Roberto Merino Ramírez (born 19 May 1982) is a Peruvian 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 ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He also holds

Spanish citizenship Spanish nationality law refers to all the laws of Spain concerning nationality. Article 11 of the First Title of the Spanish Constitution refers to Spanish nationality and establishes that a separate law is to regulate how it is acquired and los ...

, due to the many years spent in the country.

Club career

Having moved to Spain in his teens after being born in

Chiclayo Chiclayo (; qu, Chiklayu) is the principal city of the Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located inland from the Pacific coast and from the nation's capital, Lima. Founded by Spanish explorers as "Santa María de los Valles de Chicl ...

Lambayeque Region Lambayeque () is a department and region in northwestern Peru known for its rich Moche and Chimú historical past. The region's name originates from the ancient pre-Inca civilization of the '' Lambayeque''. It is the second-smallest departmen ...

, Merino played youth football with

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

(only one year) and RCD Mallorca. He made his senior debuts with the latter's reserves, in Segunda División B. In January 2003, Merino joined

Atlético Malagueño Club Atlético Malagueño, shortened to Atlético Malagueño, () is a Spanish football team based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1990, it is the reserve team of Málaga CF, and currently plays in Tercera Fede ...

, being an important midfielder element as Málaga CF's B-team

retained In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a retained firefighter, also known as an RDS Firefighter or on-call firefighter, is a firefighter who does not work on a fire station full-time but is paid to spend long periods of time on call to respond to em ...

their newly acquired status in Segunda División, with the player having contributed with 20 games and five goals to the promotion (

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

included). Subsequently, he moved to Switzerland and signed with Servette FC but, with the club facing bankruptcy, left in the following

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

Ciudad de Murcia Club de Fútbol Ciudad de Murcia, usually abbreviated to Ciudad de Murcia, was a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the namesake autonomous community. They played at the 16,000-seater ''Estadio de La Condomina''. Ciudad Murcia was reloca ...

– also in Spain's second level – alongside teammate João Paulo Daniel. Merino was signed by

Atromitos F.C. Atromitos Football Club (, ''PAE APS Atromitos Athinon''), also simply known as Atromitos (literally meaning "Fearless"), is a Greek professional football club based in Peristeri, Athens, that plays in the Super League. It was founded in 1923 ...

in January 2006, from fellow Super League Greece side Akratitos FC. In February 2009, after two full seasons and two halves, he changed teams (and countries) again, joining U.S. Salernitana 1919 in

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 ...

. On 8 January 2011, Merino signed with Al-Nasr SC of the

Kuwaiti Premier League The Kuwait Premier League (), known as STC Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Kuwait football pyramid system. Formed in 1961, Al-Arabi, Qadsia and Kuwait both hold the best record in the competition, having won ...

, on loan from Salernitana. Less than one month after, however, he left the

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n club; according to the player, he decided to leave because he did not feel comfortable and had other objectives for his football career. On 28 February 2011, Merino signed a half-season contract with

Unión Comercio Unión Comercio is a Peruvian football club based in the city of Nueva Cajamarca, San Martín, Peru. History Unión Comercio was 2010 Liga Departamental champion, when they defeated Atlético Belén. In the 2010 Copa Perú, the club classi ...

– at almost 29, this marked the first time he would be playing in the

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; ''First Division'') —known as Liga 1 Betsson for sponsorship reasons and officially as Liga 1 — is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since 1966, when ...

. He stated that his main reason for joining was to earn a regular starting spot on the Peru national team.

International career

Merino represented

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

at under-18 level, having already spent several years living in the country. He decided to play for

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 ...

as a senior, earning his first and only

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. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

on 7 June 2009 in a 1–2 home loss against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

for 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 ...

qualifiers.

Personal life

Merino's younger brother, Iván, was also a footballer. A defender, he too represented Mallorca B and Salernitana.

Honours

Club

;Juan Aurich *

: 2011

References

External links

*
Gazzetta dello Sport profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merino, Roberto 1982 births Living people People from Chiclayo Peruvian people of Spanish descent Peruvian men's footballers Spanish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Segunda División players Segunda División B players RCD Mallorca B players Atlético Malagueño players Ciudad de Murcia footballers Swiss Super League players Servette FC players Super League Greece players A.P.O. Akratitos Ano Liosia players Atromitos F.C. players Serie B players Serie C players US Salernitana 1919 players ASG Nocerina players Al-Nasr SC (Kuwait) players Peruvian Primera División players Unión Comercio footballers Juan Aurich footballers Universidad Técnica de Cajamarca footballers Categoría Primera A players Deportes Tolima footballers Roberto Merino Roberto Merino Spain men's youth international footballers Peru men's international footballers Peruvian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Kuwait Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia SEF Torres 1903 players Kuwait Premier League players Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait