 Mondragón playing for 1. FC Köln in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Faryd Camilo Mondragón Alí | ||
| Date of birth | June 21, 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Cali, Colombia | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Deportivo Cali | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1991 | Deportivo Cali | 1 | (0) |
| 1992 | Real Cartagena | 15 | (0) |
| 1992 | Santa Fe | 2 | (0) |
| 1993 | Cerro Porteño | 11 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Argentinos Juniors | 21 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Independiente | 0 | (0) |
| 1995 | Santa Fe | 8 | (0) |
| 1995–1998 | Independiente | 103 | (1) |
| 1999 | Real Zaragoza | 13 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Independiente | 16 | (0) |
| 2001 | Metz | 30 | (0) |
| 2001–2007 | Galatasaray | 185 | (0) |
| 2007–2010 | 1. FC Köln | 106 | (0) |
| 2011 | Philadelphia Union | 27 | (0) |
| 2012– | Deportivo Cali | 69 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1993– | Colombia | 52 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 23, 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of March 22, 2013 | |||
Faryd Camilo Mondragón Alí (born June 21, 1971 in Cali) is a Colombian footballer who currently plays for Deportivo Cali in the Colombian First Division. He is also a long-time member of the Colombian national team, having played with them since 1993. This makes him one of the last few members of the original 1990s golden generation, while playing for the 2010s generation along with Mario Yepes.
Club career
He also had stints with Deportivo Cali, Independiente Santa Fe (Colombia), Cerro Porteño (Paraguay),Argentinos Juniors, Independiente (Argentina), Real Zaragoza (Spain) and FC Metz (France).
Mondragón playing time in South America, starting in his country at Deportivo Cali and the Independiente Santa Fe before moving to Cerro Porteño in Paraguay. His career took off when he joined the most exclusive championship of Argentina with Argentinos Juniors in 1993. He then received his first team selection in Colombia. The following year he joined the Independiente where he became the goalkeeper for four seasons
He was the man behind the maintenance of FC Metz in Ligue 1 at the end of the 2000–2001 season as he was accumulating each match to secure the victories or draws that allowed the continuance, the club narrowly escaping. Mondragón was convicted of using a false Greek passport and despite the mitigating circumstances (the passport would have been provided by shysters and FC Metz had not reached the limit of players outside the EU), Mondragón was not allowed to play in France and had to leave the country.
Mondragón represented Turkish power Galatasaray from 2001 to 2007, where he won two Süper Lig titles in 2002 and 2006. He was appreciated by the fans for his many saves and his commitment to the success of the team, and also become known for his prayers before and during games. He came to the fore in many European matches and was selected Player of the week in the Champions League two times.
Mondragón transferred from Istanbul to 1. FC Köln in May 2007. After arriving at his new club, he was forced to compete with established Köln goalkeeper Stefan Wessels for a spot in the starting eleven. One of the reasons that he chose 1. FC Köln it was because the current coach Christoph Daum was working there. After an intense pre-season, Mondragón was named as the new number one for 1. FC Köln. This resulted in Wessels leaving the club for Everton in England. Since Wessels departure, Mondragón established a first choice goalkeeper for the club until Mondragón was relegated to the bench after an altercation with Zvonimir Soldo over his desire to go on international duty. This resulted in Mondragón being sent home from the team hotel and being replaced by young Croatian stopper Miro Varvodić.[2]
His contract with Köln was terminated with effect from 31 December 2010,[3] the reason being Mondragón's desire to play in the MLS.
He spent the 2011 season with Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, where he was successful in providing leadership to a young team. On January 30, 2012, Deportivo Cali announced Mondragon had signed a one-year contract to finish his career with his original professional club. [4]
International career
Mondragón was a member of the Colombian teams that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1998 FIFA World Cup. During the 1998 World Cup, he started in goal for all three of their games, including the final match against England. Despite conceding two goals, he made some impressive saves and in doing so kept the score down to 2–0. At the end of the game he broke down in tears and David Seaman, England's goalkeeper, did his best to console him. According to German footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer, Mondragón had been the best goalkeeper of the first round.[citation needed]As Colombia qualified to the World Cup in Brazil 2014, Mondragón will be the oldest member in the final tournament, and will become the oldest player in FIFA World Cup history if he ever plays an official match during the competition. It's been said that he's the only player in football history to participate in six consecutives FIFA World Cup Qualifiers within a 20 years span (1993-2013). He had been summoned to the South American 2014 WCQsince Argentine coach Pekerman arrived to the Colombian national team, but he didn't record minutes played in the qualifiers with his national team.
After three years, he made a debut return to the national team's starting squad in a friendly against Belgium on November 15, 2013 where Colombia won 2-0. The last time he started behind the net for Colombia's international matches was on October 2010 to a friendly vs USA.
