Carlos Alberto Sánchez Moreno (born 6 February 1986) 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

defensive midfielder 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 ...

for

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 ...

club

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

. He is nicknamed ''La Roca'' (''The Rock''), due to his strength. He began his career at

River Plate Montevideo A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...

before moving to

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

in 2007, where he made 178

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

appearances and scored ten goals across six seasons. He later played in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

for

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

, the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

for

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

. A full international since 2007, Sánchez has earned over 80 caps for Colombia. He was part of the squads that reached the quarter-finals of the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

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 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, ...

, and finished third in the 2016

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 ...

and

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 ...

Club career

Colombia

Born in

Quibdó Quibdó () is the capital city of Chocó Department, in Western Colombia, and is located on the Atrato River. The municipality of Quibdó has an area of 3,337.5 km² and a population of 129,237, predominantly Afro Colombian, including Zambo C ...

, Chocó, Sánchez moved to a football school in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

and then onto Uruguayan club

Danubio Danubio Fútbol Club is a Uruguayan football club based in Jardines del Hipódromo, Montevideo that currently plays in the Uruguayan Primera División. Founded in 1932, the club's home stadium is Jardines del Hipódromo, which has a capacity o ...

, where he signed his first professional contract in 2003 and was a teammate of

Edinson Cavani Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...

. However, he was released two years later, making no first-team appearances. In the summer of 2005, Sánchez joined fellow league team

. He featured in 40 matches during his two-year spell, scoring once.

Valenciennes

In July 2007, Sánchez was bought by a group of investors and was assigned to

Rangers de Talca Club Social de Deportes Rangers is a Chilean football club based in the city of Talca. The club was founded November 2, 1902 and plays in the second level of the Chilean football system. Their home games are played at the Fiscal stadium, which ha ...

, subsequently moving abroad for the first time in his career, by agreeing to a five-year deal with

side

. He made his debut on 4 August, starting in a 3–1 home win against

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. Sánchez featured regularly for the side in his debut campaign, and was an ever-present figure during the following seasons. In March 2010, he damaged his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

, being sidelined nearly a year. After making 148 appearances for the club, scoring 8 goals in the league, Sánchez left the club in the summer of 2012 when his contract expired. After long negotiations with

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

and West Ham United, he failed to reach an agreement with any club, and subsequently rejoined his former club Valenciennes on 25 August 2012.

Elche

On 16 August 2013, Sánchez signed a three-year deal with Spanish side

, for a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

3.7 million fee. He made his debut on 24 August, starting in a 1–1 home draw against

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

Aston Villa

On 15 August 2014,

announced the signing of Sánchez on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee reported to be around £4.7 million. His first Villa appearance came eight days later when he replaced Charles N'Zogbia as a substitute in the 62nd minute of a goalless draw with

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

. He made his first start for the club in their 3–0 home defeat against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 20 September, after illness had ruled out some of his teammates. On 11 April 2015, he was sent off for two yellow cards as the team won 1–0 away to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

, causing him to miss their victory over

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 ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

semi-final eight days later. Sánchez scored his first goal for Villa on 25 April, an 85th-minute deflected volleyed equaliser away to title holders

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, but

Fernandinho Fernandinho is a hypocorism of the name Fernando and means "Little Fernando" or "Fernando Jr." in Portuguese. Fernandinho may refer to: Footballers *Fernandinho (footballer, born January 1981), Éldis Fernando Damasio, Brazilian footballer who ...

later netted a winner for City. He made a 19-minute substitute appearance in the

2015 FA Cup Final The 2015 FA Cup Final was an association football match played between Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 May 2015. Organised by the Football Association (FA), it was the List of FA Cup Fin ...

on 30 May at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in place of Ashley Westwood, in an eventual 4–0 loss to Arsenal.

Fiorentina

On 10 August 2016, after Villa's relegation, Sánchez was loaned to

club

for a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. He made his debut ten days later as a 65th-minute substitute for

Milan Badelj Milan Badelj (; born 25 February 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Genoa. He was a member of the Croatian squad that finished runners-up in the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well as part of the country's sq ...

in a 2–1 loss away to reigning champions

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

on the first day of the season. Eight days later, he made his first start in a 1–0 home win over Chievo, in which he scored the goal. The move was made permanent at the end of the campaign.

RCD Espanyol

On 31 January 2018, Sánchez returned to La Liga on loan to

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

for the remainder of the

. He made his debut four days later in a 1–1 home draw with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

in the ''

Derbi barceloní The Derbi Barceloní (; es, Derbi Barcelonés, ; "Barcelonian derby"), is the name given to football matches between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. Both clubs are located in the Barcelona metropolitan area, Spain. Rivalry In the first half of ...

'', playing the final four minutes in place of

Léo Baptistão Leonardo "Leo" Carrilho Baptistão (born 26 August 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for La Liga club UD Almería. Mainly a striker, he can also play as a winger. Baptistão spent most of his career in Spain from the age ...

West Ham United

On 9 August 2018, Sánchez signed a two-year deal with

club West Ham United. Having made just six appearances, in September 2018 he injured his knee in an

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

game against

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

requiring knee surgery. He returned to the first team in May 2019, playing in their 3–0 home win against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. In June 2020, West Ham confirmed his departure from the club at the end of the month.

Watford

On 4 March 2021, Sanchez joined English side

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

on a short-term deal until the end of the 2020–21 season. He left

at the end of the season following the expiration of his contract.

International career

Sánchez made his international debut against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

on 9 May 2007. He was then included in the 34-man provisional squad for the Copa América 2007, but later dropped for the final list. He was in the first team for all of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

's matches for

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (O ...

including the 2–1 victory over

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

on 20 November 2007 in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

. At the

, he started three of Colombia's four matches as they reached the quarter-finals, coming into the team at the expense of Gustavo Bolívar after the opening game. He played in all five of Colombia's matches in the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil in 2014, playing a defensive role which allowed James Rodríguez and Juan Cuadrado to be attacking midfielders. Sánchez was included in Colombia's squad for the

, where he was credited with "dominating" Neymar during his man of the match performance in the 1–0 group stage defeat of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. His performance at the

was poor. He got a red card for stretching his hand to block Shinji Kagawa's shot in the 3rd minute 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 ...

, denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity and giving away a penalty, which led to a 2–1 win for the Japanese. Then in the round-of-16, when defending a corner kick, he pulled down Harry Kane in the 57th minute to give away a penalty, which Kane converted. Only

José Batista José Alberto Batista González (born 6 March 1962) is an Uruguayan retired footballer who played as a defender, and a manager. He is best known for having received a red card after 56 seconds – a World Cup record – in the 1986 game against ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

was sent off earlier in a World Cup game. Sánchez received death threats for his red card, which were likened by

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

to the assassination of Colombia player

Andrés Escobar Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga (; 13 March 1967 – 2 July 1994) was a Colombian footballer who played as a defender. He played for Atlético Nacional, BSC Young Boys, and the Colombia national team. Nicknamed ''The Gentleman'', he was known ...

for his own goal at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

. Manager José Pékerman dedicated the team's 3–0 win over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to the suspended Sánchez.

Personal life

Sánchez is married to Noelia Polvoria, whom he met 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 ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Aston Villa *

runner-up: 2014–15 Independiente Santa Fe *

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 ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Colombia *

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

third place:

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:Sanchez, Carlos 1986 births Living people Footballers from Quibdó Colombian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Danubio F.C. players Club Atlético River Plate (Montevideo) players Valenciennes FC players Elche CF players RCD Espanyol footballers Aston Villa F.C. players ACF Fiorentina players West Ham United F.C. players Watford F.C. players Independiente Santa Fe footballers San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Uruguayan Primera División players Ligue 1 players La Liga players Serie A players Premier League players Categoría Primera A players Argentine Primera División players Colombia men's international footballers 2011 Copa América players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Colombian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Uruguay Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Colombian expatriate sportspeople in France Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Colombian expatriate sportspeople in England Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Colombian people of African descent English Football League players