Antonio de Nigris Guajardo (; 1 April 1978 – 15 November 2009) was a Mexican 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 played as a striker. During his career, which was cut short at 31 by a fatal heart attack, he played in six countries, also representing twelve clubs in nine years.

Club career

Born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, de Nigris became interested in sports at a young age, and began his football career with

C.F. Monterrey Club de Fútbol Monterrey, often known simply as Monterrey or their nickname Rayados, is a Mexican professional football club based in Monterrey, Nuevo León which currently plays in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football. Founded on 28 ...

. He then played for two seasons in Spain (

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and second divisions), with little impact at

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

and modest Polideportivo Ejido, returning to Americas with

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium. They were the surprise winne ...

, with whom, in the 2004 Intercontinental Cup, he scored in the

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 ...

defeat against F.C. Porto. After another stint in

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 ...

, de Nigris was signed by Santos Futebol Clube of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

on 20 March 2006, making his debut against

Brasiliense Futebol Clube Brasiliense Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Brasiliense, is a Brazilian professional club based in Taguatinga, Distrito Federal founded on 1 August 2000. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D, the fourth tier of Brazilian f ...

in a

Brazilian Cup The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de ...

match. However, in late 2006, he switched to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, playing in quick succession for three teams in the country:

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matche ...

Ankaraspor Ankaraspor Kulübü (), formerly known as Osmanlıspor (), is a Turkish professional football club based in the country's capital Ankara. Founded in 1978, the club competes in the TFF Second League. History Ankaraspor was founded as "Ankara Bele ...

and Ankaragücü. He was released from the latter due to heart problems, and his license was cancelled by the

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Footba ...

Death

In 2009–10, de Nigris moved teams again, signing with

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

outfit

AEL 1964 Athlitiki Enosi Larissas ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λάρισας,e-ael.gr
''Athletic Union of Larissa''), foun ...

for two years. On 16 November 2009, Jorge Urdiales, president of former club Monterrey, confirmed de Nigris had died, apparently from a heart attack. De Nigris died just five days after German fellow footballer, goalkeeper Robert Enke.

International career

A Mexican international since 2001, de Nigris represented his nation at that year's Copa América. His debut came on 7 March in a friendly against

, scoring the 2–0 goal in an eventual 3–3 draw. After a seven-year absence in the national squad, de Nigris was called by national coach

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager, who played as a forward. A prolific goalscorer known for his spectacular strikes and volleys, he is widely regarded as the greatest Mexican ...

for a friendly match against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, on 6 February 2008. He underperformed in that match and was substituted, but would also appear against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

in London; he totalled 17 appearances with four goals until his death, at 31.

Career statistics

International

International goals

, - , 1. , , 7 March 2001 , ,

Estadio Jalisco The Jalisco Stadium is a football stadium located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It is the third largest Mexican football stadium behind Estadio Azteca and Estadio Olímpico Universitario. The facility is located in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, 4 ...

, Guadalajara,

, , , , align=center, 2–0 , , align=center, 3–3 , , Friendly , - , 2. , , 25 March 2001 , ,

Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of Association football, football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of a ...

, Mexico City, Mexico , , , , align=center, 1–0 , , align=center, 4–0 , , 2002 World Cup qualification , - , 3. , , 25 March 2001 , , Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico , , , , align=center, 2–0 , , align=center, 4–0 , , 2002 World Cup qualification , - , 4. , , 23 August 2001 , , Estadio Luis de la Fuente,

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

, Mexico , , , , align=center, 5–4 , , align=center, 5–4 , , Friendly

Personal life

De Nigris' younger brother Aldo is also a footballer (also a striker, he too represented Monterrey and the national team), while older sibling

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

is an actor and model. He is also of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

descent and was given the nickname ''Tano'' by his Italian grandfather.De Nigris, otro golpe en el corazón (De Nigris, another blow to the heart)

References

External links

* *
Addicion Rayada profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nigris, Antonio de 1978 births 2009 deaths Footballers from Nuevo León Mexican people of Italian descent Association football forwards Liga MX players C.F. Monterrey players Club América footballers Club Universidad Nacional footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Villarreal CF players Polideportivo Ejido footballers Categoría Primera A players Once Caldas footballers Santos FC players Süper Lig players Gaziantepspor footballers Ankaraspor footballers MKE Ankaragücü footballers Super League Greece players Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players Mexico international footballers 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2001 Copa América players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Mexican expatriate footballers Mexican footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Colombia Expatriate footballers in Brazil Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Greece Sportspeople from Monterrey