birth (1983-07-30) 30 July 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2006 Huracán 60 (0)
2005–2006 → Palermo (loan) 11 (0)
2006–2009 Estudiantes 105 (0)
2009–2014 Catania 135 (0)
2012 → Estudiantes (loan) 18 (0)
2014–2016 Napoli 12 (0)
2014 → Catania (loan) 11 (0)
2016 → Estudiantes (loan) 12 (0)
2016–2023 Estudiantes 153 (0)
Total 517 (0)
International career
2009–2014 Argentina 11 (0)
Medal record
 Argentina
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2014 Brazil Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mariano Andújar (born 30 July 1983) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Club career

In 2009, Andújar was the first team goalkeeper in Estudiantes' Copa Libertadores winning team. Andújar did not concede a single goal in any of the eight games in La Plata and he set a new tournament record of 800 minutes without conceding a goal, beating Hugo Gatti's 767 minutes.[2]

On 24 June 2009, Italian club Catania officially announced that the club had signed the player to a four-year deal.[3]

On 24 January 2014, Napoli's official website posted that Andújar was in Naples completing a medical in preparation for his move to the Italian club.[4] Four days later, a co-ownership deal was reached, with Andújar being loaned back to Catania for the remainder of the season. He will join Napoli at the start of the 2014–15 campaign.[5] He made his debut in Naples on 11 December 2014, in a match against Slovan Bratislava (winning 3–0), in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, in the last match of the group stage.[citation needed]

During the midway point of the 2014–15 season, Andújar secured his place in Napoli's starting lineup, thanks to good performances and the decline of Napoli first-choice keeper Rafael. On 24 April 2015, Andújar led Napoli to the Europa League semi-finals with a solid performance against VfL Wolfsburg. Napoli advanced from the tie with a 6–3 aggregate.[citation needed]

On 9 March 2022, Estudiantes overcame Everton of Chile in the third round of the Copa Libertadores 2022, at the Sausalito Stadium,[6] and reached 41 Copa Libertadores matches with Estudiantes' jersey. Thus, he reached the club's all-time podium in such competition, surpassing Juan Sebastián Verón's record.[7]

On Sunday, 20 March 2022, after Estudiantes' draw against Gimnasia at the Juan Carmelo Zerillo Stadium, for the Professional League Cup, Mariano Andújar became the fifth player with the highest number of appearances in the club's history, with 363 official matches played, and the first in the goalkeeper position.[8]

In October 2023, Andujar announced that he would retire at the end of the year.[9] On 14 December 2023, Andujar played his last game at Estudiantes against Defensa y Justica in the Copa Argentina final and Estudiantes won the Copa Argentina, beating Defensa y Justica 1–0. On 19 December five days after the match, Andujar announced his retirement from football.

International career

Andújar made his debut for the Argentina national team in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Colombia on 6 June 2009.[10]

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2011 Copa América, Andújar served as understudy to Sergio Romero, the first choice goalkeeper for the Albiceleste.[10]

In June 2014, Andújar was named in Argentina's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[11]

Personal life

Facundo Andújar is Mariano's brother, he is also a professional footballer.[12][13]

Honours

Estudiantes

Napoli

Argentina

References

  1. ^ a b "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Argentina" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. ^ Copa Libertadores review at fifa.com
  3. ^ "Andujar al Catania" (in Italian). calciocatania.net. 24 June 2009. Archived from the original on 23 July 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  4. ^ "Napoli, visite mediche per Andujar a Castelvolturno" (in Italian). S.S.C. Napoli Ufficiale. 24 January 2014. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Il Napoli ufficializza l'acquisto di Andujar" (in Italian). S.S.C. Napoli Ufficiale. 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Estudiantes festejó en Chile: reviví la victoria ante Everton". www.infocielo.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Mariano Andújar fue figura y superó a Juan Sebastián Verón". www.infocielo.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  8. ^ "El récord "agridulce" de Mariano Andújar". El Gráfico (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Mariano Andújar anunció su retiro del fútbol profesional a fin de año: "Es tiempo de mirar para otros lados"" [Mariano Andújar announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the year: “It is time to look elsewhere”]. Infobae (in Spanish). 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Mariano ANDUJAR". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Argentina World Cup 2014 squad". The Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  12. ^ "Andujar se fue de Estudiantes". Infocielo (in Spanish). 28 January 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Facundo Andújar debutó en Español y tuvo el apoyo de su hermano". El Día (in Spanish). 8 April 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
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