Gustavo Munúa

Gustavo Munúa

Munúa in action for Levante in 2011
Personal information
Full name Gustavo Adolfo Munúa Vera
Date of birth (1978-01-27) 27 January 1978
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 12 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
Nacional (coach)
Youth career
1986–1997 Nacional
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2003 Nacional 102 (3)
2003–2009 Deportivo La Coruña 27 (0)
2009–2010 Málaga 38 (0)
2010–2013 Levante 86 (0)
2013–2014 Fiorentina 0 (0)
2014–2015 Nacional 41 (0)
Total 294 (3)
National team
1998–2004 Uruguay 21 (0)
Teams managed
2015– Nacional

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

† Appearances (goals)
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Munúa and the second or maternal family name is Vera.

Gustavo Adolfo Munúa Vera (born 27 January 1978) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and the current coach of Club Nacional de Football.

After starting out at Nacional he spent most of his professional career in Spain, mainly at Deportivo de La Coruña where he could never be a starter in six seasons. He also played in the country for Málaga and Levante, being first-choice and appearing in 151 La Liga games over the course of one full decade.

An Uruguayan international for six years, Munúa represented the country at the 2002 World Cup.

Club career

Nacional

Born in Montevideo, Munúa started his career at local Club Nacional de Football, where he won four Uruguyan league titles in a row. He held the record of being the first goalkeeper to score in Uruguayan football, when he netted from a free-kick in a league win against Central Español.

Munúa also scored some goals from penalties, both in the league and the Libertadores Cup.

Deportivo

Munúa left Nacional in 2003, joining La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña on a six-year link,[1] where he struggled to gain first-choice goalkeeper status: from 2003 to 2006 he was topped by Spanish international José Francisco Molina and, subsequently, faced stiff competition from Israel's Dudu Aouate.

In January 2008, after regaining first-choice from Aouate, both goalkeepers were involved in a post-training punching session that resulted in both being suspended for the match against Villarreal CF, as well as subsequent league games.[2] In February, due to B-team keeper Fabri's inexperience, both players were reinstated in the squad, although the Israeli regained his lost spot.

After having started the following season, as Aouate, deemed surplus to requirements, Munúa eventually returned to back-up status, as Aouate was sold to RCD Mallorca and Fabri returned to the reserves. On 25 January 2009, to due the forced absence of new first-choice Daniel Aranzubia (sent off the previous week against FC Barcelona), he returned to first-team action for his only appearance of the campaign, a 0–1 loss at Real Madrid.

Málaga / Levante

Munúa facing a shot from Real Sociedad's Carlos Vela in 2012

On 28 June 2009, Munúa signed a one-year contract with Málaga CF.[3] At his new club he was an instant first-choice, appearing in all the league games in his first year as the Andalusians barely avoided relegation (17th position).

After only one season, Munúa rejected a new contract offer and was released by the club, on 26 May 2010.[4] On 6 August he signed with Levante UD, returned to the top level after two years,[5] and he made his official debut on 28 August, in a 1–4 home defeat against Sevilla FC.

Munúa was a starter for the Valencian Community side throughout the vast majority of his spell. However, late into his third season, he, alongside Sergio Ballesteros and Juanlu, was accused by teammate José Barkero of lack of commitment during a 0–4 home loss against Deportivo, which led to several match-fixing allegations.[6][7]

Later years

In January 2014, after a brief spell with ACF Fiorentina which consisted of two UEFA Europa League appearances, 36-year-old Munúa returned to his country and Nacional. After winning the 2015 national championship with the latter, as team captain, he was announced as Álvaro Gutiérrez's replacement as head coach.[8]

International career

Munúa made his debut for Uruguay aged 20, in a friendly match against Chile on 24 May 1998. As a backup, he represented the nation at the 2001 Copa América and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Club statistics

[9]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Uruguay League Cup League Cup South America Total
1997NacionalPrimera División10??10
1998110??110
1999110??110
200000??00
2001270??270
2002331??331
2003192??192
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2003–04DeportivoLa Liga504010100
2004–051702020200
2005–0600000000
2006–07006060
2007–08402060
2008–0910000010
2009–10Málaga38000380
2010–11Levante20040240
2011–1237020390
2012–131800000180
Italy League Coppa Italia Supercoppa Italiana Europe Total
2013–14FiorentinaSerie A00002020
Total Uruguay 1023??1023
Spain 1400200301630
Italy 00002020
Career total 2423200502673

Honours

Club

Nacional
Deportivo

Country

References

External links

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