Faryd Mondragón

Faryd Camilo Mondragón Alí - Overview:

Club Career:

• Born: June 21, 1971, in Cali, Colombia.
• Position: Goalkeeper.
  • Clubs:Spent the majority of his career at his hometown club, Deportivo Cali.
  • Two spells at Argentine club Independiente.
  • Brief stints with Zaragoza in La Liga and Metz in Ligue 1.
  • Ten years split between Galatasaray in the Turkish Süper Lig and 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga.

International Career:

• Debut: Started his international career in 1993.
• Caps for Colombia: Played 51 times for the Colombia national team.
  • International Tournaments:Represented Colombia in the 1992 Olympics.
  • Played in two Copa América tournaments.
  • Participated in two CONCACAF Gold Cups.
  • Featured in the FIFA World Cups of 1994, 1998, and 2014.

World Cup Record:

• On June 24, 2014, Mondragón became the oldest player to play in a FIFA World Cup match at the age of 43 years and 3 days.
• This record was later surpassed by Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary in 2018, who played at the age of 45.

Faryd Camilo Mondragón Alí had a distinguished career both at the club and international levels, representing Colombia for over two decades and achieving notable milestones in the FIFA World Cup.

Faryd Camilo Mondragón Alí - Club Career:

Early Career:

• Born in Cali, Mondragón began his career at hometown club Deportivo Cali.
• Moved to Independiente Santa Fe and then Cerro Porteño in Paraguay.
• Loaned to Cerro Porteño with an option to buy for US$700,000.
• Joined Argentine club River Plate after Cerro Porteño's participation in the Copa Libertadores.

Argentinos Juniors and Independiente:

• Joined Argentinos Juniors in 1993 and made his international debut for Colombia.
• Moved to Independiente in the following year.
• Won the 1995 Supercopa Libertadores against Flamengo with Independiente.
• Stayed at Independiente until 2001, winning various titles.

Real Zaragoza Loan:

• Loaned to Real Zaragoza in La Liga at the end of 1998.
• Faced competition from established goalkeeper Juanmi and struggled to secure the starting position.

Metz and Legal Issues:

• Played for Metz in the French Ligue 1 during the 2000–01 season.
• Investigated for using a Greek passport to bypass the league's non-European Union players quota.
• Convicted of falsification of documents and fined, with a two-year ban from France (suspended sentence).
• Played against Toulouse and Marseille, and Metz avoided relegation at Toulouse's expense.

Galatasaray Spell:

• Played for Galatasaray in the Turkish Süper Lig from 2001 to 2007.
• Won two league titles and a Turkish Cup during his time at Galatasaray.
• Honored as Turkey's honorary consul in Colombia in 2015.

1. FC Köln and Later Career:

• Transferred from Istanbul to 1. FC Köln in May 2007.
• Named the new number one for 1. FC Köln, competing with Stefan Wessels.
• Contract terminated in 2010 due to Mondragón's desire to play in the MLS.
• Played for Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer in 2011.
• Returned to Deportivo Cali in 2012 to finish his career with his original professional club.
• Retired after two and a half seasons back at Deportivo Cali, concluding a successful and diverse club career.

Faryd Camilo Mondragón Alí - International Career:

Early Career:

• Selected for the 1992 Olympic tournament.
• Made his full international debut against Venezuela in a 1–1 friendly home draw on 21 May 1993.
• Represented Colombia at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the Copa América tournaments of 1993 and 1997.
• Played at the 1997 Copa América in Bolivia, reaching the quarter-finals.

1998 World Cup:

• Started in goal for all three of Colombia's games during the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
• Despite conceding two goals, made impressive saves and kept the score down to 2–0 in the final group match against England.
• Acknowledged as the best goalkeeper of the first round by Franz Beckenbauer.

1998–2014:

• Participated in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup, playing in three games.
• Recalled to the Colombia team in September 2010 for friendlies against Ecuador and the United States.
• Played against the United States in a goalless draw on 12 October 2010.

2014 World Cup:

• Recalled to the Colombian squad in 2010 after a five-year absence from international football.
• Named in Colombia's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, becoming the oldest player at the tournament at the age of 43.
• Only Colombian to have participated in five FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns.
• Participated in six different World Cup qualifying campaigns since 1993.
• Became the oldest player ever to play in a World Cup game at the age of 43 years and 3 days old, surpassing the previous record set by Roger Milla in 1994.
• Played as a substitute in the 85th minute of the final group game against Japan on 24 June 2014.
• His record for the oldest player in World Cup history was later broken by 45-year-old Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary in the 2018 World Cup.
• Retired from football after Colombia's elimination in the quarter-finals against Brazil, expressing gratitude to represent Colombia one last time at a World Cup.
• Set a record for the longest gap (16 years) between two World Cup finals appearances.

References;

1. "Faryd Mondragón". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
2. "Farid Mondragón al River Plate". 23 March 1993.
3. "La deuda telefónica de Mondragón en Paraguay y por la que quisieron retenerlo".
4. "Club Cerro Porteño :: Statistics :: Titles :: Titles (in-depth) :: History (Timeline) :: Goals Scored :: Fixtures :: Results :: News & Features :: Videos :: Photos :: Squad :: playmakerstats.com". www.playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
5. "Mondragón ficha por el Zaragoza". El País (in Spanish). 26 December 1998. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
6. Marzo, Daniel (17 April 2000). "El recuerdo zaragocista de una leyenda mundialista: Faryd Mondragón" [The Real Zaragoza memories of a World Cup legend: Faryd Mondragón] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
7. "FC Metz : La fureur Mondragon" [FC Metz: the Mondragón fury] (in French). Moselle Sport. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
8. "Faux passeports : trois joueurs étrangers condamnés" [False passports: three foreign players convicted]. Le Monde (in French). 4 April 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
9. "Passif de 150 MF et dépôt de bilan ?" [Liabilities of 150 million Francs and filing for bankruptcy?]. La Dépêche du Midi (in French). 23 June 2001. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
10. "Faryd Mondragón es nombrado cónsul honorario de Turquía en Colombia" [Faryd Mondragón is named honorary consul of Turkey in Colombia]. El Colombiano (in Spanish). 10 February 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
11. "Report: Faryd Mondragon Set To Leave Koeln For Philadelphia Union". Goal.com. 9 December 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
12. "Mondragon verlässt den FC" [Mondragon leaves FC]. 1. FC Köln (in German). 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
13. "Mondragón se vuelve a poner la verde" [Mondragon returns to put on the green]. ligapostobon.com.co (in Spanish). 30 January 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
14. "Faryd Mondragon". FIFA. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
15. "Bolivia 1997: renovación y eliminación en cuartos" [Bolivia 1997: renewal and elimination in the quarter-finals] (in Spanish). Caracol. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2023.

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