Fernando Muslera
Muslera playing for Uruguay in 2012. |
| Personal information |
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| Full name | Néstor Fernando Muslera Micol |
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| Date of birth | 16 June 1986 (age 27) |
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| Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
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| Playing position | Goalkeeper |
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| Club information |
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| Current club | Galatasaray |
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| Number | 25 |
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| Youth career |
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| 2001–2004 | Montevideo Wanderers |
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| Senior career* |
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| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
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| 2004–2006 | Montevideo Wanderers | 44 | (0) |
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| 2006–2007 | → Nacional (loan) | 5 | (0) |
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| 2007–2011 | Lazio | 97 | (0) |
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| 2011– | Galatasaray | 81 | (1) |
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| National team‡ |
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| 2009– | Uruguay | 55 | (0) |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 September 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 August 2013 |
Club career
Uruguay
Muslera started his professional football career with
Montevideo Wanderers, having come through the club's youth system. After impressive performances for Wanderers, Uruguayan giants
Nacional opted to take him on loan in 2007. After returning to Montevideo, and a display of successful performances, he began to attract attention from
Europe, until he was signed by
Lazio in 2007.
Lazio
Muslera playing for Lazio.
Lazio signed Muslera in August 2007 for a fee of about €3 million.
[2]He made his debut for Lazio in a 3–1 home win against
Cagliari on 16 September 2007, and made four more consecutive starts, the last which was a disastrous performance in Lazio's 1–5 home loss to
Milanon 7 October, a match in which he was at fault on four of the five goals Lazio conceded. That result saw him benched in favour of 44-year-old
Marco Ballotta. He remained as the second choice for the remainder of the season, making only four more league appearances and none in the
UEFA Champions League. He did however play all of Lazio's remaining
Coppa Italia matches, putting in good performances.
Muslera signing autographs at the new kits' presentation on 8 July 2009.
Muslera started as second-choice keeper for the
2008–09 season behind new signing
Juan Pablo Carrizo but regained the starting spot in January 2009 following a run of poor form by Carrizo, coupled with conflicts with team management. Muslera's first starting appearance in the league this season saw him make several saves in a 3–1 loss to
Sampdoria, including blocking an
Antonio Cassano penalty. Further impressive performances in away wins over
Napoli and
Genoa, as well as in his first ever
Derby della Capitale, saw Muslera regain a considerable amount of faith he had lost the previous season.
Known to the Lazio fans as
castorino, or the "little beaver", Muslera was also an integral part of the club's successful
Coppa Italia campaign, making decisive saves against
Milan and
Juventus as Lazio reached the final for the first time in five seasons. In the final on 13 May 2009, Muslera saved two
penalties as Lazio emerged victorious 6–5 in the shootout after the match ended 1–1 in extra time.
[3]
The Uruguayan's impressive season saw him cement his position as the Roman club's first choice in the
2009–10 season, despite the arrival of Argentine keeper
Albano Bizzarri on a free transfer. Muslera played in goal as Lazio opened the season with a 2–1 win over
Inter in the
2009 Supercoppa Italiana, played in
Beijing.
Galatasaray SK
2011–12 season
Muslera in an October 2011 match against Gaziantepspor
On 19 July 2011,
Galatasaray officially announced the signing of Fernando Muslera from Lazio on a 5-year contract while he was on duty in the
Copa América with
Uruguay.
[5][6] The transfer involved
Lorik Cana moving in the opposite direction, to Lazio, while Galatasaray also paid €6.75 million to Muslera's former club,
Montevideo Wanderers who owned 50% of his playing rights.
[7][8] The total value of his transfer is therefore believed to be in the region of €12 million, making Muslera at the time the most expensive
goalkeeper transfer in
Turkey[9] and
the fifth most expensive goalkeeper of all time. (However Lazio valued the sale of Muslera for a peppercorn fee as well as signing Cana also for peppercorn fee as a special accounting arrangement) He will earn €2 million a year.
[10]
On 5 November 2011, Muslera was selected the
man of the match after saving his first penalty for Galatasaray in the match against
Mersin İdmanyurdu as the game ended 0–0. On 8 April 2012, the last day of the Turkish Super League, he scored his first goal of his career from a penalty kick against
Manisaspor. He also broke a new club record for every foreign player scoring for Galatasaray in a single season. The same match also resulted in Muslera keeping his 19th clean sheet of the season, an all time league record.
[11] and also becoming the Süper Lig Goalkeeper of the year, where he played all league matches with Galatasaray and he is among the Champion Squad.
2012–13 season
He continued to become Galatasaray's first choice goalkeeper, playing in the first match of the season in a 2–1 league victory over
Kasimpasa. On 19 September 2012 he made his
UEFA Champions League debut in a match against
Manchester United at
Old Trafford. Though Galatasaray lost the match 1–0, he saved a penalty from
Nani. Following games against
SC Braga,
CFR Cluj he kept his first clean sheet in the competition in a 1–0 victory against
Manchester United at the
Turk Telekom Arena. He played 33 league matches out of 34 with Galatasaray and he was again among the Champion Squad.
International career
Muslera playing for Uruguay in 2011
2010 FIFA World Cup
He made his
FIFA World Cup debut against
France on 11 June 2010, Uruguay's opening game of the tournament and the second game on the opening day of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He kept a clean sheet during all 3 of Uruguay's group matches (0–0 against France, 3–0 against South Africa, and 1–0 against Mexico).In the round of sixteen, Uruguay faced South Korea, before the goal that Uruguay conceded, Muslera had set a record for longest unbeaten goalie in the World Cup. Muslera was decisive in the quarterfinal match against Ghana, when he saved two penalties at the penalty shootout. Muslera was a key component of the Uruguay team that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup and subsequently finished fourth in the tournament.
2011 Copa América
Muslera was called again by coach
Óscar Tabárez to represent Uruguay as the first choice goalkeeper at the
2011 Copa América, which was held in
Argentina. He was selected Man of the Match in the quarter-final match against
Argentina in which
Uruguay went through on penalties, with Muslera saving a penalty from
Carlos Tévez to win them the match. Uruguay went on to win the Copa América, defeating
Paraguay 3–0 in final.
