Faryd Mondragón

Faryd Mondragón

Mondragón playing for 1. FC Köln in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Faryd Camilo Mondragón Alí
Date of birth	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
1990	Deportivo Cali	Categoría Primera A	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1991			1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1992	Real Cartagena		15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
	Santa Fe		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Paraguay			League		Cup		League Cup		South America		Total
1993	Cerro Porteño	División Profesional	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
Argentina			League		Cup		League Cup		South America		Total
1993–94	Argentinos Juniors	Primera División	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	0
1994–95	Independiente		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Colombia			League		Cup		League Cup		South America		Total
1995	Santa Fe	Categoría Primera A	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	0
Argentina			League		Cup		League Cup		South America		Total
1995–96	Independiente	Primera División	27	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	0
1996–97			33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	33	0
1997–98			26	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	1
1998–99			17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	0
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Supercopa de España		Europe		Total
1998–99	Real Zaragoza	La Liga	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Argentina			League		Cup		League Cup		South America		Total
1999–00	Independiente	Primera División	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	0
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
2000–01	Metz	Ligue 1	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	0
Turkey			League		Türkiye Kupası		Süper Kupa		Europe		Total
2001–02	Galatasaray	Süper Lig	28	0	0	0	0	0	12	0	40	0
2002–03			32	0	1	0	0	0	6	0	39	0
2003–04			27	0	1	0	0	0	8	0	36	0
2004–05			34	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	38	0
2005–06			34	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	38	0
2006–07			30	0	3	0	1	0	6	0	40	0
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Other		Europe		Total
2007–08	Köln	Bundesliga	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31	0
2008–09			31	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	33	0
2009–10			32	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	36	0
2010–11			12	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
USA			League		Open Cup		League Cup		North America		Total
2011	Philadelphia Union	Major League Soccer	27	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	30	0
Colombia			League		Cup		Other		South America		Total
2012	Deportivo Cali	Categoría Primera A	33	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	34	0
2013			40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	40	0
2014			5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	10	0
Total	Colombia		126	0	1	0	0	0	5	0	132	0
	Paraguay		11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	Argentina		140	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	140	1
	Spain		13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
	France		30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	0
	Turkey		185	0	11	0	1	0	34	0	231	0
	Germany		106	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	114	0
	USA		27	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	30	0
Career total			638	1	21	0	3	0	39	0	701	1

Honours

Independiente

• Recopa Sudamericana: 1995
• Supercopa Libertadores: 1995

Galatasaray

• Süper Lig (2): 2001–02, 2005–06
• Turkish Cup: 2004–05

Deportivo Cali

• Superliga Colombiana: 2014

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

• FIFA World Cup records

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. "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

• Faryd Mondragón at National-Football-Teams.com
• Argentine Primera statistics (Spanish)