Federico Santander

Federico Javier Santander Mereles (born 4 June 1991) is a Paraguayan footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Bologna and the Paraguay national football team.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Santander and the second or maternal family name is Mereles.
Federico Santander
Santander with Paraguay in 2010
Personal information
Full name Federico Javier Santander Mereles
Date of birth (1991-06-04) 4 June 1991
Place of birth San Lorenzo, Paraguay
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Bologna
Number 9
Youth career
2005–2008 Guaraní
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2012 Guaraní 51 (18)
2010–2011 → Toulouse (loan) 23 (5)
2012 Racing Club 15 (0)
2012–2013 → Tigre (loan) 18 (1)
2013–2015 Guaraní 58 (21)
2015–2018 Copenhagen 82 (38)
2018– Bologna 50 (9)
National team‡
2009 Paraguay U20 12 (6)
2010– Paraguay 17 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:51, 31 October 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2018

Santander ranked number 3 in a list of the most expensive players in Paraguayan football for 2015 published by Diario Extra.[1]

Club career

Guaraní, Toulouse, Racing Club, and Tigre

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 to the French Toulouse.

In February 2012, he moved to Racing Club on a three-year contract with a purchase option for 20% of his sports rights.[4][5]

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.[6][7] 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.[9][10] 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 2–3 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 Nordsjaelland which crowned Copenhagen league champions.[12] In his first season in Copenhagen he became the third highest goalscorer with 14 goals and 4 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.[13][14][15]

Bologna F.C. 1909

In June 2018 Santander signed a 4 years contract with Italian club Bologna in a deal worth €6m.[16]

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.[17]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 October 2019[18]
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Guaraní 2009 Primera División ??0010001??
2010 3000––30
Toulouse 2010–11 Ligue 1 23520––255
Guaraní 2011 Primera División 221000––2210
Racing 2011–12 Primera División 15030––180
Guaraní 2012 Primera División 1200––12
Tigre 2011–12 Primera División 000051–51
2012–13 1810061–242
Total 1810011200292
Guaraní 2013 Primera División 1650042–207
2014 22110020–2411
2015 17500126–2911
Total 81330030100011143
Copenhagen 2015–16 Superliga 30144221–3617
2016–17 281231134–4417
2017–18 23110082113214
Total 8137732371111248
Bologna 2018–19 Serie A 32820––348
2019–20 10110––111
Total 429300000459
Career total 26085153641911340108

International goals
Scores and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.[19]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.4 June 2011Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia Bolivia2–02–0Friendly
2.20 November 2018Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa South Africa1–01–1Friendly

Honours

Club
Copenhagen

References
  1. "Los jugadores más caros del fútbol paraguayo". Diario Extra (in Spanish). 19 July 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  2. Guaraní se jacta de ser la mejor conexión para el fútbol europeo - Diario La Nación
  3. Guaraní fulminó con goles a Tacuary y eleva su cotización - Diario La Nación
  4. "Basile tendrá en el banco los goles de Santander". Diario Popular (in Spanish). 10 February 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  5. "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.
  6. "Tigre apuesta por los goles del paraguayo Santander" [Tigre bets on goals from Paraguayan Santander]. La Nación (in Spanish). 19 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  7. "Tigre: firmó el paraguayo Santander" [Tigre: signed Paraguayan Santander]. ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 20 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  8. "Tigre vs. Estudiantes - 7 August 2012". soccerway.com. Soccerway. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  9. "F.C. København køber Federico Santander". F.C. København (in Danish). 14 June 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  10. "Federico Santander va al Copenhague de Dinamarca". La Nación (in Spanish). 11 June 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  11. "FCK fliegt gegen Jablonec raus". Nordschleswiger (in German). 6 August 2015. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  12. O'Connor, Phillip (16 May 2016). "Santander fires FC Copenhagen to Danish title". Reuters. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  13. Vou, Andreas. "Late Copenhagen strike breaks APOEL hearts". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  14. "Santander es Champions". Diario ABC Color (in Spanish). 24 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  15. "Champions". Missing or empty |url= (help)
  16. "Official: Bologna sign Santander". Football Italia. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  17. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/scoreboard/0000470389/scoreboard.html
  18. "Federico Santander".
  19. "Santander, Federico". National Football Teams. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
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