Gustavo Munúa
 Munúa in action for Levante | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gustavo Adolfo Munúa Vera | ||
| Date of birth | 27 January 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Nacional | ||
| Number | TBA | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1997 | Nacional | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1997–2003 | Nacional | 102 | (3) |
| 2003–2009 | Deportivo La Coruña | 27 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Málaga | 38 | (0) |
| 2010–2013 | Levante | 86 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Fiorentina | 0 | (0) |
| 2014– | Nacional | 0 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1998–2004 | Uruguay | 21 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 April 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Gustavo Adolfo Munúa Vera (born 27 January 1978) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Club Nacional de Football as a goalkeeper.
He spent most of his professional career in Spain, namely at Deportivo de La Coruña where he could never be a starter in six seasons. He also played in the country for Málaga and Levante, being first-choice and appearing in 149 La Liga games over the course of one full decade.
An Uruguayan international for six years, Munúa represented the country at the 2002 World Cup.
Club career
Nacional
Born in Montevideo, Munúa started his career at local Club Nacional de Football, where he won four Uruguyan league titles in a row. He established the record for the longest time without conceding a goal at 963 minutes, and also held the record of being the first goalkeeper to score in Uruguayan football, when he netted from a free-kick in a league win against Central Español.
Munúa also scored some goals from penalties, both in the league and the Libertadores Cup.
Deportivo
Munúa left Nacional in 2003, joining La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña on a six-year link,[1] where he struggled to gain first-choice goalkeeper status: from 2003 to 2006 he was topped by Spanish international José Francisco Molina and, subsequently, faced stiff competition from Israel's Dudu Aouate.
In January 2008, after regaining first-choice from Aouate, both goalkeepers were involved in a post-training punching session that resulted in both being suspended for the match against Villarreal CF, as well as subsequent league games.[2] In February, due to B-team keeper Fabri's inexperience, both players were reinstated in the squad, although the Israeli regained his lost spot.
After having started the following season, as Aouate, deemed surplus to requirements, Munúa eventually returned to back-up status, as Aouate was sold to RCD Mallorca and Fabri returned to the reserves. On 25 January 2009, to due the forced absence of new first-choice Daniel Aranzubia (sent off the previous week against FC Barcelona), he returned to first-team action for his only appearance of the campaign, a 0–1 loss at Real Madrid.
Málaga / Levante
On 28 June 2009, Munúa signed a one-year contract with Málaga CF.[3] At his new club he was an instant first-choice, appearing in all the league games in his first year as the Andalusians barely avoided relegation (17th position).
After only one season, Munúa rejected a new contract offer and was released by the club, on 26 May 2010.[4] On 6 August he signed with Levante UD, returned to the top level after two years,[5] and he made his official debut on 28 August, in a 1–4 home defeat against Sevilla FC.
Munúa was a starter for the Valencian Community side throughout the vast majority of his spell. However, late into his third season, he, alongside Sergio Ballesteros and Juanlu, was accused by teammate José Javier Barkero of lack of commitment during a 0–4 home loss against Deportivo, which led to several match-fixing allegations.[6][7]
Later years
In January 2014, after a brief spell with ACF Fiorentina which consisted of two UEFA Europa League appearances, 36-year-old Munúa returned to his country and Nacional.
International career
Munúa made his debut for Uruguay aged 20, in a friendly match against Chile on 24 May 1998. As a backup, he represented the nation at the 2001 Copa América and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Honours
Club
- Nacional
- Uruguayan League: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002
- Deportivo
Country
- FIFA U-20 World Cup: Runner-up 1997
Club statistics
- As of 30 November 2013[8]
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Uruguay | League | Cup | League Cup | South America | Total | |||||||
| 1997 | Nacional | Uruguayan League | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | 1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | 11 | 0 | ||
| 1999 | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2001 | 27 | 0 | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2002 | 33 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2003 | 19 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | 19 | 2 | ||
| Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Supercopa de España | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2003–04 | Deportivo | Spanish League | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Málaga | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 38 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | Levante | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Italy | League | Coppa Italia | Supercoppa Italiana | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2013–14 | Fiorentina | Italian League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | Uruguay | 102 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | 102 | 3 | |
| Spain | 140 | 0 | 20 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | 163 | 0 | ||
| Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 242 | 3 | 20 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | 267 | 3 | ||
References
- ↑ Deportivo dive in for Munúa; UEFA.com, 26 August 2003
- ↑ Deportivo keepers axed after fight; CNN, 11 January 2008
- ↑ "Duo make Málaga moves". Sky Sports. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
- ↑ "El Málaga no renovará a Munúa" [Málaga will not renew Munúa] (in Spanish). Diario Sur. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ↑ "El Levante UD llega a un acuerdo con Munúa para la próxima temporada y será presentado esta misma tarde" [Levante UD reach an agreement with Munua for the next season and he will be presented this afternoon] (in Spanish). Levante's official website. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
- ↑ Incendio en el vestuario del Levante por las acusaciones de amaño entre jugadores (Fire in Levante locker room for match-fixing accusations between players); Libertad Digital, 1 May 2013 (Spanish)
- ↑ Levante thrown into doubt; Football España, 6 May 2013
- ↑ "G. Munúa". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
External links
- BDFutbol profile
- Gustavo Munúa at National-Football-Teams.com
- Gustavo Munúa – FIFA competition record
- Transfermarkt profile
- Official website (Spanish)
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