Alexander Mejía Sabalza (born 11 July 1988) is a Colombian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
midfielder for
Unión Magdalena
Unión Magdalena () commonly known as El Unión, and nicknamed as El Ciclón Bananero (The Banana Cyclone) and also Los Samarios (The Samarios), is a Colombian football club from the city of Santa Marta, capital of the department of Magdalena, ...
. He is described by
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
's official website as "a linchpin noted for his ability to tidy up mistakes, rob possession and track down and pressurize opponents".
Club career
Colombia
Mejía made his professional debut for
Deportes Quindío in 2005, where he played for seven years, including a loan spell at
Once Caldas.
[ In 2012, he joined Atlético Nacional and won both the Copa Colombia and the ]Superliga Colombiana
The Superliga Colombiana (''Colombian Superleague''), officially known as Superliga BetPlay DIMAYOR due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is an official competition contested between the winners of the Apertura and Finalización t ...
in his first season.[ In the following seasons, Mejía helped Nacional to three consecutive Colombian league titles, becoming team ]captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
after the departure of Macnelly Torres
Macnelly Torres Berrío (born 1 November 1984) is a former Colombian footballer former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. A playmaker and known for his technical abilities with the ball he was able to win 16 t ...
.[
]
Mexico
Mejía finished his loan at Nacional in June 2016. He was then transferred to León in the Liga MX
The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year.
The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...
for the Apertura 2016. However, as a part of the deal, he was able to stay with Nacional until after the Medellín club had finished its campaign in the Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
.
Libertad
On 29 December 2018, Mejia joined Club Libertad
Club Libertad is a professional association football, football club based in Asunción, Paraguay that currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División. The club plays its home games at Estadio Tigo La Huerta; which holds 10,100 people.
Fo ...
of Paraguay on a free transfer for two years.
International career
In 2012, Mejía made his debut for the Colombia national team in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Peru.[ He went on to become a regular member of the squad in the remainder of the campaign, making five appearances overall.][
]
2014 World Cup
On 9 June 2014, he was named in Colombia's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
, and played in four of the five matches Colombia had. On 14 June, Mejía appeared as a sixty-ninth-minute substitute in Colombia's opening match of the tournament, a 3–0 victory over Greece in Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...
, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Mejía also appeared in the following match against Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
on 19 June 2014, coming on as a substitute in the seventy-ninth minute, and seeing out a 2–1 victory in Brazil's capital, Brasília. In Colombia's third – and last – game of the Group Stage, they played against Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Mejía started at a defensive midfielder role alongside Fredy Guarín
Fredy Alejandro Guarín Vásquez (born 30 June 1986) is a Colombian former professional footballer. A versatile player, he was comfortable as a central, defensive or right midfielder.
He started his career with Envigado, then had a short spell ...
, playing the entire eighty-minute game. Colombia won 1–4. Mejía's last game of the 2014 World Cup came against Uruguay in the Round of 16 in the Maracanã Stadium
Maracanã Stadium ( pt, Estádio do Maracanã, standard Brazilian Portuguese: , local pronunciation: ), officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho (), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stadium is part o ...
, Rio de Janeiro on 28 June. Colombia won 2–0, and progressed to the Quarter-finals, playing against the hosts, Brazil, losing 2–1.
Season statistics
Honours
Club
Atlético Nacional
*Categoría Primera A
The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor (between 2015 and 2019 ''Liga Águila'') due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a Colombian professional league for association football clubs. It is the ...
**Winner: 2013-I, 2013-II, 2014-I
* Copa Colombia
**Winner: 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
*Superliga Colombiana
The Superliga Colombiana (''Colombian Superleague''), officially known as Superliga BetPlay DIMAYOR due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is an official competition contested between the winners of the Apertura and Finalización t ...
**Winner: 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
*Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
**Winner: 2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mejia, Alexander
1988 births
Living people
Footballers from Barranquilla
Colombian men's footballers
Colombia men's international footballers
2014 FIFA World Cup players
2015 Copa América players
Atlético Nacional footballers
Copa Libertadores-winning players
Deportes Quindío footballers
Once Caldas footballers
C.F. Monterrey players
Club León footballers
Club Libertad footballers
Independiente Santa Fe footballers
Unión Magdalena footballers
Colombian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico
Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay
Categoría Primera A players
Liga MX players
Paraguayan Primera División players
Men's association football midfielders
Colombian people of African descent
21st-century Colombian people