Diego Pérez (footballer)

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Diego Pérez
Pérez with Uruguay in 2011
Personal information
Full name Diego Fernando Pérez Aguado[1]
Date of birth (1980-05-18) 18 May 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Uruguay U20 (interim manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2003 Defensor Sporting 125 (11)
2003–2004 Peñarol 13 (2)
2004–2010 Monaco 146 (2)
2010–2015 Bologna 108 (0)
Total 392 (15)
International career
2001–2014 Uruguay 89 (2)
Managerial career
2024– Uruguay U20 (interim)
Medal record
Representing  Uruguay
Copa América
Winner 2011 Argentina
Third place 2004 Peru
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Diego Fernando Pérez Aguado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo ˈpeɾes]; born 18 May 1980), nicknamed "Ruso" (Spanish for "Russian"), is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He has played 89 matches for the Uruguay national football team, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2011 editions of the Copa América. He is currently the interim manager of Uruguay under-20 team.

Club career[edit]

Pérez was born in Montevideo. At the age of 19, Pérez joined one of the clubs of his hometown, Defensor Sporting, soon becoming a first-team regular. He joined a larger club from Montevideo, C.A. Peñarol, in 2003 but only played 13 games with them before being shipped off to France to play for Didier Deschamps' AS Monaco. During his time at Monaco he had to battle for his place in the defensive midfield spot against Lucas Bernardi, Akis Zikos and Gerard López and was especially favored by the manager Francesco Guidolin during the Italian's reign in the 2005–06 season.

Bologna[edit]

On 31 August 2010, he was signed by Italian Serie A team Bologna for €2.1 million (including 5% solidarity contribution to youth clubs).[2][3][4] No fee was scheduled to pay on that day, but 2 equal installments was scheduled on 31 December 2010 and 30 June 2011.[4][5] At Bologna, he has teamed up with fellow Uruguayan internationals, Henry Damián Giménez, Gastón Ramírez and Miguel Britos, before this left the squad to join S.S.C. Napoli. In Pérez first season in the Serie A, Bologna managed 16th place and finished six points clear of relegation, confirming a fourth successive season in the Italian top flight. He also managed three assists during the campaign, tied for most on the team along with Riccardo Meggiorini.[6]

After being without a club for 1+12 months, Pérez signed a new two-year contract with Bologna in August 2013.[7] He retired at the end of the 2014–2015 season.

International career[edit]

Pérez was capped for Uruguay in four successive editions of the Copa América, helping his country lift their 15th South American championship in 2011. He was also selected to 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 16 July 2011, he scored his first goal for the national team in a match against hosts Argentina in the Copa America quarterfinals, although he was also sent off in the same match.[8] Pérez was back for the final match against Paraguay, starting in defensive midfield in a 3–0 win.[9][10]

Personal life[edit]

His older brother Omar Pérez is also a professional footballer, who played for Cerro as a midfielder.

Career statistics[edit]

International[edit]

Source:[11]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Uruguay 2001 8 0
2002 3 0
2003 0 0
2004 6 0
2005 5 0
2006 3 0
2007 10 0
2008 5 0
2009 8 0
2010 12 0
2011 14 1
2012 6 0
2013 7 1
2014 2 0
Total 89 2

International goals[edit]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 16 July 2011 Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa Fe, Argentina  Argentina 1–0 1–1 2011 Copa América
2. 23 June 2013 Itaipava Arena Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil  Tahiti 3–0 8–0 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
Correct as of 7 October 2015[12]

Honours[edit]

International[edit]

Uruguay

References[edit]

  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023™ SQUAD LIST: Uruguay (URU)" (PDF). FIFA. 22 May 2023. p. 22. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Perez è del Bologna" (in Italian). Bologna FC 1909. 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  3. ^ "Diego Perez s'engage avec Bologne". AS Monaco FC (in French). 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  4. ^ a b Bologna FC 1909 Accounts and Report (in Italian)
  5. ^ "Bilancio intermedio al 31 dicembre 2010: Nota integrativa: parte 2" (PDF). Bologna FC 1909 (in Italian). 4 April 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  6. ^ ESPN profile: Bologna Archived 4 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine ESPN Soccernet
  7. ^ "Perez al Bologna" (in Italian). Bologna FC 1909. 17 August 2013. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Uruguay destruye el sueño de Argentina y clasifica a las semis". Fox Sports (in Spanish). 16 July 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  9. ^ Copa America joy for Uruguay Sky Sports, 24 July 2011
  10. ^ Uruguay light the way Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine ESPN Soccernet, 25 July 2011
  11. ^ "Diego Pérez - AUF". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  12. ^ Diego Fernando Pérez - International Appearances

External links[edit]