Federico Javier Santander Mereles (born 4 June 1991) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Uruguayan club Nacional and the Paraguay national team.
espndeportes.espn.comClub career
Early career
Santander started in the youth divisions of Guaraní where he excelled and was part of the under-20 squad that won the international friendly championship held in Valencia, Spain. After winning the U20 tournament with Guaraní he attracted the interest of several clubs and had a trial with A.C. Milan.2 In 2008, at the age of 16, he made his debut with the senior squad of Guaraní by scoring a goal in the 5–2 win against Tacuary.3 On 31 August 2010, he signed for French side Toulouse.
Argentina: Racing and Tigre
In February 2012, he moved to Racing Club on a three-year contract with a purchase option for 20% of his sports rights.45
In July 2012, Santander joined Argentine Primera División side Tigre on a one-year loan deal despite that Guaraní had intentions to bring him back to Paraguay.67 He was handed the number #24 shirt for the 2012–13 season and debuted in a 2–1 home defeat against Estudiantes de La Plata on 6 August 2012.8
Copenhagen
On 14 June 2015, Santander signed a five-year contract with the Danish Superliga team F.C. Copenhagen.910 He joined the club after completing Copa Libertadores with Guaraní. He made his league debut on 2 August 2015 against SønderjyskE making two assist, assisting Thomas Delaney and William Kvist. Three days later, he scored his first goal in a 3–2 defeat against FK Jablonec as Copenhagen failed to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage.11 On 16 May 2016, he netted twice to give his club a 2–0 win against FC Nordsjælland which crowned Copenhagen league champions.12 In his first season in Copenhagen he became the third highest goalscorer with 14 goals and four assists.
On 24 August 2016, Santander's goal in Copenhagen's qualification match versus Cypriot club APOEL secured his club's position in the 2016–17 Champions League.1314
Bologna
In June 2018 Santander signed a four-year contract with Italian club Bologna in a deal worth €6 million.15
Reggina
On 2 August 2022, Santander moved to Reggina on a multi-year contract.16
Return to Guaraní
On 27 January 2023, Santander returned to Guaraní on loan until 30 June 2023.17
International career
On 28 September 2009, at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt, Santander scored the first goal for the Paraguay U-20 squad against home team Egypt, giving the Paraguayans a 1–0 lead.
Wearing the number 9 as a replacement for Roque Santa Cruz, he debuted for Paraguay on 9 October 2010 in a 1–0 loss against Australia in Sydney.18
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 10 June 202319 Appearances and goals by club, season and competition| Club | Season | League | National cup20 | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Guaraní | 2009 | Paraguayan Primera División | – | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2010 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2011 | 22 | 10 | – | – | 22 | 10 | ||||
| 2012 | 1 | 2 | – | – | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 26 | 12 | – | 1 | 0 | 27 | 12 | |||
| Toulouse (loan) | 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | 25 | 5 | |
| Racing | 2011–12 | Argentine Primera División | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 18 | 0 | |
| Tigre | 2011–12 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 2012–13 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 24 | 2 | ||
| Total | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 29 | 3 | ||
| Guaraní | 2013 | Paraguayan Primera División | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 421 | 2 | 20 | 7 |
| 2014 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 222 | 0 | 24 | 11 | ||
| 2015 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1223 | 6 | 29 | 11 | ||
| Total | 55 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 8 | 73 | 29 | ||
| Copenhagen | 2015–16 | Danish Superliga | 30 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 224 | 1 | 36 | 17 |
| 2016–17 | 28 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1325 | 4 | 44 | 17 | ||
| 2017–18 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 826 | 2 | 32 | 14 | ||
| Total | 82 | 38 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 7 | 112 | 48 | ||
| Bologna | 2018–19 | Serie A | 32 | 8 | 2 | 0 | – | 34 | 8 | |
| 2019–20 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | |||
| Total | 67 | 10 | 4 | 0 | – | 71 | 10 | |||
| Guaraní (loan) | 2023 | Paraguayan Primera División | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 627 | 5 | 19 | 8 |
| Career total | 299 | 90 | 16 | 3 | 59 | 22 | 374 | 115 | ||
International
Scores and results list Paraguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Santander goal. List of international goals scored by Federico Santander28| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 2011 | Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia | Bolivia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 20 November 2018 | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa | South Africa | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
Honours
Copenhagen
External links
- Federico Santander at National-Football-Teams.com
- Federico Santander at BDFA (in Spanish)
References
"Los jugadores más caros del fútbol paraguayo".[permanent dead link] https://m.extra.com.py/deportes/los-jugadores-mas-caros-del-futbol-paraguayo-n1515674.html ↩
Guaraní se jacta de ser la mejor conexión para el fútbol europeo[permanent dead link] - Diario La Nación http://200.61.224.39/noticias.php?not=188912 ↩
Guaraní fulminó con goles a Tacuary y eleva su cotización[permanent dead link] - Diario La Nación http://200.61.224.39/noticias.php?not=184648 ↩
"Basile tendrá en el banco los goles de Santander". Diario Popular (in Spanish). 10 February 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2016. http://www.diariopopular.com.ar/notas/109469-basile-tendra-el-bancolos-goles-santander ↩
"Federico Santander va al Racing de Avellaneda" [Federico Santander goes to Racing de Avellaneda]. Paraguay.com (in Spanish). 3 February 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2016. http://www.paraguay.com/deportes/federico-santander-va-al-racing-de-avellaneda-79550 ↩
"Tigre apuesta por los goles del paraguayo Santander" [Tigre bets on goals from Paraguayan Santander]. La Nación (in Spanish). 19 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202004459/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1491816-tigre-apuesta-por-los-goles-del-paraguayo-santander ↩
"Tigre: firmó el paraguayo Santander" [Tigre: signed Paraguayan Santander]. ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 20 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2016. http://espndeportes.espn.com/news/nota?id=1567454 ↩
"Tigre vs. Estudiantes - 7 August 2012". soccerway.com. Soccerway. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2020. https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2012/08/07/argentina/primera-division/club-atletico-tigre/estudiantes-de-la-plata/1338704/ ↩
"F.C. København køber Federico Santander". F.C. København (in Danish). 14 June 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2016. http://www.fck.dk/nyhed/2015/06/14/fc-koebenhavn-koeber-federico-santander ↩
"Federico Santander va al Copenhague de Dinamarca". La Nación (in Spanish). 11 June 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2016. http://www.lanacion.com.py/2015/06/11/federico-santander-va-al-copenhague-de-dinamarca/ ↩
"FCK fliegt gegen Jablonec raus". Nordschleswiger (in German). 6 August 2015. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160921041554/http://www.nordschleswiger.dk/news-details1/36/83041?newscatid=36&h=FCK-fliegt-gegen-Jablonec-raus ↩
O'Connor, Phillip (16 May 2016). "Santander fires FC Copenhagen to Danish title". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202112956/http://in.reuters.com/article/soccer-denmark-idINKCN0Y71TC ↩
Vou, Andreas. "Late Copenhagen strike breaks APOEL hearts". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 25 August 2016. http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/08/25/late-copenhagen-strike-breaks-apoel-hearts/ ↩
"Santander es Champions". Diario ABC Color (in Spanish). 24 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016. http://www.abc.com.py/deportes/futbol/santander-es-champions-1511808.html ↩
"Official: Bologna sign Santander". Football Italia. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2019. https://www.football-italia.net/123331/official-bologna-sign-santander ↩
"EL ROPERO È AMARANTO! BENVENUTO FEDERICO SANTANDER" (in Italian). Reggina. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022. https://www.reggina1914.it/notizie/el-ropero-e-amaranto-benvenuto-federico-santander/ ↩
"FEDERICO SANTANDER IN PRESTITO AL CLUB GUARANÌ" (in Italian). Reggina. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023. https://www.reggina1914.it/notizie/federico-santander-in-prestito-al-club-guarani/ ↩
"Error | Football Federation Australia". Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20121011105328/http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/scoreboard/0000470389/scoreboard.html ↩
Federico Santander at Soccerway https://int.soccerway.com/players/federico-santander-mereles/31548/ ↩
Includes Coupe de France, Copa Argentina, Danish Cup, Coppa Italia /wiki/Coupe_de_France ↩
Appearances in Copa Sudamericana /wiki/Copa_Sudamericana ↩
Appearances in Copa Libertadores /wiki/Copa_Libertadores ↩
Appearances in Copa Libertadores /wiki/Copa_Libertadores ↩
Appearances in UEFA Europa League /wiki/UEFA_Europa_League ↩
Nine appearances and four goals in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League /wiki/UEFA_Champions_League ↩
Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League ↩
Appearances in Copa Sudamericana /wiki/Copa_Sudamericana ↩
"Santander, Federico". National Football Teams. Retrieved 4 August 2017. http://www.national-football-teams.com/player/40235/Federico_Santander.html ↩