Faryd Mondragón

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Mondragón and the second or maternal family name is Alí.
Faryd Mondragón

Mondragón playing for 1. FC Köln in 2008
Personal information
Full name Faryd Camilo Mondragón Alí
Date of birth (1971-06-21) 21 June 1971
Place of birth Cali, Colombia
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Playing position Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1991 Deportivo Cali 1 (0)
1992 Real Cartagena 15 (0)
1992 Santa Fe 2 (0)
1993 Cerro Porteño 11 (0)
1993–1994 Argentinos Juniors 21 (0)
1994–1995 Independiente 0 (0)
1995 Santa Fe 30 (0)
1995–1998 Independiente 103 (1)
1999 Real Zaragoza 13 (0)
1999–2000 Independiente 16 (0)
2001 Metz 30 (0)
2001–2007 Galatasaray 185 (0)
2007–2010 1. FC Köln 106 (0)
2011 Philadelphia Union 27 (0)
2012–2014 Deportivo Cali 78 (0)
Total 638 (1)
National team
1993–2014 Colombia 51 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Faryd Camilo Mondragón Alí , born 21 June 1971) is a retired Colombian footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for Deportivo Cali in the Colombian First Division.

Since his debut in 1993, he has played over 50 times for the Colombian national team, making him alongside Mario Yepes the last active members of the original 1990s golden generation of Colombian football. He was named in the Colombian squads for the 1992 Olympics, two Copa América tournaments, two CONCACAF Gold Cups, and the World Cups of 1994, 1998 and 2014. On 24 June 2014, Mondragón made history by becoming the oldest player to play a FIFA World Cup match at the age of 43 years and 3 days, before retiring after Colombia was eliminated in Quarter-Finals.

Club career

Faryd Mondragón playing for 1. FC Köln.

Born in Cali of Lebanese descent, Mondragón began his career began at Deportivo Cali, and he moved to Independiente Santa Fe and then Cerro Porteño in Paraguay. His career took off when he joined the Argentine first division side Argentinos Juniors in 1993, and then made his international debut for Colombia. The following year he moved to Club Atlético Independiente where he won, among other titles, the 1995 Supercopa Libertadores against Flamengo. Apart from some brief periods, he largely stood at the club until 2001.

He was the man behind the FC Metz's escape from relegation from Ligue 1 at the end of the 2000–01 season. However, he was convicted of using a false Greek passport and despite the mitigating circumstances (the passport would have been provided by shysters and FC Metz had not reached the limit of players outside the EU), Mondragón was not allowed to play in France and had to leave the country.

Mondragón represented Turkish power Galatasaray from 2001 to 2007, where he won two Süper Lig titles in 2002 and 2006. He was appreciated by the fans for his many saves and his commitment to the success of the team, and also become known for his prayers before and during games. He came to the fore in many European matches and was selected Player of the week in the Champions League two times.

Mondragón transferred from Istanbul to 1. FC Köln in May 2007. After arriving at his new club, he was forced to compete with established Köln goalkeeper Stefan Wessels for a spot in the starting eleven. One of the reasons that he chose 1. FC Köln it was because the current coach Christoph Daum was working there. After an intense pre-season, Mondragón was named as the new number one for 1. FC Köln. This resulted in Wessels leaving the club for Everton in England. Since Wessels departure, Mondragón established a first choice goalkeeper for the club until Mondragón was relegated to the bench after an altercation with Zvonimir Soldo over his desire to go on international duty. This resulted in Mondragón being sent home from the team hotel and being replaced by young Croatian stopper Miro Varvodić.[2]

Mondragón in his second spell at Deportivo Cali.

His contract with Köln was terminated with effect from 31 December 2010,[3] the reason being Mondragón's desire to play in the MLS.

He spent the 2011 season with Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, where he was successful in providing leadership to a young team. On 30 January 2012, Deportivo Cali announced Mondragón had signed a one-year contract to finish his career with his original professional club.[4] He retired after two and a half seasons back at the club.

International career

After making his debut against Venezuela in 1993,[5] Mondragón was a member of the Colombian national teams that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup. During the 1998 World Cup, he started in goal for all three of their games, including the final match against England. Despite conceding two goals, he made some impressive saves and in doing so kept the score down to 2–0, with the BBC's South American football correspondent Tim Vickery saying that Mondragón was "single-handedly responsible for the fact that England did not run up a cricket score".[6] At the end of the game, Mondragón broke down in tears and David Seaman, England's goalkeeper, did his best to console him. According to German footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer, Mondragón had been the best goalkeeper of the first round.[7]

Along with Carlos Valderrama, the country's most capped player, Mondragón is the only Colombian to have participated in five FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns.[5] In 2010, he was recalled to the Colombian squad at the age of 39 after a five-year absence from international football.[8] In 2014, he was named in Colombia's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, making him the oldest player at the tournament, and in World Cup history, at the age of 43, and the only squad member at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[9] He is also the only player to have participated in 6 different World Cup qualifying campaigns since 1993. By coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute of the final group game against Japan on 24 June 2014, he became the oldest player ever to play in a World Cup game at the age of 43 years and 3 days old, surpassing the record set by Roger Milla for Cameroon at the 1994 World Cup.[10] Mondragon gave a very emotional interview afterwards, expressing his gratitude to have been given the opportunity to represent Colombia one last time at a World Cup.[11]

After Colombia's elimination to the host country Brazil, Mondragón officially confirmed his retirement and thanked the fans and nation for the support after stating, "This is my last stadium as a professional player. I'm proud to be part of this wonderful group. Thank you all for the years of support.".[12][13]

Career statistics

Updated 27 June 2014

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Colombia League Cup League Cup South America Total
1990Deportivo CaliCategoría Primera A0000000000
19911000000010
1992Real Cartagena150000000150
Santa Fe2000000020
Paraguay League Cup League Cup South America Total
1993Cerro PorteñoDivisión Profesional110000000110
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1993–94Argentinos JuniorsPrimera División210000000210
1994–95Independiente0000000000
Colombia League Cup League Cup South America Total
1995Santa FeCategoría Primera A300000000300
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1995–96IndependientePrimera División270000000270
1996–97330000000330
1997–98261000000261
1998–99170000000170
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
1998–99Real ZaragozaLa Liga130000000130
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1999–00IndependientePrimera División160000000160
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
2000–01MetzLigue 1300000000300
Turkey League Türkiye Kupası Süper Kupa Europe Total
2001–02GalatasaraySüper Lig2800000120400
2002–03320100060390
2003–04270100080360
2004–05340400000380
2005–06340200020380
2006–07300301060400
Germany League DFB-Pokal Other Europe Total
2007–08KölnBundesliga310000000310
2008–09310200000330
2009–10320400000360
2010–11120200000140
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2011Philadelphia UnionMajor League Soccer270102000300
Colombia League Cup Other South America Total
2012Deportivo CaliCategoría Primera A330100000340
2013400000000400
201450000050100
Total Colombia 12601000501320
Paraguay 110000000110
Argentina 14010000001401
Spain 130000000130
France 300000000300
Turkey 1850110103402310
Germany 10608000001140
USA 270102000300
Career total 6381210303907011

Honours

Independiente
Galatasaray
Deportivo Cali

Personal life

Mondragón is of Lebanese descent.[14] His first name Faryd means “unique or unmatched” in Arabic.[15] He is a Maronite and has said so publicly along with making the sign of the cross on multiple occasions before matches.[16]

See also

References

  1. "Faryd Mondragón". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  2. "Report: Faryd Mondragon Set To Leave Koeln For Philadelphia Union". Goal.com. 9 December 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  3. "Mondragon verlässt den FC" [Mondragon leaves FC]. 1. FC Köln (in German). 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  4. "Mondragón se vuelve a poner la verde" [Mondragon returns to put on the green]. ligapostobon.com.co (in Spanish). 30 January 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Faryd Mondragon". FIFA. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  6. Tim Vickery (22 April 2013). "Tim Vickery column: Veteran goalkeeper eyeing place in Rio". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  7. Jeremiah Oshan (14 March 2011). "Faryd Mondragon Provides Stability In Goal". SB Nation. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  8. "Mondragon in Colombia roster after 5-year absence". Fox Soccer (MSN). 21 May 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  9. Nick Miller (11 June 2014). "World Cup Knowledge: players who played at World Cup without a club". The Guardian (London: theguardian.com). Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  10. "Mondragon bridging Colombian history". FIFA Official Website. 25 June 2014. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  11. "Faryd Mondragon Breaks the Old Record of the World Cup. Brazil 2014". YouTube. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  12. Liam Apicella (5 July 2014). "Faryd Mondragon announces retirement". SportsMole. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  13. Andy Morris (5 July 2014). "World Cup record-breaker retires: Colombia goalkeeper bids farewell to football". Fanatix. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  14. "Football: Colombian 'globetrotter' reaches end of the road at World Cup". The Straight Times. 28 May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  15. Eric Gomez (21 April 2011). "Breaking News: Mondragon talks MLS, Europe, Copa America". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  16. "Faryd Mondragón Brasil 2014". Jetset.com.co. Retrieved 2015-09-19.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Faryd Mondragón.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Danny Califf
Philadelphia Union captain
2011
Succeeded by
Carlos Valdés
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