Carlos Andrés Sánchez Arcosa ((); born 2 December 1984) is a Uruguayan 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 for Uruguay Montevideo . Mainly an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

, he can also play as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Sánchez is often nicknamed as ''"Pato"'' ("Duck") in his native country Uruguay.

Early life

Born in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Sánchez was abandoned by his father at the age of eight, and lived with his mother and four brothers in his uncle's house; around that time, he started cutting his

kinky hair Afro-textured hair, or kinky hair, is a human hair texture originating from sub-Saharan Africa. Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny, angle-like helix shape. The overall effect is such that, contrasted with straight, wavy, or curly ha ...

short in order to avoid being mocked by his schoolmates. With his mother working as a domestic employee and his uncle as a bricklayer, Sánchez worked part-time on a

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who ...

to help on providing food to the family.

Club career

Liverpool Montevideo

Sánchez began his career with lowly side Nueva Juventud Baby Fútbol, and had failed trials at

Montevideo Wanderers Montevideo Wanderers Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Wanderers, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club are currently members of the Primera División and play at the Estadio Viera. Beside football, the cl ...

, Fénix, Cerro and River Plate until joining

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

's youth setup after a recommendation from Carlos Iglesias, and old coach of his at Salus FC. He was promoted to the main squad in 2003 by manager

Julio Ribas Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...

, only six months after arriving at the club. While at Liverpool, Sánchez played regularly for the club in the

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , en, First Division Professional League, local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional Association football, ...

, and also overcame a serious injury which kept him sidelined for nearly two years.

Godoy Cruz

On 31 December 2009, Sánchez signed a two-year contract with

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Th ...

side Godoy Cruz. He made his debut for the club the following 13 February, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Leandro Torres Leandro Gabriel Torres (born 4 November 1988) is an Argentine football player. He usually plays as an attacking midfielder. Career Torres began his playing career in 2006 with Newell's Old Boys, he made his league debut on 5 November 2006 in a 0 ...

in a 0–0 away draw against

Huracán Huracan (; es, Huracán; myn, Hunraqan, "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ people, Kʼicheʼ Maya mythology, Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in ...

. Sánchez scored his first goal for Godoy Cruz on 3 March 2010, netting the winner in a 2–1 home defeat of

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The city has a population of 212,152 (), and the Partido de Lan� ...

. He became an undisputed starter for the side during the 2010–11 season, contributing with four goals in 33 appearances.

River Plate

On 20 July 2011, Sánchez and Godoy Cruz teammate Martín Aguirre joined River Plate for a fee of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2.9 million. River retained 50% of his federative rights. He made his debut for the club on 17 August by playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 tea ...

home win against

Chacarita Juniors Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Greater Buenos Aires. ...

, and scored his first goal three days later by netting the last in a 3–1 away defeat of

Independiente Rivadavia Club Sportivo Independiente Rivadavia (mostly known simply as Independiente Rivadavia) is a football club from Mendoza, Argentina. The team currently plays in Primera B Nacional, the second major league in Argentine Football league system. In ...

. Bought outright in 2012, Sánchez was an undisputed starter for the ''Millonarios'' in the following campaigns, and scored a brace in a 5–0 home routing of former side Godoy Cruz on 7 October 2012. On 9 August 2013, he was loaned to

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 ...

side

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

, mainly to free up a foreign player registration. Sánchez returned to River in June 2014, and renewed his contract until December 2016 on 9 July. He scored a double in a 3–0 home success over

Defensa y Justicia Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.

on 28 August, and finished the year as champions of the

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

. During the 2015 campaign, he was a regular starter 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 ...

winning run is a first-person arcade racing simulation game developed and published by Namco in late December 1988 in Japan, before releasing internationally the following year. The player pilots a Formula One racer, with the objective being to complete each ...

, scoring in the second leg of the Final against

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...

(3–0 aggregate win). Sánchez also scored one goal in the

2015 Suruga Bank Championship The 2015 Suruga Bank Championship ( ja, スルガ銀行チャンピオンシップ2015; es, Copa Suruga Bank 2015) was the eighth edition of the Suruga Bank Championship, the club football match co-organized by the Japan Football Association, th ...

, netting the opener in a 3–0 win against

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

. On 31 December 2015, he was named the

South American Footballer of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...

, beating

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. A quick, tenacious, powerful, hard-working and dynamic forward in his prime, Tevez was capable of playing as a striker, as a winger ...

and

Miller Bolaños Miller Alejandro Bolaños Reasco (born 1 June 1990) is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays as a striker for Ecuadorian Serie A club Emelec. Club career LDU Quito Bolaños was born in Esmeraldas, and began his career in the youth ranks of ...

and becoming the first Uruguayan to win the award after

Enzo Francescoli Enzo Francescoli Uriarte (; born 12 November 1961), nicknamed "El Príncipe" ("The Prince"), is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a attacking midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and as one of Uru ...

in 1995.

Monterrey

On 14 November 2015,

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

announced that they had reached an agreement River for the transfer of Sánchez. He was presented on 22 December, signing a three-year contract with the club.

Santos

On 23 July 2018, Brazilian Série A side

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a '' bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals i ...

announced the signing of Sánchez on a three-year deal. He made his debut on 4 August, starting in a 0–0 away draw against

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

. Sánchez made his Libertadores debut for ''Peixe'' on 21 August 2018, starting in a 0–0 away draw against Independiente. He was, however, suspended for assaulting a ball boy during a Sudamericana match for River back in 2015, and Santos was given a 3–0 defeat; he was still declared free to play the second leg at the

Pacaembu Stadium Estádio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho, colloquially known as Estádio do Pacaembu (), is an Art Deco stadium in São Paulo, located in the Pacaembu neighborhood. The stadium is owned by the Municipal Prefecture of São Paulo. The stadium wa ...

, which also ended in a 0–0 draw. Sánchez was subsequently a regular starter for the club, but suffered a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury which kept him out for the remainder of the 2020 season in October. On 7 June 2021, he renewed his contract until July 2023. On 28 July 2021, Sánchez scored a stoppage-time goal in a 4–0

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de ...

home win over Juazeirense through a penalty kick, and took his tally at the club to 27 goals, becoming the foreigner who scored more goals for Santos, surpassing Jonathan Copete. On 4 January 2023, he terminated his contract with the club, after scoring 32 goals in 160 official matches.

Peñarol

Just hours after leaving Santos, Sánchez was announced at

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

back in his home country, on a one-year contract.

International career

On 13 November 2014, Sánchez made his debut for the Uruguay football team at the age of 29 against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, starting in a 3–3 draw. Sánchez was included in Uruguay's squad for the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

by coach

Óscar Tabárez Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (; born 3 March 1947), known as ''El Maestro'' (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player. He most recently coached the Uruguay national team. After an unassuming career as a ...

. He was also named among the 23-men for the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...

. Sánchez scored his first goal for the ''Celestes'' on 28 March 2017, netting the opener in a 2–1 loss against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. In May of the following year, he was named in Uruguay's provisional 26-man squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, being also included in the final list on 2 June.

Personal life

Sánchez's half-brother

Nicolás De La Cruz Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

is also a footballer. He too was groomed at Liverpool, and represents River Plate. Sánchez obtained Argentine citizenship in December 2014.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first.''

Honours

River Plate *

: 2011–12 *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...

Suruga Bank Championship The J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship was an annual intercontinental football match held in Japan, contested by the reigning champions of the J.League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament was previously officially called the ...

Monterrey *

Copa MX The Copa MX (formerly called Copa Tower Monterrey, Copa Eliminatoria, Copa México and Copa Corona MX (for sponsorship reasons)) was a Mexican football cup competition that was established in 1907. After a lengthy hiatus that began in 1997, it wa ...

: Apertura 2017 Individual *

: 2015 *

Best XI:

Top Scorer:

Top Scorer: Apertura 2017

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Carlos 1984 births Living people Footballers from Montevideo Uruguayan men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football wingers Liverpool F.C. (Montevideo) players Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba footballers Club Atlético River Plate footballers Club Puebla players C.F. Monterrey players Santos FC players Peñarol players Uruguay Montevideo players Uruguayan Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Primera Nacional players Liga MX players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Copa Libertadores-winning players Uruguay men's international footballers 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Naturalized citizens of Argentina Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil