Wikipedia

Fernando Muslera

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

Néstor Fernando Muslera Micol (Spanish: [feɾˈnando musˈleɾa]; born 16 June 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for and captains Süper Lig club Galatasaray.

Fernando Muslera
Muslera with Galatasaray in 2021
Personal information
Full name Néstor Fernando Muslera Micol[1]
Date of birth (1986-06-16) 16 June 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina[2]
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Galatasaray
Number 1
Youth career
2001–2004 Montevideo Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2007 Montevideo Wanderers 44 (0)
2006–2007 → Nacional (loan) 5 (0)
2007–2011 Lazio 96 (0)
2011– Galatasaray 424 (1)
International career
2003 Uruguay U17 1 (0)
2004–2005 Uruguay U20 13 (0)
2009–2022 Uruguay 133 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Uruguay
Men's football
Copa América
Winner 2011 Argentina
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 December 2024

Muslera began his career at Montevideo Wanderers and Nacional, moving to Lazio in 2007 where he won the 2009 Coppa Italia final. In 2011, he was signed by Galatasaray for a fee of around €12 million, where he has since won honours which include seven Süper Lig titles, four Turkish Cups and six Turkish Super Cups.

A full international since 2009, Muslera has earned over 130 caps for Uruguay. He has played in five Copa América tournaments, winning the title in 2011, and played every minute in goal for Uruguay as the country's undisputed number one in the 2010, 2014, and 2018 FIFA World Cups, helping his nation to fourth place in the 2010 edition.

Club career

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Montevideo Wanderers/Nacional

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Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Muslera moved with his family to Montevideo where he began 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 a display of successful performances, he began to attract attention from European clubs, and signed for Lazio in 2007.[citation needed]

Lazio

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Muslera playing for Lazio.

Lazio signed Muslera in August 2007 for a fee of approximately €3 million.[4] 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 5–1 home loss to Milan on 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 Serie A appearances and none in the UEFA Champions League. However, he did 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 began the 2008–09 season as second-choice goalkeeper 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 Serie A season saw him make several saves in a 3–1 loss to Sampdoria, including saving an Antonio Cassano penalty. Further impressive performances in away wins over Napoli and Genoa, as well as in his first ever Derby della Capitale against Roma, 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 2008–09 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.[5]

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 goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri on a free transfer. Muslera played in goal as Lazio opened the season with a 2–1 win over 2008–09 Serie A champions Internazionale in the 2009 Supercoppa Italiana, played in Beijing.

Following his successful performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup with Uruguay, Muslera was voted the seventh-best goalkeeper in the world by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics.[6]

Galatasaray

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2011–12 season

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Muslera in an October 2011 match against Gaziantepspor

On 19 July 2011, Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray announced the signing of Muslera from Lazio on a five-year contract while he was on duty in the 2011 Copa América with Uruguay.[7] 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,[8][9] which owned 50% of his playing rights.[citation needed] (However, Lazio valued the sale of Muslera for free (as termination of contract) as well as signing Cana for a peppercorn of €1 as a special accounting arrangement[10][11]) Muslera's contract saw him earn €2 million per year.[7][12]

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, a 0–0 draw. On 8 April 2012, the last day of the 2011–12 Süper Lig season, Muslera scored his first career goal, a penalty against Manisaspor. The same match also resulted in Muslera keeping his 19th clean sheet of the season, an all-time league record.[13]

2012–13 season

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Muslera continued to become Galatasaray's first choice goalkeeper in 2012–13, playing in the first match of the season in a 2–1 league victory over Kasımpaşa. 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. He kept his first clean sheet in the competition in a 1–0 victory against Manchester United at the Türk Telekom Arena. He played 33 league matches out of 34 with Galatasaray, who retained their league title.

2013–14 season

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On 3 November 2013, Muslera suffered a fractured toe and therefore missed three Süper Lig and two Champions League matches.[14] However, he played 29 league matches out of 34.

At the end of the 2013–14 season, it was announced Muslera extended his contract until 2018, and would earn €2.75 million per season.[15]

2014–15 season

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Muslera played 31 matches as Galatasaray regained their league title, but was absent in their cup final victory over Bursaspor due to his commitments for the 2015 Copa América.[16]

Later seasons

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In a league match against Çaykur Rizespor on 14 June 2020, Muslera suffered a double leg fracture as he collided with a Rizespor player in his box.[17]

On 27 February 2021, Muslera played his 300th league match for Galatasaray against BB Erzurumspor, breaking the appearances record for a foreign player in the Süper Lig.[18]

On 13 December 2021, in an away league match against Sivasspor, Muslera collided with his teammate Christian Luyindama in his box and was left writhing in pain. Galatasaray stated that the collision had torn the medial collateral ligament on Muslera’s left knee and also hurt the anterior cruciate ligament.[19]

Muslera won his sixth Süper Lig title in the 2022–23 season with the Galatasaray team. Defeating Ankaragücü 4–1 away in the match played in the 36th week on 30 May 2023, Galatasaray secured the lead with 2 weeks before the end and won the 23rd championship in its history.[20]

International career

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James Rodríguez (wearing number 10) scoring a goal for Colombia as Muslera looks on alongside his compatriots during the 2014 FIFA World Cup

Muslera had been called up for the Uruguay national team on numerous occasions, but did not earn his first cap until 10 October 2009, when he started in Uruguay's 2–1 away win over Ecuador. The match was Uruguay's penultimate qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

2010 FIFA World Cup

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Muslera made his World Cup debut against France on 11 June 2010, Uruguay's opening match of the tournament. He kept a clean sheet during all three of Uruguay's group matches (0–0 against France, 3–0 against South Africa and 1–0 against Mexico). In the round of 16, Uruguay faced South Korea; before the goal Uruguay conceded, Muslera had set a record for longest unbeaten goalkeeper in the World Cup. He was decisive in the quarter-final match against Ghana, where he saved two penalties at the penalty shootout. He was a key component of the Uruguay team that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup and subsequently finished fourth in the tournament.[21]

2011 Copa América

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Muslera was called again by coach Óscar Tabárez to represent Uruguay as the first-choice goalkeeper at the 2011 Copa América, held in Argentina. He was selected man of the match in the quarter-final against Argentina in which Uruguay progressed on penalties, with Muslera saving a penalty from Carlos Tevez to win the match. Uruguay went on to win the Copa América title, defeating Paraguay 3–0 in the final. Muslera started every game and played in every minute of Uruguay’s successful cup campaign.

Later career

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Muslera at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Muslera was Uruguay's first-choice goalkeeper at the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 Copa América, playing every minute as Uruguay reached the last 16 of the former and the quarter-finals of the latter. He similarly featured in all of Uruguay's games at the Copa América Centenario the following year, where they suffered a first round elimination.

In May 2018 Muslera was named in Uruguay's provisional 26-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[22] He later made the final 23-man squad, and in his nation's second match of the tournament on 20 June, a 1–0 win over Saudi Arabia, he equaled the record of Ladislao Mazurkiewicz for the most World Cup appearances by Uruguayan footballer, with 13 such appearances.[23][24] In his team's final group match on 25 June, a 3–0 win over hosts Russia on 25 June, he broke Mazurkiewicz's record with his 14th World Cup appearance for Uruguay, also making his 100th appearance for his country in the same match, marking the occasion with his third consecutive clean sheet of the tournament.[25][26][27] In the quarter-final match against France on 6 July, Uruguay were defeated 2–0; the second goal of the match arose after Muslera mishandled Antoine Griezmann's strike from outside the area.[28]

On 6 September 2019, Muslera made his first appearance as Uruguay's captain, starting in a 2–1 friendly away win against Costa Rica.[29][30]

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Muslera lost his place as the national team's first-choice keeper to Sergio Rochet.[31] In January 2023, Muslera along with one more player, faced a ban for four matches by FIFA, and a fine of $21,701 for misconduct during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar after the Ghana match.[32]

In April 25, 2024, Muslera announced his retirement from the national team.[33]

Style of play

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An acrobatic goalkeeper, Muslera is mainly known for his excellent shot-stopping and ability in the air.[34]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 16 December 2024[35][36][37]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Montevideo Wanderers 2004 Uruguayan Primera División 2 0 — — — 2 0
2005 Uruguayan Primera División 29 0 — — — 29 0
2005–06 Uruguayan Primera División 0 0 — — — 0 0
2006–07 Uruguayan Primera División 13 0 — — — 13 0
Total 44 0 — — — 44 0
Nacional 2006–07 Uruguayan Primera División 4 0 — — — 4 0
2007–08 Uruguayan Primera División 1 0 — — — 1 0
Total 5 0 — — — 5 0
Lazio 2007–08 Serie A 9 0 4 0 — — 13 0
2008–09 Serie A 15 0 6 0 — — 21 0
2009–10 Serie A 36 0 2 0 4[b] 0 1[c] 0 43 0
2010–11 Serie A 36 0 0 0 — — 36 0
Total 96 0 12 0 4 0 1 0 113 0
Galatasaray 2011–12 Süper Lig 39 1 0 0 — — 39 1
2012–13 Süper Lig 33 0 0 0 10[d] 0 1[e] 0 44 0
2013–14 Süper Lig 29 0 3 0 6[d] 0 1[e] 0 39 0
2014–15 Süper Lig 32 0 1 0 5[d] 0 1[e] 0 39 0
2015–16 Süper Lig 33 0 6 0 8 0 1[e] 0 48 0
2016–17 Süper Lig 34 0 0 0 — 1[e] 0 35 0
2017–18 Süper Lig 33 0 3 0 2[b] 0 — 38 0
2018–19 Süper Lig 33 0 3 0 8[f] 0 1[e] 0 45 0
2019–20 Süper Lig 26 0 2 0 6[d] 0 1[e] 0 35 0
2020–21 Süper Lig 22 0 1 0 0 0 — 23 0
2021–22 Süper Lig 25 0 0 0 11[g] 0 — 36 0
2022–23 Süper Lig 33 0 2 0 — — 35 0
2023–24 Süper Lig 37 0 0 0 14[h] 0 1[e] 0 52 0
2024–25 Süper Lig 15 0 0 0 5[i] 0 1[e] 0 21 0
Total 424 1 21 0 75 0 9 0 529 1
Career total 569 1 33 0 79 0 10 0 691 1
  1. ^ Includes Coppa Italia, Turkish Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
  4. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Appearance in Turkish Super Cup
  6. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  7. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances in UEFA Europa League
  8. ^ Twelve appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  9. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

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As of match played 11 June 2022[38]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Uruguay 2009 4 0
2010 12 0
2011 15 0
2012 10 0
2013 14 0
2014 11 0
2015 11 0
2016 11 0
2017 6 0
2018 11 0
2019 11 0
2020 0 0
2021 15 0
2022 2 0
Total 133 0

Honours

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Lazio[39]

Galatasaray[39]

Uruguay[39]

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Uruguay" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Fernando Muslera, el arquero de Uruguay en la Copa América 2011 - Copa América 2011 - eltiempo.com - futbolred.com" (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  3. ^ "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players: Urugway" (PDF). FIFA. 18 June 2018. p. 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Bilancio separato e consolidato S.S.Lazio SpA" (PDF) (in Italian). SS Lazio. 23 October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  5. ^ Muslera the hero as Lazio win Italian Cup on penalties – Yahoo! Eurosportgoooll, 5/13/09
  6. ^ "Hürriyet - Haberler, Son Dakika Haberleri ve Güncel Haber". Hürriyet. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  7. ^ a b Galatasaray (19 July 2011). "Muslera'nın Transferine İlşikin Açıklama (2011-2012 sezonundan başmak üzere 5 futbol sezonu için)" (Press release) (in Turkish). Turkish Public Disclosure System. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  8. ^ Milliyet – 51 milyonluk kaleci Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Bu eller 20 milyon euro". Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Bilancio S.S. Lazio al 30 giugno 2011" (PDF) (in Italian). S.S. Lazio. 6 October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  11. ^ "Bilancio S.S. LAZIO S.p.A. al 30 giugno 2012" (PDF) (in Italian). S.S. Lazio. 4 October 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Official: Galatasaray sign Fernando Muslera from Lazio on five-year deal - Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Muslera keeps 19 clean sheets in 32 games". Turkish-football.com. 8 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  14. ^ "Uruguay keeper Muslera injured, out of World Cup playoff". 6 November 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  15. ^ "KAP". kap.gov.tr. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  16. ^ Baş, Hakan (2 June 2015). "Galatasaray looks to complete a double in Ziraat Turkish Cup final". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Fernando Muslera suffers double leg break as Brighton loanee Florin Andone injures knee in Galatasaray's first game back amid coronavirus pandemic". talk sport. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Instagram".
  19. ^ "Galatasaray's Muslera out for 8-10 weeks after Luyindama collision". Daily Sabah. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Turkish Super Lig: Galatasaray win title for 23rd time after beating Ankaragucu 4-1". BBC Sport. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  21. ^ Cunningham, Jack (14 November 2022). "ICON: Who does Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera play for and what is his World Cup record? Veteran goalkeeper looks to star again in Qatar". talkSPORT. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists - Goal.com". Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  23. ^ Ditlhoholo, Augustin (21 June 2018). "KFC Moments of the Day: Fernando Muslera equals old tournament record, Cristiano Ronaldo nets historic goal". Goal. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  24. ^ Steve Sutcliffe (20 June 2018). "Uruguay 1-0 Saudi Arabia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  25. ^ Jack Tarrant (25 June 2018). "Muslera earns 100th cap for Uruguay against Russia". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  26. ^ Henry Bushnell (25 June 2018). "Russia reverts to form, Uruguay storms to top of World Cup Group A". FC Yahoo. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  27. ^ Stephen Mills (25 June 2018). "Uruguay 3-0 Russia: Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani snatch top spot in World Cup Group A". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  28. ^ Bevan, Chris (6 July 2018). "Uruguay 0 France 2". Nizhny Novgorod: BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  29. ^ "Muslera es capitán de la selección mayor por primera vez ingresando como titular". Twitter.com. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  30. ^ "Costa Riva vs. Uruguay 1–2". ESPN FC. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  31. ^ "Rochet: Uruguay have a great side who are hungry". FIFA. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022. ...the resilient 29-year-old is now the captain of Uruguayan giants Nacional, and he has displaced the iconic Muslera to establish himself as the new first-choice goalkeeper in the national starting XI.
  32. ^ Agencies (29 January 2023). "FIFA bans four Uruguay players for World Cup chaos". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  33. ^ "Fernando Muslera: "La etapa en la selección la cerré yo. Bielsa me entendió enseguida"". 22 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  34. ^ Tighe, Sam (28 June 2015). "Ranking the Top 50 Players at the 2015 Copa America". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  35. ^ "Muslera, Fernando". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  36. ^ "NESTOR FERNANDO MUSLERA". Turkish Football Federation. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  37. ^ "Nestor Fernando Muslera Micol". Mackolik.com. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  38. ^ "Muslera, Fernando". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  39. ^ a b c "F. Muslera". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  40. ^ "Fernando Muslera win Turkish player of 2016". webarchive. 23 March 2017. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017.
  41. ^ "Fernando Muslera won the Süper Lig Goalkeeper of the season". gzt. 13 September 2018.
  42. ^ "Fernando Muslera". gzt. 13 September 2018.
  43. ^ "Fernando Muslera". beinsports.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Galatasaray captain
2020– 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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