Francisco Javier Meza Palma (born in Barranquilla, August 29, 1991) is a Colombian football player who plays for Colombian club Atletico Bucaramanga as a

center back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Santa Fe

After several years in the youth teams of Independiente de Santa Fe, Meza debuted with the first team at the age of 19 under coach Arturo Boyacá on April 16, 2011. In his first year as a professional, he played over 30 games. That year in the Copa Sudamericana, Santa Fe reached the quarterfinals. In 2012, Meza continued as a starter in the defense, making his first professional goal on February 26, 2012 in a Colombian league match against

Deportes Quindío Deportes Quindío is a professional Colombian football club based in Armenia that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded on 8 January 1951, and its best achievement was winning the 1956 league tournament. They play thei ...

. Santa Fe eventually won the Apertura Tournament, where under the command of Wilson Gutiérrez, ended the drought of 36 years without league titles. In 2013, he started in the Superliga final against

Millionarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

, where Santa Fe would be crowned champions, with Meza as one of the most impressive players. In that same year, he played his first Copa Libertadores and his second international tournament - after the Copa Sudamericana 2011-; in this tournament the club reached semifinals. In addition, Santa Fe reached the final of the Colombian League. In 2014, he scored a goal for Santa Fe to win the first leg against

Independiente Medellín Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known as Independiente Medellín or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at Estadio Atanasio Girardo ...

; what helped the team to become champions. In 2015, Meza won his second Superliga title, by defeating

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the oth ...

. In that same year, under the command of

Gustavo Costas Gustavo Adolfo Costas Makeira (born 28 February 1963) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the current manager of the Bolivia national team. Playing career Born in Buenos Aires, Costas started h ...

, Santa Fe reached the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores. On May 12, 2015, he converted his first goal in Copa Libertadores against

Real Garcilaso Cusco Fútbol Club (known as ''Real Garcilaso'' until 2019) is a professional Peruvian football club based in the city of Cusco, that competes in the Liga 2, the top flight of Peruvian football. History Beginnings The club was founded in ...

. On December 9, 2015, Meza won his first international title with Santa Fe after being crowned

2015 Copa Sudamericana The 2015 Copa Sudamericana ( pt, Copa Sul-Americana 2015) was the 14th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Colombian team Santa Fe qualified to play in the 2016 Copa Libe ...

champions.

Tigres UANL

On 11 June 2015, it was official that Meza would have signed with Liga MX team

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. Found ...

, but he would be joining the team until January 2016. In the meantime, he would continue playing for Independiente Santa Fe for the next 6 months. Tigres finished the regular season of the Apertura 2017 as second place with 32 points. In play-offs, Tigres tied 1–1 in both legs against

Club León Club León Fútbol Club, also known as León, is a Mexican professional football club based in León, Guanajuato, that competes in the Liga MX, the top flight of Mexican football. León has won the Primera División de México/Liga MX title ...

and by an aggregate of 2-2, secured semifinals due table position. In semifinals, Tigres defeated Club América by 1–0 in the away game and 3–0 in home. Tigres played the historical final against archrival CF Monterrey. In the first leg the teams tied by 1–1 at the

Estadio Universitario (UANL) The Estadio Universitario ("University Stadium") – nicknamed ''El Volcán'' ('' Spanish'' for "The Volcano") is a football stadium located on the campus of the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, ...

. In the

Estadio BBVA Bancomer The Estadio BBVA, nicknamed "El Gigante de Acero" (Spanish for "The Steel Giant"), formerly known as the Estadio BBVA Bancomer, is a stadium developed by FEMSA and C.F. Monterrey in Guadalupe, Greater Monterrey. The stadium replaced the Estadio ...

, Tigres beat Monterrey by 2–1. Meza and

Eduardo Vargas Eduardo Jesús Vargas Rojas (; born 20 November 1989) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Brazilian Série A club Atlético Mineiro and the Chile national team. Emerging as a top talent at Cobreloa, Vargas moved ...

scored the goals.

Pumas UNAM

On 3 December 2015,

Pumas UNAM Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Fo ...

agreed to sign Meza in a season-long loan deal from

International career

Meza was named in Colombia's squad for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

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 November 2015.

Honours

Santa Fe * Copa Sudamericana : 2015 * Categoría Primera A : 2012-I, 2014-II * Superliga Colombiana :

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 fa ...

, 2015 UANL * Liga MX: Apertura 2016, Apertura 2017, Clausura 2019 * CONCACAF Champions League:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meza, Francisco 1991 births Living people Colombian footballers Colombian expatriate footballers Categoría Primera A players Liga MX players Independiente Santa Fe footballers Tigres UANL footballers Expatriate footballers in Mexico Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Sportspeople from Barranquilla Association football central defenders 20th-century Colombian people 21st-century Colombian people