Christian Stuani

Christian Stuani

Stuani lining up for Uruguay in 2014
Personal information
Full nameChristian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo
Date of birth12 October 1986
Place of birthTala, Uruguay
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Espanyol
Number8
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2004–2007Danubio36(23)
2005→ Bella Vista (loan)14(12)
2008–2013Reggina17(1)
2009–2010→ Albacete (loan)39(22)
2010–2011→ Levante (loan)30(8)
2011–2012→ Racing Santander (loan)32(9)
2012–2013→ Espanyol (loan)32(7)
2013–Espanyol63(15)
National team‡
2012–Uruguay18(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 10 April 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:00, 14 October 2014 (UTC)
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Stuani and the second or maternal family name is Curbelo.

Christian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo (born 12 October 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Spanish club RCD Espanyol as a striker.

He started out at Danubio, and was bought by Reggina in 2008. He went on to spend the vast majority of his professional career in Spain, in representation of several clubs.

Stuani made his debut for Uruguay in 2012, and appeared for the nation at the 2014 World Cup. He also holds an Italian passport.[1]

Club career

Born in Tala, Canelones, Stuani started his professional career with Danubio FC. In 2005 he went on loan to C.A. Bella Vista in the second division, performing well enough to be recalled.

In January 2008, after scoring 19 goals in the 2007 Apertura with Danubio, Stuani was signed by Reggina Calcio in Italy, penning a four-year contract with the Serie A club. He made his official debut on the 12th, playing 30 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against Empoli FC.

When Stuani joined, the club was second from bottom and had the least goals scored in the league, following Rolando Bianchi's departure for Manchester City in the previous summer – he went scoreless in 12 games, but the Reggio Calabria team managed to retain its division status. In 2008–09 he scored his only league goal from a penalty kick in the last round, a 1–1 home draw against A.C. Siena, having only appeared in four more matches during the entire season, which ended in top-flight relegation.[2]

On 31 July 2009 Stuani joined Albacete Balompié in the Spanish second level, on loan. He finished the season with 22 goals in 39 games, including hat-tricks in wins against CD Castellón[3] and Córdoba CF,[4] putting him in second in the goalscoring charts behind Elche CF's Jorge Molina, but his team only finished two points above the relegation zone.[5]

For 2010–11 Stuani remained in the country and on loan, but moved to La Liga with Levante UD.[6] He was used mostly as a backup to Felipe Caicedo,[7] but still contributed with eight goals – second-best in the squad – as the Valencian easily retained their division status, netting twice in a 3–1 home win against Málaga CF.[8]

In the next season Stuani was loaned to another side in main category of Spanish football, Racing de Santander.[9] In December 2011 he scored a brace in each leg of the Copa del Rey tie against Rayo Vallecano, including a late penalty in the second game which secured a win on the away goals rule following a 6–6 aggregate draw.[10]

In the summer of 2012, Stuani was linked with a move to Deportivo de La Coruña and even passed his medical but, on 28 August, still owned by Reggina, he signed with RCD Espanyol.[1] The move was made permanent in the following campaign.

International career

Stuani in action against Austria in 2014

Stuani made his senior debut for Uruguay on 14 November 2012 in a friendly match with Poland (3–1 away win). On 10 September of the following year he scored his first international goal, helping to a 2–0 home success against Colombia for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[11] On 13 November 2013 he netted the Charrúas‍ '​ second in their 5–0 win in Jordan for the playoffs first leg, finishing Nicolás Lodeiro's cross at close range.[12]

Stuani was selected by manager Óscar Tabárez for the finals in Brazil.[13] He scored in both of Uruguay's warm-up matches for the tournament, the only goal of the game against Northern Ireland after coming on at half-time for Diego Forlán,[14] and the second in a 2–0 win over Slovenia.[15] He made his tournament debut on 14 June, starting in a 1–3 loss to Costa Rica in Fortaleza.[16]

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1. 10 September 2013 Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay  Colombia 2–0 2–0 2014 World Cup qualification
2. 13 November 2013 Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan  Jordan 2–0 5–0 2014 World Cup qualification
3. 31 May 2014 Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay  Northern Ireland 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4. 5 June 2014 Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay  Slovenia 2–0 2–0 Friendly

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 El Espanyol ficha al delantero uruguayo Christian Stuani (Espanyol signs Uruguayan forward Christian Stuani); El Mundo Deportivo, 28 August 2012 (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Big Mac risponde a Stuani, 1–1 a Reggio (Big Mac answers Stuani, 1–1 in Reggio); La Repubblica, 31 May 2009 (Italian)
  3. ↑ El Albacete golea con un Stuani estelar y rompe la armonía del Castellón (Albacete routs with stellar Stuani and shatters Castellón's harmony); Marca, 12 September 2009 (Spanish)
  4. ↑ Trío de goles de Stuani para dar vida al Albacete (Trio of Stuani goals to give life to Albacete); Diario de Cádiz, 23 May 2010 (Spanish)
  5. ↑ El Albacete se salva a lo grande (Albacete saves itself in style); Marca, 19 June 2010 (Spanish)
  6. ↑ El Levante ficha a Stuani (Levante signs Stuani); Fichajes, 29 July 2010 (Spanish)
  7. ↑ El Levante negocia con la Reggina por Stuani (Levante negotiates with Reggina for Stuani); Diario AS, 6 June 2012 (Spanish)
  8. ↑ Levante on the up; ESPN Soccernet, 3 April 2011
  9. ↑ El Racing ficha a Stuani (Racing signs Stuani); Marca, 12 August 2011 (Spanish)
  10. ↑ Esteva, Javier (21 December 2011). "Todo por un penalti tonto" [All because of a foolish penalty]. Marca. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  11. ↑ Uruguay 2–0 Colombia: Cavani y Stuani se toman un café (Uruguay 2–0 Colombia: Cavani and Stuani have a coffee); Goal.com, 11 September 2013 (Spanish)
  12. ↑ "FIFA World Cup Play-Off: Jordan 0 Uruguay 5". Four Four Two. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "Uruguay World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Jackson, Lyle (31 May 2014). "Uruguay 1–0 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  15. ↑ "Edinson Cavani inspires Uruguay to victory over Slovenia". The Guardian. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  16. ↑ Smith, Ben (14 June 2014). "Uruguay 1–3 Costa Rica". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2014.

External links

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