 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Ospina Ramírez | ||
| Date of birth | 31 August 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Medellín, Colombia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Nice | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Atlético Nacional | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2008 | Atlético Nacional | 97 | (0) |
| 2008– | Nice | 168 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006–2007 | Colombia U20 | 12 | (0) |
| 2007– | Colombia | 39 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 October 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2013 | |||
David Ospina Ramírez (born 31 August 1988 in Medellín, Antioquia) is a Colombian footballer who plays forNice as a goalkeeper. Ospina is well known for incredible reflexes, remarkably saving goals by quickly crouching down low.[1]
Club career
Colombia
He was promoted to starting keeper at Atlético Nacional, one of the top clubs in the Colombian league, at age 17. By age 19 he was being compared to greats like Óscar Córdoba and had attracted much foreign interest from Atlético Madrid and Boca Juniors. He won two back to back league titles before his 20th birthday.
France
After 3 seasons at Atlético Nacional in Colombia he was transferred to OGC Nice in France after a failed transfer to South American powerhouse Boca Juniors. This transfer cost the French club 2 million euros. He is currently the starting keeper. In July 2012, there was reportedly high interest from Turkish outfit Besiktas. However, on 24 July 2012 Nice pulled the plug on the transfer. According to Nice management, “we broke the negotiations with Besiktas to transfer to Ospina after the Turkish club was unable to provide the requested bank guarantees.”[2]
International career
Ospina has played for the Colombia national football team and was also a member of the Colombian U-15, -17, and -20 teams. He was called up to the senior team during the Kirin Cup in 2007 against Uruguay, coming off the bench when Colombia's #1 goalie was red carded 7 minutes into the game. He is currently considered one of the top prospects for the Colombian national team and has had a fair amount of call ups considering his young age. During 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification against Bolivia he became the 2nd youngest keeper to ever start for the Colombia national football team, at the age of 20.
During Colombia's first day of training in the Copa America, Ospina suffered a facial injury after colliding with Hugo Rodallega which ruled him out of the tournament. He was replaced by Neco Martínez as starting goalkeeper and Nelson Fernando Ramos took the third goalkeeper spot. Ospina was selected as the starting goalkeeper for Colombia during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification against all South American teams.
In the match against Argentina in 2013 of the qualifiers, Ospina gave an amazing performance where he received praise from both Jose Pekerman andAlejandro Sabella following the 0-0 draw.[3][4] He was later referred to as man of the match
