José Martín Cáceres Silva (; born 7 April 1987) is an 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 lea ...

for

Paraguayan Primera División The División Profesional de la Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship ...

club Libertad. Mainly a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, he can also play on either flank, mostly as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. After starting out at

Defensor Sporting Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievement ...

, he was bought by Spanish club

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) 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 capital ( ...

in 2007. In the following years he competed in Spain and Italy, notably winning six Serie A titles with

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

and the 2009 Champions League with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

. He later had a brief spell in England with

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

before returning to Italy in 2017; despite his ability, his career was limited by several injuries. An Uruguay international since the age of 20, Cáceres represented the country in 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 name is ...

, three editions of the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

and the 2013 Confederations Cup, winning 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 association football, football tournament for national ...

Club career

Early years

Born in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Cáceres started his career with his local team

Defensor Defensor (Latin, 'one who defends') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Defensor (comics), a Marvel character * Defensor (''Transformers''), a character in the media franchise People *Defensor, a monk, compiler of the early medieval an ...

, becoming a regular at a young age and competing in one full Primera División season with them. In early February 2007, he signed for Spanish club

, with the deal being made effective in July. Upon arriving at Villarreal, Cáceres was immediately sent on loan to fellow

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

, being one of the most used players during the season and often partnering Beto in central defence as the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns managed to retain their division status, finishing in 16th position; on 9 January 2008, he scored against the club that owned his rights in the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

( 1–0 home win, but 2–1 loss on aggregate), and never appeared officially for them.

Barcelona

Cáceres joined

on 4 June 2008, with a reported transfer fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

16.5 million being paid to Villarreal. A buyout clause of €50 million was included in the deal, which ran until June 2012. During his only season at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

, he featured sparsely due to both injury and technical decisions. Even after his recovery, Cáceres only managed to be fourth-choice stopper behind Rafael Márquez,

Gerard Piqué Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered to be one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a talented student athlete at Barcelona's La ...

and

Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played List of one-club men in association football, his entire career for FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Considered one of the grea ...

. He appeared in three games in the campaign's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

– two starts, 217 minutes – being an unused substitute in the final against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

which completed

the treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...

for the

Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...

Loan to Juventus

On 6 August 2009, Barcelona loaned Cáceres to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

, with the

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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. The city is main ...

team having an option to make his stay permanent at the end of the season for €11 million, plus €1 million in variables. He made his debut in a pre-season friendly against former team Villarreal the following day, replacing Jonathan Zebina at right-back at half-time. The league season began well for Cáceres as he made a goal-scoring debut, netting the opener in a 2–0 away win against

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. He began as a regular under

Ciro Ferrara Ciro Ferrara (; born 11 February 1967) is an Italian former footballer and manager. Ferrara spent his playing career as a defender, initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus, winning seven total Serie A titles as well as other domestic and ...

, but his campaign would be ultimately disrupted by a number of injuries, including one in January 2010 that put him out of action for several months.

Sevilla

On 30 August 2010, Cáceres returned to Spain and joined

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) 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. Seville ...

on 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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long loan, with an option to purchase. He featured regularly for the Gregorio Manzano-led team, especially at right-back following the return of Abdoulay Konko to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

in January 2011. Cáceres was severely injured by Michael Jakobsen in a match against

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

on 1 May 2011, suffering a lacerated

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

following a dangerous challenge. The Dane was given a straight

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

, and the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n was initially ruled out for the rest of the campaign, but unexpectedly recovered for the final two games, with his side finishing fifth and

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. On 31 May 2011, Sevilla agreed a €3 million deal plus €1.5 million in variables with Barcelona for the permanent move of Cáceres to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. In late January 2012, however, he returned to Juventus on loan.

Juventus return

At Juventus, Cáceres chose to wear the number 4 shirt, which had previously belonged to compatriot

Paolo Montero Rónald Paolo Montero Iglesias (born 3 September 1971) is a Uruguayan football manager and former player, who played as a central defender or left-back. Montero began his career in Uruguay with Peñarol in 1990 before moving to Italian side Ata ...

. He made his debut for ''Juve'' in his second spell on 8 February 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win against

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

in the semi-finals of the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

and scoring both of his team's goals. On 25 March he netted his first league goal, heading home an

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest Midfielder (association football)#Deep-lying playmaker, mi ...

corner kick A corner kick, commonly known as a corner, is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defe ...

in the 57th minute of a 2–0 home victory over

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 Association football, football List of football ...

. On 25 May 2012, Cáceres joined Juventus on a permanent basis, signing a four-year contract. He missed most of the first half of the 2014–15 campaign, after picking up an injury in a 3–2 home win over

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

in October 2014 which sidelined him for three months. He returned to the starting line-up on 11 January 2015, scoring in a 3–1 defeat of

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

at the

Stadio San Paolo Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, formerly known as Stadio San Paolo, is an all-seater football stadium in Naples, Italy. Completed in 1959, it is the fourth largest football stadium in Italy after Milan's San Siro, Rome's Stadio Olimpico and ...

. On 8 March, however, he fractured his ankle during a training session, requiring surgery; as a result, he was ruled out indefinitely. Cáceres returned to the starting line-up on 8 August 2015, in Juventus' 2–0 victory over Lazio in the

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

. In late September, however, he had his driving license revoked for six months and was suspended by the club after crashing his

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

into a bus stop in Turin following a wrong turn. He was alleged to have been over the legal alcohol limit for driving. Cáceres returned to action on 6 January 2016, starting and playing 84 minutes in a 3–0 home win against

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

. On 4 February, it was confirmed that he would be sidelined for the rest of the season due to the rupture of his right

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

during the match the day before against Genoa. In May, Juventus' director of football

Giuseppe Marotta Giuseppe "Beppe" Marotta (born 25 March 1957) is an Italian football executive who is currently the chairman and CEO of Italian football club Inter Milan. In 2014, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Career Early career ...

announced that the player's contract would not be renewed, and that he would be leaving the club on 30 June.

Southampton

On 16 February 2017, Cáceres joined

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, signing an initial contract lasting until the end of the season. Ten days later he was included in a matchday squad for the first time, remaining an unused substitute in the final of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

, a 3–2 loss to

. After three months at

St Mary's Stadium St Mary's Stadium is a seated but also safe-standing football stadium in Southampton, Hampshire, England, which has been the home stadium of club Southampton since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384 and is currently the largest footbal ...

, Cáceres appeared in his first and only game for Southampton, starting in a 2–1 away win over

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 13 May. He was released on 25 May.

Hellas Verona

Cáceres returned to Italy in early August 2017, signing for Hellas Verona on a deal running until 30 June 2018. However, it was reported that Lazio had already expressed an interest in acquiring his services, but were ultimately unable to as their quota of two non-EU signings from abroad had already been filled. He joined Verona instead as a result, although rumours circulated in the media linking him with a possible move to Lazio in January as there were no restrictions impeding the transfer of non-EU players between Italian clubs.

Lazio and Juventus

On 8 January 2018, Cáceres joined Lazio on a one-year contract with the option for a renewal. He scored his only goal of the campaign on 18 April in a 4–3 away defeat of

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

, featuring sparingly for the fifth-placed team. On 29 January 2019, Juventus announced the signing of Cáceres on a five-month loan, marking this as his third spell at the club. He made his first appearance since 2016 on 2 February, in a 3–3 home draw against

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

in the domestic league. Cáceres left Juventus at the end of the season, when his contract with Lazio also expired.

Fiorentina

On 30 August 2019, Cáceres joined Fiorentina on a one-year deal with the option for a further season. The following 18 May, he declared that he had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

for 60 days.

Cagliari

Cáceres moved to

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

on a one-year contract on 1 September 2021, where he shared teams with national teammates

Diego Godín Diego Roberto Godín Leal (born 16 February 1986) is a Uruguayan former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, he started out at C.A. Cerro, Cerro and ...

and Nahitan Nández. He scored his only goal for the

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

ns on 17 October, the second in a 3–1 home victory over Sampdoria.

Levante

Cáceres returned to the Spanish top tier on 30 January 2022, with the

agreeing to a one-year deal at Levante with the possibility of a one-year extension. Nine of his appearances were starts, in an eventual

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

;

the same The Same was a punk band from Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's ...

happened to his previous side, Cagliari.

LA Galaxy

On 24 August 2022, Cáceres joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

as a free agent until the end of the season. He scored his first goal on 15 May 2023, opening an eventual 2–1 home win against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

. Cáceres was part of the squad that won the

MLS Cup 2024 MLS Cup 2024 was the 29th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-flight association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. The match was played on December 7, 2024, at Dignity Health ...

on 7 December, even tough he did not feature in any matches having been sidelined since 8 August with an Achilles tendon injury.

Later career

On 11 February 2025, aged 37, Cáceres moved to the

on a ten-month contract at Libertad.

International career

Cáceres played for

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

at the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...

held in Canada, appearing in all the matches in an eventual round-of-16 exit. Previously, he was named the best defender at the

2007 South American U-20 Championship The 2007 South American Youth Championship (Sudamericano Sub-20) was the 23rd edition of the competition. It was played in Paraguay between 7 and 28 January 2007, and was contested by all ten U-20 national football teams of CONMEBOL. This was the ...

, helping his team to third place. Cáceres made his debut for the full side on 12 September 2007, in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. In 2010, he was selected by manager

Óscar Tabárez Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (; born 3 March 1947), known as ''El Maestro'' (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan former professional football manager and former player. After an unassuming career as a player and after working as a primary school ...

for his list of 23 players for that year's

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, as back-up to

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

's Jorge Fucile at right-back and taking part in the semi-finals against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and the third-place match against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(both 3–2 losses). Cáceres scored his first international goal on 23 June 2011, in a 3–0 friendly home win over

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. With Fucile not being selected to the

in Argentina, he played five out of six games during the tournament – as right and left back – with the ''Charrúas'' winning their 15th continental tournament. He notably scored the decisive penalty 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 ...

victory over the hosts in the quarter-finals. Cáceres made four appearances for Uruguay in the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourn ...

. In the third-place match against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, his penalty was saved by Juventus teammate

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is ...

as the opposition won the shootout by 3–2 after a 2–2 deadlock following extra time. He was also a member of the squad that took part at 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 ri ...

, featuring four times in the tournament to help the nation reach the last-16 phase, where they suffered a 2–0 defeat to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

at the

Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium (, ; named after the Maracanã River), officially known as Jornalista Mário Filho Stadium (, ; , named after Mário Filho), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Located in the Maracanã neighbor ...

on 28 June. Due to an ankle injury suffered in March 2015, Cáceres was excluded from 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, ...

squad. A serious Achilles tendon ailment in February 2016 also prevented his participation in the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario (, , ; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's soccer tournament that was hosted by the United States in 2016. The competition was a celebration of the centennial of CONMEBOL and the Copa Am� ...

the following summer. Cáceres was included in Uruguay's final 23-man squad for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in l ...

in Russia. He played all the matches and minutes in a quarter-final exit. In March 2019, Tabárez named Cáceres in the squad for the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 Ju ...

in Brazil. On 16 June, he provided the assist to

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...

's goal in a 4–0 win over

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

in the team's opening group match of the tournament. He appeared four times in total throughout the tournament, including the quarter-final tie against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in which his team were eliminated from the competition after losing 5–4 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw after regulation time. Cáceres earned his 100th

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

on 13 October 2020, in a 4–2 loss to Ecuador in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Style of play

Cáceres's primary position is that of a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, but he can also operate as a left or right-back, being noted for his pace, strength, tackling and aerial ability. He has also been deployed as a wing-back or winger, on either side of the pitch. During his time with Juventus, Cáceres' tenacious approach drew comparisons to compatriot Montero, who also played there.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cáceres goal.''

Honours

Barcelona *

: 2008–09 *

: 2008–09 Juventus *

: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2018–19 *

: 2014–15, 2015–16; runner-up: 2011–12 *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

*UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2014–15 Southampton *

runner-up: 2016–17 Uruguay *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

* *
AIC profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caceres, Martin 1987 births Living people Uruguayan men's footballers Footballers from Montevideo Men's association football central defenders Men's association football fullbacks Uruguayan Primera División players Defensor Sporting players La Liga players Villarreal CF players Recreativo de Huelva players FC Barcelona players Sevilla FC players Levante UD footballers Serie A players Juventus FC players Hellas Verona FC players SS Lazio players ACF Fiorentina players Cagliari Calcio players Premier League players Southampton F.C. players Major League Soccer players LA Galaxy players Paraguayan Primera División players Club Libertad footballers UEFA Champions League–winning players Uruguay men's under-20 international footballers Uruguay men's international footballers 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 Copa América players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 Copa América players 2021 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Copa América–winning players FIFA Men's Century Club Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in England Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay

Club career

Early years

Barcelona

Loan to Juventus

Sevilla

Juventus return

Southampton

Hellas Verona

Lazio and Juventus

Fiorentina

Cagliari

Levante

LA Galaxy

Later career

International career

Style of play

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links