Fernando Muslera

Néstor Fernando Muslera Micol (Spanish pronunciation: [feɾˈnando musˈleɾa], born 16 June 1986) is an Uruguayan footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Galatasaray and is the first-choice keeper for the Uruguayan national team. He was selected the sixth best goalkeeper in the world in 2011 by the IFFHS.[1]
Club career
Uruguay
Muslera started his professional football career with Montevideo Wanderers in 2004, having come through the club's youth system. After impressive performances for Wanderers, Uruguayan giants Nacional opted to take him on loan in 2007. After returning to Montevideo, and a display of successful performances, he began to attract attention from Europe, until he was signed by Lazio in 2007.
Lazio
Lazio signed Muslera in August 2007 for a fee of about €3 million.[2] He made his debut for Lazio in a 3–1 home win against Cagliari on 16 September 2007, and made four more consecutive starts, the last which was a disastrous performance in Lazio's 1–5 home loss to Milan on 7 October, a match in which he was at fault on four of the five goals Lazio conceded. That result saw him benched in favour of 44-year-old Marco Ballotta. Muslera remained as the second choice for the remainder of the season, making only four more league appearances and none in the UEFA Champions League. He did however play all of Lazio's remaining Coppa Italia matches, putting in good performances.
Muslera signing autographs at the new kits' presentation on 08 July 2009.
Muslera started as second-choice keeper for the 2008–09 season behind new signing Juan Pablo Carrizo but regained the starting spot in January 2009 following a run of poor form by Carrizo, coupled with conflicts with team management. Muslera's first starting appearance in the league this season saw him make several saves in a 3–1 loss to Sampdoria, including blocking an Antonio Cassano penalty. Further impressive performances in away wins over Napoli and Genoa, as well as in his first ever Derby della Capitale, saw Muslera regain a considerable amount of faith he had lost the previous season.
Known to the Lazio fans as castorino, or the "little beaver", Muslera was also an integral part of the club's successful Coppa Italia campaign, making decisive saves against Milan and Juventus as Lazio reached the final for the first time in five seasons. In the final on May 13, 2009, Muslera saved two penalties as Lazio emerged victorious 6–5 in the shootout after the match ended 1–1 in extra time.[3]
The Uruguayan's impressive season saw him cement his position as the Roman club's first choice in the 2009–10 season, despite the arrival of Argentine keeper Albano Bizzarri on a free transfer. Muslera played in goal as Lazio opened the season with a 2–1 win over Inter in the 2009 Supercoppa Italiana, played in Beijing.
Following his successful performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup he was voted the 7th best goalkeeper in the world by IFFHS.[4]
Muslera in a October 2011 match against Gaziantepspor
On 19 July 2011, Galatasaray officially announced the signing of Fernando Muslera from Lazio on a 5-year contract while he was on duty in the Copa América with Uruguay.[5][6] The transfer involved Lorik Cana moving in the opposite direction, to Lazio, while Galatasaray also paid €6.75 million to Muslera's former club, Montevideo Wanderers who owned 50% of his playing rights.[7][8] The total value of his transfer is therefore believed to be in the region of €12 million, making Muslera the most expensive goalkeeper transfer in Turkey[9] and the fifth most expensive goalkeeper of all time. (However Lazio valued the sale of Muslera for a peppercorn fee as well as signing Cana also for peppercorn fee as a special accounting arrangement) He will earn €2 million a year.[10]
On 5 November 2012, Muslera became the man of the match after saving his first penalty for Galatasaray in the match against Mersin İdmanyurdu as the game ended 0-0. On 8 April 2012, the last day of the Turkish Super League, he scored his first goal of his career from a penalty kick against Manisaspor. He also broke a new club record for every foreign player scoring for Galatasaray in a single season. The same match also resulted in Muslera keeping his 19th clean sheet of the season, an all time league record.[11] and also becoming the Süper Lig Goalkeeper of the year, Where he played all league matches with Galatasaray and he is among the Champion Squad. |