Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz (born 26 July 1987), known as Fredy Montero (, 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

. He is Seattle's all-time top scorer in official club competitions, scoring 76 goals with the club between two stints: 2009 and 2012, and since 2021. Montero has been called up to the Colombian national team five times, scoring once in an unofficial match against

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

. Montero began playing youth soccer at

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful footba ...

at age six. He earned his professional debut at age 18 in 2005 before being sent on loan to

Academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

for the season. Montero was loaned to

Atlético Huila Atlético Huila is a professional Colombian football team based in Neiva, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded on November 29, 1990, making it one of the youngest professional football clubs in Colombia. The club' ...

for two additional years, becoming the league topscorer in the 2007 Torneo Apertura before returning to Deportivo Cali and becoming league top scorer for a second time in the 2008 Torneo Finalización. Montero was loaned to the Major League Soccer expansion team Seattle Sounders in 2009, where he was named Newcomer of the Year and led the team in goals. Montero was sold to the Sounders in 2010 and became a Designated Player and a

permanent resident Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such ...

of the United States. During his four seasons as a Sounders player, Montero was named to the

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a tr ...

squad twice, playing against Everton in 2009 and being named inactive in 2010. Montero played for a number of years in Portugal at

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

; across two stints from 2013 to 2016 and 2018 to 2019, he netted 43 goals across all competitions for ''Os Leões''. He also played in Canada for

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

and in China for

Tianjin TEDA Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Tianjin, and their home stadium is t ...

Club career

Atlético Huila

Montero was loaned to

in 2006, where he was named "Top Goal Scorer" in the

Copa Mustang Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

with 13 goals. Despite rumors and interest from European clubs, he returned to

in 2007; he was again the top goal scorer in the 2008-II Copa Mustang, with 16 goals.

Seattle Sounders FC

Montero was acquired by

in January 2009 on loan from Deportivo Cali despite interest from European side

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

. There were unconfirmed reports that suggested Montero's contract was owned by a third-party. Montero scored nine goals in nine preseason games in 2008/09. Montero made his MLS debut on 19 March 2009, in the 2009 season opener against

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

, and scored the first and third goals in Seattle Sounders FC club history. Montero was named the MLS Player of the Week for the first week of the 2009 MLS season for his two goals. An additional goal against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

helped Montero be named MLS Player of the Month for March 2009 as he won the first two Goals of the Week. In April 2009, Montero told Sports Illustrated that he would like to play in Europe in the future and that the mix of players in MLS appealed to him as a place to learn. He later dismissed a rumor of a transfer to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

and told the press that he was focused on the Sounders. Montero was selected to the

2009 MLS All-Star Game The 2009 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 14th annual MLS All-Star Game. The MLS All-Stars faced Everton of the Premier League on July 29, 2009. The match ended in a 1–1 draw at full-time and went to an immediate penalty shootout, ...

against Everton and played during the first half alongside teammates

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, as well as being the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup partici ...

and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. He would go on to be named the MLS Newcomer of the Year. In August 2009, it was incorrectly reported that MLS had negotiated the transfer of

's portion of Montero's rights to Major League Soccer. It was believed that the league owned his rights, but details of any such deal were never publicly clarified. Fredy Montero v

Montero did not meet the high expectations of coach Schmid and the fans at the beginning of the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. He was left out of the starting lineup for the ninth game of the year. By July, he was named player of the month and selected to the inactive roster of the 2010 MLS All-Star Game. A scheduling conflict between a team

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

match and the game made him unable to start in the exhibition game. Montero earned his second career MLS Player of the Month in July 2010. Although he failed to score a goal in league play between 1 September and the end of the season on 23 October, Montero finished the year with 10 goals and 10 assists. He totaled 12 goals, of which 6 were game-winners, and 11 assists in all competitions. A total of 22 goals and 17 assists in league play between 2009 and 2010 was the third most in the league. Montero was also named as the top player in the MLS "24 Under 24" list, which honors players under 24 years old who perform well in MLS. On 1 December 2010, Seattle Sounders FC announced that Montero had agreed to a contract extension with his rights permanently transferred to the club and

. He became the third

Designated Player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

and the highest paid player on the team with a base salary of $500,000. Before the second game of the 2011 season, Montero fractured his wrist. He missed two matches and played with a cast that may have contributed to multiple matches of reduced performance. His play improved by midseason. Schmid attributed it to increased growth, maturity, and fitness. The addition of

Mauro Rosales Mauro Damián Rosales (born 24 February 1981) is an Argentine former association football, footballer who last played in Alumni de Villa María, Alumni. A Midfielder#Winger, winger/Forward (association football), forward best known for his pace ...

to the team's midfield also helped Montero in the second half of the season. Montero ended the regular season of league play with 12 goals. He ended the year with 18 goals in all competitions. His goals scoring efforts made him the MLS player who scored the most goals across all competitive match in 2011. The Sounders won the

2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 98th edition of the USSF's annual national soccer championship, running from June through early October. Seattle Sounders FC, who entered the competition as the two-time defending champions, successfully ...

. Montero was named Player of the Tournament after scoring three game-winning goals in the final three games.

Millonarios

Montero was officially loaned to Colombian champions

Millonarios 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 ...

, playing in the

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 ...

, on 21 January 2013, also signing a multi-year extension to his contract with the Sounders.

Sporting CP

Montero was loaned to

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

side

on 22 July 2013 for US$1.2 million with an option to buy. On his debut for the Portuguese club, Montero scored a hat-trick against newly promoted side F.C. Arouca, in a 5–1 win in the first round of the

season. On 31 August, Montero opened the scoring with a header in a 1–1 draw with Lisbon rivals Benfica at the

Alvalade Alvalade may refer to the following places in Portugal: *Alvalade (Lisbon), a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lisbon *Alvalade (Santiago do Cacém), a freguesia (civil parish) in the Santiago do Cacém Municipality, Alentejo *Estád ...

. On 30 January 2014, it was announced that Montero had signed a four-and-a-half year deal with Sporting for an additional $1.55 million transfer fee plus bonuses. Montero scored his first goal for Sporting since December 2013, netting in a 4–0 win over

Penafiel Penafiel ( or () is a municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the northern Portuguese district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion, the population was 72,265 in 2011, in an area of . History The region ...

on 4 October 2014.

Tianjin TEDA

On 6 February 2016, Montero transferred to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

side

for €5 million.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

On 15 February 2017, Montero transferred to

side

on loan from

side Tianjin TEDA F.C.

Return to Sporting CP

On 17 January 2018, it was announced that Montero had returned to

on an 18-month contract. Months later, on 15 May, he and several of his teammates, including coaches, were injured following an attack by around 50 supporters of Sporting at the club's training ground after the team finished third in the league and missed out on the UEFA Champions League qualification. Despite the events, he and the rest of the team agreed to play in the Portuguese Cup final scheduled for the following weekend.

Return to Vancouver

On 15 February 2019, Montero and Sporting agreed to mutually terminate his contract with the club. The same day, Vancouver announced he had joined the club on a permanent deal.

Return to Seattle

On 4 March 2021, Montero re-joined the

. Following the 2021 season, Seattle declined their contract option on Montero. He returned on a new deal before the 2022 season.

International career

Montero received his first

international cap In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

during a 4–0 win 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, playing the final 13 minutes of the match at

Estadio Rommel Fernández The Estadio Olímpico Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez, named after the Panamanian football star Rommel Fernández (1966–1993), is a multi-purpose stadium in Panama City. It is used for different sports, but mainly football (soccer) games. It was ...

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

. In October 2008, he started and played 55 minutes in a 1–0 World Cup qualifying loss to

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 ...

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 ...

. The forward scored his first goal for Colombia in the 2nd minute of

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

against

on 29 December 2008 during a 2–1 loss at

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...

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 ...

. Montero last played for Colombia in a 2–1 loss against

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 ...

during a friendly on 12 August 2009. Montero has expressed interest in returning to the national team but has failed to receive a call-up.

Personal life

Fredy was born to parents Fredy Montero Sr., a policeman, and Jaynne, who currently reside in

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...

, Colombia. He is the oldest of four children and has two sisters, Jaynne Jr. and Fyorella, as well as a brother named Luiggi. Montero was accused of sexual assault in April 2010, but the charges were dropped after a prosecutor found insufficient evidence. He married his girlfriend Alexis Immig, a

Gig Harbor Gig Harbor is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington,. The population was 12,029 at the 2020 census. Gig Harbor is one of several cities and towns that claim to be "the gateway to the Olympic ...

native, during a private ceremony in April 2012. They have two daughters. Montero was named MLS Humanitarian of the Month for March 2011 after raising over $29,000 to donate towards relief for victims of the 2010 Colombian floods. Montero threw out first pitch for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

baseball team against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

on 21 August 2012, shortly after honoring

Félix Hernández Félix Abraham Hernández García (born April 8, 1986), nicknamed "King Félix", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2005 through 2019. On August 15, 2 ...

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

in his goal celebration against the

. Montero was also the subject of an episode of the MLS 36 documentary series that debuted on 10 August 2012. The episode filmed his preparations and gameplay during a friendly against

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football ...

on 18 July 2012. The episode revealed that his dog is named FIFA (after the governing body of the sport) and that Montero is a fan of

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...

' ''FIFA'' video game franchise. Montero gained permanent residency in the United States in 2010.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Seattle Sounders FC *

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

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Sporting CP *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

: 2014–15, 2018–19 *

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

: 2017–18, 2018–19 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

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 ...

Individual *

top goalscorer: 2007 Torneo Apertura, 2008 Torneo Finalización *

Player of the Tournament: 2011 *MLS 24 Under 24 Top Player: 2010 *

*MLS Humanitarian of the Month: March 2010 *FutbolMLS.com's 2010 Latino del Año: November 201
FutbolMLS.com
*

MLS Newcomer of the Year Award The MLS Newcomer of the Year Award is awarded by Major League Soccer to a player who has professional experience in another league and has an outstanding season in his first season of play in MLS. Winners {{MLS awards Newcomer of the Year

: 2009 *Major League Soccer Player of the Month: March 2009, July 2010

References

External links

* *
FredyMontero
at

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Montero, Fredy 1987 births Living people Colombian footballers Association football forwards Categoría Primera A players Categoría Primera B players Deportivo Cali footballers Academia F.C. players Atlético Huila footballers Millonarios F.C. players Major League Soccer players Seattle Sounders FC players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Major League Soccer All-Stars Designated Players (MLS) Primeira Liga players Sporting CP footballers Chinese Super League players Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. players Colombian expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in China Colombian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Colombian expatriate sportspeople in China Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Colombia international footballers People from Atlántico Department