Nicolás Otamendi

Nicolás Hernán Gonzalo Otamendi (Spanish pronunciation: [nikoˈlas otaˈmendi]; born 12 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Primeira Liga club Benfica and the Argentina national team.

Nicolás Otamendi
Otamendi with Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Nicolás Hernán Gonzalo Otamendi[1]
Date of birth (1988-02-12) 12 February 1988[2]
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2][3]
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Benfica
Number 30
Youth career
1995–2007 Vélez Sarsfield
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Vélez Sarsfield 40 (1)
2010–2014 Porto 77 (7)
2014–2015 Valencia 35 (6)
2014 → Atlético Mineiro (loan) 5 (0)
2015–2020 Manchester City 136 (8)
2020– Benfica 10 (0)
National team‡
2009– Argentina 74 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:37, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:53, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Otamendi played for Vélez Sarsfield and Porto in his early career, winning eight major titles with Porto, including three Primeira Liga championships and the 2011 Europa League. He signed for Valencia in 2014 and spent four months on loan to Atlético Mineiro of Brazil. In 2015 he moved to Manchester City and won the Premier League in 2017–18 and 2018–19, as well as four League Cups and an FA Cup.

An Argentina international since 2009, Otamendi represented his country at two World Cups and three Copas América, in which he contributed to consecutive runner-up finishes.

Club career

Vélez

Born in Buenos Aires, Otamendi made his Primera División debut for Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield on 10 May 2008, in a 2–1 home win against Rosario Central for the Clausura tournament.[4] During manager Hugo Tocalli's spell he was only fifth-choice stopper, behind Waldo Ponce, Fernando Tobio, Marco Torsiglieri and Mariano Uglessich. However, his role in the first team changed during Ricardo Gareca's first season as head coach, the 2009 Clausura: he replaced Ponce for the third game after the Chilean was injured while playing for his national team,[4] and eventually won a starting position alongside Sebastián Domínguez,[4] playing 17 of the 19 games in Vélez's winning campaign.[5]

Otamendi scored his first professional goal during the 2009 Apertura, in a 3–1 victory over Arsenal de Sarandí. During that season he also made his debuts in an international club competition, appearing in the Copa Sudamericana; in recognition of his performances throughout the year he was chosen for the South American Team of the Year, in a traditional continent-wide journalists' poll conducted by the newspaper El País.[6]

Porto
Otamendi playing for Porto in 2010

On 23 August 2010, Otamendi was transferred to Portuguese side FC Porto on a €4 million fee, signing a five-year contract.[7] Vélez also retained 50% of his registration rights, with the player having a pre-set price of another €4 million to be met by Porto prior to September 2011.[8] He netted in his first match, a 2–0 home victory over S.C. Olhanense,[9] finishing his first season with 15 appearances and five goals (notably both in a 2–0 away win against S.C. Braga)[10] as the northerners won the Primeira Liga championship.

On 6 September 2011, Porto exercised the rights to sign the remainder of Otamendi's playing rights.[11][12] He played 30 official games during the season to help the club to another two major titles, notably the back-to-back domestic league.

Valencia
Otamendi with Valencia in 2015

On 5 February 2014, Otamendi was sold to Valencia CF in La Liga for €12 million, on a five-year contract starting on 1 July.[13] He was immediately loaned to Clube Atlético Mineiro in Brazil,[14] and played 19 times for the team from Belo Horizonte, scoring once to open a 4–1 win at city rivals América Futebol Clube (MG) on 23 March in the first leg of the semi-finals of the state championship.[15][16]

Otamendi made his debut in the Spanish top level on 23 August 2014, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Sevilla FC.[17] He scored his first goal for his new club on 4 October, helping to a 3–1 home success over Atlético Madrid.[18]

On 4 January 2015, Otamendi headed Valencia's winner in a 2–1 home win over Real Madrid, ending their opponents' club record 22-match winning streak as a result.[19] After helping Los Che qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in four years, becoming the first club stopper to score six goals in the league in the process,[20] he was the only player from his team to be named in the La Liga Team of the Year.

Manchester City

Late into the 2015 pre-season, Otamendi refused to train or play with Valencia to avoid thwarting his chances of signing with another club.[21] On 20 August, he joined Manchester City on a five-year deal for a fee of £32 million.[22][23] He made his debut on 15 September, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute for Vincent Kompany in a 1–2 home loss against Juventus for the Champions League group phase;[24] his Premier League debut came four days later, in a 1–2 defeat to West Ham United at the City of Manchester Stadium.[25]

On 31 October 2015, Otamendi scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 home win over Norwich City.[26] He played the full 120 minutes as they won the Football League Cup on 28 February 2016, defeating Liverpool on a penalty shootout in the final.[27]

On 10 December 2017, Otamendi scored the winning goal in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, helping City stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to 11 points.[28] City would go on to lift the Premier League title that season with a record-breaking 100 points, this was Otamendi's first league title in England. [29] On 18 April 2018, Otamendi was named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside Manchester City teammates Kyle Walker, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Agüero.[30]

Benfica

On 29 September 2020, Otamendi joined Benfica on a three-year contract, for a €15 million fee.[31] He made his league debut in a 3–2 win against Farense on 4 October. Otamendi was at fault for both of Farense's goals and conceded a penalty during the match.[32] In Benfica's UEFA Europa League group stage clash with Rangers on 5 November, Otamendi received a straight red card in the 19th minute for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity; Benfica would fall 1–3 down but eventually earn a 3–3 draw.[33]

International career
Otamendi playing for Argentina in 2009

In April 2009, Otamendi was called up by Argentine national team coach Diego Maradona for a friendly with Panama.[34] At the time of his selection he had only played 11 professional games,[4] and eventually started the match on 20 May, in a 3–1 win.[35]

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Otamendi played as a centre back alongside Martín Demichelis against Ecuador (0–2 away loss), partnered former Vélez teammate Domínguez against Brazil in a 1–3 home defeat and appeared as a right back in a 1–0 win in Uruguay which sealed the country's qualification to South Africa.[36] On 19 May 2010 he was confirmed as part of the 23-men squad for the final stages,[37] featuring in the starting eleven for the final group stage game against Greece; on the press conference after the match, Maradona said that, in his opinion, he was the best player on the field.[38]

Otamendi also played the 90 minutes of the round-of-16 game against Mexico, which Argentina won by 3–1. His final appearance in the tournament was the 0–4 quarter-final loss to Germany: this time his performance received criticism by the football press, as did his manager's decision to improvise him on the right-back position;[39] however, the player subsequently stated his desire to always play for his national team, even if not in his natural position.[40]

Otamendi scored his first goal for Argentina on 2 September 2011, in a 1–0 friendly win over Venezuela in Kolkata, after heading a corner taken by Lionel Messi.[41] After being cut from the squad that later appeared at the 2014 World Cup,[42] he was selected by coach Gerardo Martino for the 2015 Copa América,[43] playing the entirety of all but one match as they lost to hosts Chile on a penalty shootout in the final; he was named in the Team of the Tournament.[44]

Otamendi started all the games in the Copa América Centenario in the United States, in which Argentina again both faced Chile in the tournament final and lost in a penalty shootout, 2–4.[45] In the second group match against Panama, on 10 June 2016, he scored the opening goal in a 5–0 win.[46]

Otamendi was included in the squad for the 2018 World Cup.[47]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 8 November 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vélez Sarsfield 2007–08[48] Primera División 10——00—10
2008–09[49] 180————180
2009–10[49] 191——14[lower-alpha 3]0—331
2010–11[49] 20——00—20
Total 401——140—541
Porto 2010–11[49] Primeira Liga 155102013[lower-alpha 4]1—316
2011–12[49] 20210206[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 6]0302
2012–13[49] 29020318[lower-alpha 7]01[lower-alpha 8]0431
2013–14[49] 13021004[lower-alpha 7]01[lower-alpha 8]0201
Total 77761713113012410
Atlético Mineiro (loan) 2014[49] Série A 5000—7[lower-alpha 9]07[lower-alpha 10]1191
Valencia 2014–15[49] La Liga 35630———386
Manchester City 2015–16[50] Premier League 301205012[lower-alpha 7]0—491
2016–17[51] 30150107[lower-alpha 7]0—431
2017–18[52] 34420208[lower-alpha 7]1—465
2018–19[53] 18051405[lower-alpha 7]01[lower-alpha 11]0331
2019–20[54] 24230318[lower-alpha 7]01[lower-alpha 11]0393
Total 13681711514012021011
Benfica 2020–21[55] Primeira Liga 500000300080
Career total 2982226222295212145329
  1. Appearances in Taça de Portugal, Copa del Rey and FA Cup
  2. Appearances in Taça da Liga and EFL Cup
  3. Eight appearances in Copa Libertadores, six appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  5. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  7. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  8. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  9. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  10. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Mineiro
  11. Appearance in FA Community Shield

International
As of match played 17 November 2020[56]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Argentina
200950
201050
201151
201200
201310
201420
2015120
2016132
201780
201881
2019110
202040
Total744

International goals
As of match played 30 June 2018. Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Otamendi goal.[56]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 2 September 2011Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, India12 Venezuela1–01–0Friendly
2 10 June 2016Soldier Field, Chicago, United States34 Panama1–05–0Copa América Centenario
3 6 September 2016Metropolitano de Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela40 Venezuela2–22–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 27 March 2018Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain53 Spain2–16–1Friendly

Honours

Vélez

Porto

Manchester City

Argentina

Individual

References
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