Víctor Núñez

For the film director, see Victor Nuñez
Víctor Núñez
Personal information
Full nameVíctor Amaury Núñez Rodríguez
Date of birth15 April 1980
Place of birthSanto Domingo,
Dominican Republic
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
Real España
Youth career
Saprissa
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1999–2003Saprissa48(11)
2000–2001→ Limonense (loan)31(21)
2002–2003→ Santa Bárbara (loan)18(16)
2003–2008Alajuelense57(26)
2004–2006→ Cartaginés (loan)53(29)
2008–2010Liberia Mía51(31)
2010–2014Herediano105(52)
2015–Real España
National team‡
2006–Costa Rica28(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 October 2008.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 October 2008
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Núñez and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez.

Víctor Amaury Núñez Rodríguez (born 15 April 1980 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic[1]) is a Costa Rican professional football (soccer) player who plays for Real España in the Honduran football league.

He has the all time record for the number of goals in Costa Rica's first division.

Personal life

Núñez is originally from the Dominican Republic but moved to Costa Rica when he was 14 years old.[2] He received a Costa Rican passport on 31 January 2003.[2]

Club career

Nuñez came out of the minor league system of Deportivo Saprissa where he played his first seasons. He made his professional debut in a league match against Goicoechea on 16 December 1999.[2]

Nuñez scored his first goal on 12 October 2000 against Alajuelense while playing on loan for Limonense.[2] He has led the league in goal-scoring four times (Invierno 2007, Invierno 2008, Invierno 2009 and Verano 2013) and became the top active league goalscorer in March 2009[3] while becoming the second player to score more than 200 league goals in November 2013.[4] He simultaneously amassed a total of 217 goals in all games, only 30 short of Costa Rican recordholder Juan Ulloa.[5]

His nickname, El Mambo, references the traditional rhythm of his home country (mambo).

He never fully earned trust at Saprissa so he was loaned again once he went back to them. After a few bad disappointing seasons with Saprissa but with a high recognition in the country, he was signed by Saprissa's archrival Alajuelense. He did not have a lot of options during his first year, so he was, again, loaned to Cartaginés and after an amazing campaign he returned to Alajuelense and finally became an important piece of the team. In July 2010, he joined Herediano from Águilas Guanacastecas.[6] After four years with Herediano, Núñez moved abroad to play for Honduran side Real España.[7]

He is a strong and decisive player who has a great ability to dribble rivals and has score amazing goals, he is usually very accurate on his shots.

International career

Núñez made his debut for Costa Rica in a February 2006 friendly match against South Korea[8] and has, as of May 2014, earned a total of 28 caps, scoring 6 goals. He represented his country in 7 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[9] and was part of the Costa Rica squad for 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany, making him the first Dominican Republic-born athlete to compete in a FIFA World Cup..

He also played at the 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup[10] and 2011 Copa Centroamericana [11]

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list. Costa Rica's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 September 2007 National Soccer Stadium, Toronto, Canada  Canada 1–0 1–1 Friendly
2. 13 October 2007 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador  El Salvador 1–0 2–2 Friendly
3. 21 November 2007 Estadio Rod Carew, Panama City, Panama  Panama 1–1 1–1 Friendly
4. 14 June 2008 Grenada National Stadium, St. George's, Grenada  Grenada 2–2 2–2 World Cup qualifier
5. 15 October 2008 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, San José, Costa Rica  Haiti 2–0 2–0 World Cup qualifier
6. 14 January 2011 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Honduras 1–0 1–1 Uncaf 2011

References

  1. ↑ "Mundial Alemmania 2006 – Víctor Núñez". Nacion.com. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Sonría, "Mambo"". Al Día. 6 November 2005.
  3. ↑ Mambo , máximo goleador activo en Primera División - Nación (Spanish)
  4. ↑ Calvo C., Rodrigo (21 November 2013). "Errol Daniels y Víctor 'Mambo' Núñez, dos leyendas del gol" (in Spanish). Nacion.
  5. ↑ A Víctor Núñez lo seduce otro récord de goleo - Nación (Spanish)
  6. ↑ “Mambo” Núñez jugará con Herediano - Nación (Spanish)
  7. ↑ Víctor Mambo Núñez ahora es menos letal; se va del Herediano al Real España - Nación (Spanish)
  8. ↑ "International Friendly Matches 2006". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  9. ↑ Víctor Núñez – FIFA competition record
  10. ↑ UNCAF (Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup) 2009 - Details - RSSSF
  11. ↑ Copa Centroamericana 2011 (UNCAF Nations Cup) - RSSSF

External links