Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay Years Team Height 1.74 m Career start 1996 | Playing position Apps (Gls) Weight 72 kg | |
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Full name Martín Ricardo Ligüera López Date of birth (1980-11-09) November 9, 1980 (age 36) Current team Centro Atlético Fénix (#10) Similar Sebastián Fernández, Kevin Ramírez, Diego Arismendi, Tabaré Viúdez, Martín Lasarte | ||
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 Nacional Montevideo.
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Mart n lig era
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.
