Diego Roberto Godín Leal (born 16 February 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sarsfield and captains the Uruguay national team. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, he started his professional career with Cerro and three years later was transferred to Primera División side Nacional. He since spent most of his professional career in Spain, representing

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

and Atlético Madrid and winning eight titles with the latter club, including the

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' ...

title in the 2013–14 season. He also played in Italy with

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

and Cagliari, and in Brazil with Atlético Mineiro. A Uruguay international since 2005, Godín is the country's all-time most-capped player. He represented the national side at four

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

and six Copa América tournaments, winning the 2011 edition of the latter competition.

Early life

Godín was born in Rosario to Julio Godín and Iris Leal. Aged 4, during a family gathering, he nearly drowned after trying to catch fish in a river, but eventually swam to shore without the help of anybody.

Club career

Uruguay and Villarreal

Godín started his professional career with Cerro at the age of 17. After his good performances, he was transferred to Primera División powerhouse Nacional, where he quickly became captain due to his maturity and professionalism. In August 2007, Godín signed a five-year deal with

side

, scoring in just his second game, a 3–2 away loss against Osasuna on 7 October, and participating in 24 matches in their best league placement ever ( second). He consolidated his starting position in the subsequent seasons, mostly partnering Argentine Gonzalo Rodríguez in the heart of the back four.

Atlético Madrid

On 4 August 2010, after experiencing his best

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 ...

at Villarreal – 36 games, three goals – Godín joined Atlético Madrid on a five-year contract, after the two clubs agreed an initial fee believed to be around €8 million or £6.6 million. He made his official debut for the ''Colchoneros'' on the 27th, playing the entire 2–0 win against

in the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

Godín signed a new contract with Atlético on 1 November 2013, keeping him at the club until 2018. He scored four league goals during the campaign, including one on the last matchday on 17 May 2014 against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

which equalised the game at 1–1 to earn his team its first league title in 18 years. A week later, again through a header, he repeated the feat in the final of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

to put his team ahead, but Real Madrid eventually won 4–1. In 2015, Godín rejected a transfer to Manchester City, managed by his former Villarreal boss Manuel Pellegrini. On 28 October 2017 he became the foreign player with most appearances for the club, surpassing fellow stopper Luis Perea after his 315th against Villarreal; he was nominated for the

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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

and

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Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...

awards. On 20 February 2019, Godín scored the second goal in 2–0 home victory over Juventus in the Champions League round of 16. On 7 May, the 33-year-old announced he would be departing the Metropolitano Stadium after a nine-year tenure and, on 1 June, he symbolically handed over the captain armband to Koke in the 1–1 draw against

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Inter Milan

On 1 July 2019, Inter Milan announced they had signed Godín for free on a three-year deal. It was reported that he had already agreed to a pre-contract the previous January. He made his debut in

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 Cop ...

on 1 September, coming on for

Antonio Candreva Antonio Candreva (; born 28 February 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right midfielder or right winger for Serie A club Salernitana, on loan from Sampdoria. Candreva began his professional club career with Ternana i ...

for the final 11 minutes of a 2–1 win at Cagliari. In a season in which Inter finished one point behind champions Juventus, Godín scored his first ''Nerazzurri'' goal on 13 July 2020 in a 3–1 home victory over

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. On 21 August he equalised against Sevilla in the

2020 UEFA Europa League Final The 2020 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Eur ...

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, a 3–2 loss for his side; only five other men had scored in the finals of European football's two top tournaments.

Cagliari

On 24 September 2020, Godín joined Cagliari on a three-year contract. He played his first match for them on 4 October, in a 5–2 away defeat to

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

where he also scored. Godín left on 12 January 2022 by mutual agreement.

Atlético Mineiro

On 12 January 2022, the 36-year-old Godín agreed to a one-year deal with

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

. He scored on his debut on 6 February, a 3–0 win over Patrocinense in the Campeonato Mineiro. On 20 February, he started in the 2022 Supercopa do Brasil which Atlético won after beating Flamengo in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. In April 2022, Godín said that one of the reasons for which he had returned to South American football was to play the Copa Libertadores, his return marking the first time he appeared in the tournament after a 15-year hiatus. On 20 June, after failing to break into the starting team and aiming to play at the upcoming World Cup for Uruguay, he announced his departure in mutual terms.

Vélez Sarsfield

On 21 June 2022, Godín joined Vélez Sarsfield on a one-and-a-half year contract.

International career

In 2005, at the age of 19, Godín made his debut for

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 ...

in a friendly defeat against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in Guadalajara. His first international goal came in another exhibition game, with Serbia and Montenegro in May 2006. He represented the nation at the 2007 Copa América, playing in the opening 0–3 defeat to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

before losing his place to Andrés Scotti in Uruguay's run to fourth place. Godín was selected for the squad at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

in South Africa. He started in the opening match against

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(0–0) in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, and played in a further four matches for the eventual semi-finalists. Diego Godín 51776

In 2011, Godín featured in Uruguay's successful 2011 Copa América campaign, making one appearance as a late substitute in a 3–0 defeat of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

in the final after being bedridden for several days with a

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

. He also participated in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, partnering

Diego Lugano Diego Alfredo Lugano Morena (; (born 2 November 1980) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Nicknamed ''Tota'', Lugano played for a number of clubs in South America and Europe, including Plaza Colonia ...

in defence in four of the team's five matches as they reached the semi-finals. Godín was selected by coach Óscar Tabárez for the

2014 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 righ ...

and captained the team in three of their four games due to Lugano's absence through injury. On 24 June, he headed the only goal against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the final group fixture, sending the country through to the knockout stage. In May 2015, Godín was named as captain for Uruguay's defence of the Copa América during the 2015 continental tournament in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. He was also picked 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 ...

squad, heading home from a Carlos Sánchez long cross in the opener against

where both teams ended with ten players (1–3 loss). He won his 100th cap in the following match, a 0–1 defeat to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

at the

Lincoln Financial Field Lincoln Financial Field is an American football stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It serves as the home stadium of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) and the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. ...

. Godín was also selected for the

2018 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 ...

. The following 25 March, at the 2019 China Cup, he made his 126th appearance against

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, surpassing

Maxi Pereira Maxi may refer to: People Given name * Maxi Biancucchi (born 1984), Argentine footballer who plays for Flamengo * Maxi López (born 1984), Argentine footballer who plays in Europe * Maxi Pereira, Uruguayan footballer who plays for SL Benfica ...

as the most capped player in the national team's history. In June 2019, Godín skippered the team to the quarter-finals of the Copa América in Brazil. He repeated the feat two years later, in the same country. He played the full 90 minutes of his 150th cap on 10 October 2021, a 3–0 loss away to

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 ...

in 2022 World Cup qualification.

Style of play

Despite his lack of pace or significant athleticism, Godín was regarded by pundits as one of the best and most consistent defenders in the world, and as one of the leading centre-backs of his generation. During the 2018 World Cup, Jack Watson of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' described him as "the best central defender in the world." An intelligent centre-back, Godín was mainly known for his leadership, positioning and calm composure, which allowed him to organise his back-line, read the game and anticipate plays. Aggressive, competitive and physical, he was also known for his aerial ability and his capacity to time his jumps effectively, which enabled him to defend high balls, score goals with his head on set pieces, and beat out larger players to the ball in the air. Godín also stood out for his capacity to time his challenges, make blocks, interceptions and win the ball. Moreover, he was strong in one–on-one situations as his defensive positioning often allowed opposition players little time or space on the ball. In addition to his defensive skills, he was also known for his technique, ball–playing ability and capacity to carry the ball out from the defence, which allowed him start plays from the back and create chances for teammates.

Personal life

Godín married Sofia, daughter of José Herrera, a Uruguayan international who played in Serie A for Cagliari alongside compatriot

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 ...

. He is close friends with

Antoine Griezmann Antoine Griezmann (; born 21 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the France national team. A versatile player, Griezmann is known for his attacking, passing, and supporti ...

, who played with him at Atlético Madrid. During the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals match, the latter did not celebrate his goal out of respect for the former and also club teammate

José María Giménez José María Giménez de Vargas (; born 20 January 1995) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a central defender for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Uruguay national team. After starting out his professional career wit ...

; Godín is also godfather to Griezmann's daughter.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Atlético Madrid *

: 2013–14 *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

* Supercopa de España:

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UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

: 2011–12, 2017–18 *

: 2010,

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 gat ...

runner-up: 2013–14, 2015–16 Inter Milan *UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2019–20 Atlético Mineiro *

Supercopa do Brasil The Supercopa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Super Cup) is a Brazilian association football trophy organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). It is contested between the champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro and the winners of the Copa d ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

* Campeonato Mineiro:

Uruguay * Copa América: 2011 * China Cup:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Individual * La Liga Player of the Month: April 2014, May 2014 *La Liga Team of the Season: 2013–14, 2015–16 *UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17 *

UEFA Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...

: 2014 *UEFA Champions League Team of the Group Stage: 2015 * La Liga Best Defender: 2015–16 *UEFA La Liga Team of the Season: 2015–16 *

European Sports Media The European Sports Media (ESM), formerly European Sports Magazines, is an association of football-related publications in Europe. Members European Sports Media was established in 1989 as an international body for football journalism. Its nine fo ...

Team of the Year: 2015–16 *UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2017–18 * FIFA World Cup Dream Team:

* IFFHS Men's World Team: 2018

References

External links

Atlético Madrid official profile
() * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godin, Diego 1986 births Living people People from Rosario, Uruguay Uruguayan people of French descent Uruguayan footballers Association football defenders Uruguayan Primera División players C.A. Cerro players Club Nacional de Football players La Liga players Villarreal CF players Atlético Madrid footballers Serie A players Inter Milan players Cagliari Calcio players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Clube Atlético Mineiro players Argentine Primera División players Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers UEFA Europa League winning players Uruguay international footballers 2007 Copa América players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 Copa América players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 Copa América players 2021 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Copa América-winning players FIFA Century Club Uruguayan expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Brazil Expatriate footballers in Argentina Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina