Martín Ligüera

Martín Ligüera

Personal information
Full name	Martín Ricardo Ligüera López
Date of birth	(1980-11-09) November 9, 1980
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height
Position(s)	Attacking Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Fénix
Number	10
Youth career
	Nacional Montevideo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1999	Nacional Montevideo	2	(0)
2000	Cerro	33	(14)
2001	Defensor Sporting	34	(10)
2002–2003	Fénix	53	(33)
2003	Mallorca	1	(0)
2003–2005	Nacional Montevideo	34	(14)
2005–2006	San Luis	20	(1)
2006–2007	Alianza Lima	39	(8)
2007–2008	Nacional Montevideo	33	(3)
2009–2010	Olimpia Asunción	40	(10)
2010–2011	Unión Española	58	(16)
2012–2013	Atlético Paranaense	27	(5)
2013	Joinville	13	(1)
2014–	Fénix	14	(3)
International career
2002–2005	Uruguay	17	(7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 14, 2014

Martín Ligüera, full name Martín Ricardo Ligüera López (born 9 November 1980 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan footballer. He currently plays as attacking midfielder for Fénix.

Club career

Ligüera made his first division debut in 1997 for Uruguayan power Nacional. However it was his play with Fénix in which he scored 33 goals in 53 first division matches, which started to draw him interest from European clubs. While at Fénix his play helped convert the small Montevideo side into the revelation of the Uruguayan First division. They qualified for the 2003 Copa Libertadores, in which they had a famous 6-1 victory over Mexican side Cruz Azul with Ligüera tallying 3 goals.

Ligüera's contract was purchased by La Liga side Mallorca. His stay at the club was short-lived due to foreign player restrictions. Ligüera played one game in La Liga for Mallorca, against Sevilla FC, on 21 September 2003. He also scored in the Copa del Rey, and appeared in three UEFA Cup matches for Mallorca, starting in two of those matches. In January 2004, due to the arrival of Andrija Delibasic, he was loaned out to Grasshopper Club Zürich in order give the non-EU seat.

After the 2004 campaign, Ligüera returned to Uruguay and Nacional to help lead the club to a league title. His play once began to draw the interest of other South American clubs, resulting in stints with San Luis in Mexico and Peruvian powerhouse Alianza Lima. While at Alianza, Martin helped the club win a Peruvian League title and participated in the Copa Libertadores.

In 2009, he signed for Club Olimpia of Paraguay.

National team

A Uruguay full international, he also played at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. He has represented his country 17 times, scoring 7 times, including a hat-trick on August 15, 2003 in a 5-2 victory over Iran.

External links

• (Spanish) LFP
• Martín Ligüera at National-Football-Teams.com
• (Spanish) Nacional
• Profile at tenfieldigital
• Martín Ligüera at ESPN FC