Cristhian Stuani

Cristhian Stuani

Stuani lining up for Uruguay in 2014
Personal information
Full name Cristhian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo[1]
Date of birth (1986-10-12) 12 October 1986
Place of birth Tala, Uruguay
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Middlesbrough
Number 18
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2004–2007 Danubio 36 (23)
2005 → Bella Vista (loan) 14 (12)
2008–2013 Reggina 17 (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)
2013–2015 Espanyol 71 (18)
2015– Middlesbrough 31 (6)
National team‡
2012– Uruguay 27 (5)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 March 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 02:20, 26 March 2016 (UTC)
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Stuani and the second or maternal family name is Curbelo.

Cristhian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo (born 12 October 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for English club Middlesbrough and the Uruguay national team 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, most notably with Espanyol.

Stuani made his debut for Uruguay in 2012, and appeared for the nation at the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 Copa América. He also holds an Italian passport.[2]

Club career

Early 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 Uruguayan Segunda División, performing well enough to be recalled.

Reggina

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 their 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,[3] having only appeared in four more matches during the entire season, which ended in top-flight relegation.

Spain

On 31 July 2009, Stuani joined Albacete Balompié in the Spanish Segunda División, on loan. He finished the season with 22 goals in 39 games, including hat-tricks in wins against CD Castellón[4] and Córdoba CF,[5] putting him in second in the scoring charts behind Elche CF's Jorge Molina, but his team only finished two points above the relegation zone.[6]

For 2010–11, Stuani remained in the country and on loan, but moved to La Liga with Levante UD.[7] He was used mostly as a backup to Felipe Caicedo,[8] but still contributed with eight goals – second-best in the squad – as the Valencians easily retained their division status, netting twice in a 3–1 home win against Málaga CF.[9]

In the next season, Stuani was loaned to another side in main category of Spanish football, Racing de Santander.[10] 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.[11]

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.[2] The move was made permanent in the following campaign.

Middlesbrough

On 15 July 2015, Middlesbrough reached an agreement for the transfer of Stuani,[12] with the deal being completed after receiving international clearance on 7 August, for a rumoured €3 million fee.[13] His first appearance in the Football League Championship occurred on 9 August, as he replaced Kike in the 77th minute of an eventual 0–0 away draw against Preston North End.[14] Three days later he made his first start, in the opening round of the League Cup, scoring in each half of a 3–1 win over Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park;[15] he scored a brace again in the second round on the 25th, as his team came from behind to win at Burton Albion.[16]

Stuani scored his first league goal on 29 August 2015, concluding a 3–1 success at Sheffield Wednesday.[17] Seventeen days later, he scored twice in a victory of the same margin against Brentford at the Riverside Stadium.[18]

On 28 December 2015, Stuani finished Stewart Downing's cross in the 44th second for the only goal of the home game against Wednesday, putting Middlesbrough on top of the table.[19]

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.[20] 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.[21]

Stuani was selected by manager Óscar Tabárez for the finals in Brazil.[22] 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,[23] and the second in a 2–0 win over Slovenia.[24] He made his tournament debut on 14 June, starting in a 1–3 loss to Costa Rica in Fortaleza,[25] and added a further three bench appearances in a round-of-16 exit.

Stuani was named in Uruguay's squad the following year, as they attempted to defend their continental crown at the 2015 Copa América. He made two substitute appearances in Group B, in a quarter-final finish.

International goals

Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first.

References

  1. ↑ "2014 FIFA World Cup List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 El Espanyol ficha al delantero uruguayo Christian [sic] Stuani (Espanyol signs Uruguayan forward Christian Stuani); Mundo Deportivo, 28 August 2012 (Spanish)
  3. ↑ Big Mac risponde a Stuani, 1–1 a Reggio (Big Mac answers Stuani, 1–1 in Reggio); La Repubblica, 31 May 2009 (Italian)
  4. ↑ 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)
  5. ↑ 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)
  6. ↑ El Albacete se salva a lo grande (Albacete saves itself in style); Marca, 19 June 2010 (Spanish)
  7. ↑ El Levante ficha a Stuani (Levante signs Stuani); Fichajes, 29 July 2010 (Spanish)
  8. ↑ El Levante negocia con la Reggina por Stuani (Levante negotiates with Reggina for Stuani); Diario AS, 6 June 2012 (Spanish)
  9. ↑ Levante on the up; ESPN Soccernet, 3 April 2011
  10. ↑ El Racing ficha a Stuani (Racing signs Stuani); Marca, 12 August 2011 (Spanish)
  11. ↑ Esteva, Javier (21 December 2011). "Todo por un penalti tonto" [All because of a foolish penalty] (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "Principi d'acord per la sortida d'Stuani" [Agreement in principle for the departure of Stuani] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Cristhian Stuani: Espanyol striker set to join Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Preston 0–0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Oldham 1–3 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "Burton 1–2 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Sheff Wed 1–3 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Middlesbrough 3–1 Brentford". BBC Sport. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "Middlesbrough 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday: Boro return to top of the Championship thanks to Christian [sic] Stuani goal". Daily Mail. 28 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  20. ↑ 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)
  21. ↑ "FIFA World Cup Play-Off: Jordan 0 Uruguay 5". FourFourTwo. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  22. ↑ "Uruguay World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  23. ↑ Jackson, Lyle (31 May 2014). "Uruguay 1–0 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "Edinson Cavani inspires Uruguay to victory over Slovenia". The Guardian. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  25. ↑ Smith, Ben (14 June 2014). "Uruguay 1–3 Costa Rica". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2014.

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