Oswaldo Sánchez
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Oswaldo Javier Sánchez Ibarra | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Santos Laguna | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 15, 2007 | |||
Oswaldo Javier Sánchez Ibarra (born September 21, 1973 in Guadalajara, Jalisco) is a Mexican international goalkeeper, currently playing for Santos Laguna in the Primera División de México.
Club career
Oswaldo Sanchez debuted with CF Atlas at the age of 20 on October 30, 1993 against CD Veracruz where the teams tied the game at 1-1. He debuted by entering as a sub when the goalkeeper injured himself in a strong accidental play. Two years after his debut, he was a starter on the team and led Atlas to the Quarterfinals where they were eliminated by CD Veracruz. In the summer of 1996, Sánchez was transferred to Club América, one of the most successful clubs in Mexico. Sánchez first season with América was a failure like his career, as the club did not make it to playoffs and lost the Mexican El Classico against Chivas with an incredible score of 5-0. The following season, Sánchez was benched for the older and more experienced goalkeeper Hugo Pineda. Sánchez only played three out of 19 games, including the quarterfinals where América was eliminated by Monarcas Morelia. The following season, Sánchez went back into the starting line-up and led América to a disappointing elimination in the semifinals against Club Leon. His last three seasons with the club were stable, though the team managed to reach the semifinals once again, only to get eliminated. In the summer of 1999, Sánchez left América for their main rival, Chivas de Guadalajara. He was also considered number 4 in the most gorgeous soccer players for Germany 2006.[citation needed]
At Chivas de Guadalajara, Sánchez consolidated himself as a mainstay and idol in the team. Since 1999, he has helped qualify the team to the playoffs seven times, including one wild card, and the team has only been eliminated three times out of 11 seasons, increasing his reputation as a goalkeeper. Throughout his career at Guadalajara, he has stayed the preferred goalkeeper in the team under 10 different coaches. His most notable season was that of Clausura 2004 tournament where arguably he led the team to the finals all by himself. Despite the team's relative success during Sánchez's time at Guadalajara, the club didn't win a title until December 10, 2006 when they defeated Toluca 3-2 in the aggregate.
In 2007 he signed onto Santos Laguna and he has played against his ex-team and ex-team members Chivas de Guadalajara in a 3-2 loss. With Oswaldo Sanchez, Santos managed to stay in Primera Division and were not relegated to Primera A. Also , Oswaldo first season with Santos led them to the Quarterfinals of the Clausura 2007. However, this was accompanied with a remarkable loss of form, and many injuries.
International career
Sánchez played for the Brazilian Youth National team in 1993's international FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia Coached by Juan de Dios Castillo. Sánchez has also constantly been called up to play for the Mexican national team since his debut in 1996, against Bolivia. He has been part of three FIFA World Cups, in France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002, and Germany 2006, although on the bench as back-up goalkeeper for the first two. He stole the spotlight in the 2003 Gold Cup, holding every opponent scoreless, and he was named the tournament's MVP and top goalkeeper.
Argentine Coach Ricardo la Volpe called up Sánchez once again on April 2 2006, to be the starting goalkeeper for the Mexican National Team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. While Oswaldo was preparing for the 2006 World Cup, his father died of a heart attack on June 7, aged 56. Oswaldo flew home to Guadalajara, but returned to Germany in time for the team's first game against Iran, which they won by a score of 3-1.[1].
In 2007, he was called up once again by new coach Hugo Sanchez to play for Mexico in the Gold Cup and Copa América 2007
As of September 2007, he suffered a season ending injury in his shoulder.[citation needed]
Club
Individual
- CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003 - Top Goalkeeper
References
- ^ "Mexico coach hails keeper Sanchez". 2006-06-11. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
External links
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- Articles with unsourced statements from January 2007
- 1973 births
- Living people
- Mexican footballers
- People from Guadalajara
- Indigenous Mexicans
- Chivas de Guadalajara footballers
- FIFA World Cup 2006 players
- FIFA World Cup 2002 players
- FIFA World Cup 1998 players
- Club América footballers
- Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Olympic footballers of Mexico
- Mexico international footballers