Diego Fabián Polenta Musetti (; born 6 February 1992) is a

Uruguayan Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del 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 ...

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

centre-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 ...

for Uruguayan club

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

. Polenta has been named in Uruguay's senior team several times, but remains uncapped.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del 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 ...

, Polenta started his career on hometown's club

Danubio Danubio Fútbol Club is a Uruguayan football club based in Jardines del Hipódromo, Montevideo that currently plays in the Uruguayan Primera División. Founded in 1932, the club's home stadium is Jardines del Hipódromo, which has a capacity o ...

, in youth categories. His abilities impressed the

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 ...

club

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, and he was moved to the club in July 2008.

Genoa C.F.C.

He spent the whole 2009-10 season with the ''Primavera'' team. In the 2010-11 season he was included on the first team squad, with the 35 jersey. On 30 April 2011, he made his first team debut, against

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, after came off the bench to replace Giandomenico Mesto.

A.S. Bari

On 29 August 2011, he signed a season-long loan deal with the

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

club

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

in order to gain first team football experience. After a successful stay that loan deal was extended by one year on 21 August 2012. He stayed with

until 2014.

Nacional

In 2014 he joined Uruguayan side

originally on loan, winning the

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , en, First Division Professional League, local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional Association football, ...

during 2014–15. Where he won Defensive Player Of The Year award for the Uruguayan Primera División. He won his second title in 2016, with the

winning the 2016 Uruguayan Primera División. He subsequently became the Captain of

. In July 2017 he won the Torneo Intermedio Final. In July 2018, with Polenta's contract expiring at Nacional at the end of June 2018, Spanish Newspaper

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

, reported that Polenta had received contract offers from Mexican side

Club Atlas Atlas Fútbol Club () is a Mexican professional football club based in Guadalajara, Jalisco that currently plays in Liga MX. It plays home matches at the Estadio Jalisco. Founded in 1916, Atlas has won three league titles and four domestic cups ...

, Saudi Arabian side

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to: Sports Football Libya *Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier * Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...

and English side

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

, with the player taking time to consider the proposals.

LA Galaxy

On 7 February 2019, Polenta joined

MLS 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

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

. On April 19 he scored his first goal for the club, a late winner against

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

International career

He has been capped by the

Uruguay national under-17 football team The Uruguay national U-17 football team is the representative of Uruguay within all FIFA sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level. Uruguay has participated in six of 17 FIFA U-17 World Cup events. Results and fixtures ; Legend ...

for the

2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria from 24 October to 15 November 2009. The tournament was won by Switzerland, beating the host team and holders, Nigeria. The Golden Ball to the Be ...

and by the

Uruguay national under-20 football team Uruguay national under-20 football team represents Uruguay in international football competitions such as FIFA U-20 World Cup and the South American Youth Football Championship. Results and fixtures 2022 Competitive ...

for the

2011 South American Youth Championship The 2011 South American Youth Championship ( es, Campeonato Sudamericano Sub-20 “Juventud de America” Perú 2011, pt, Campeonato Sul-Americano Sub-20 “Juventude da America” Peru 2011) was a football competition for U-20 national teams in ...

and for the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil who claimed their fifth title. At a FIFA ...

, he captained Uruguay at youth level, he was also named by Manager

Óscar Tabárez Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (; born 3 March 1947), known as ''El Maestro'' (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player. He most recently coached the Uruguay national team. After an unassuming career as a ...

in the Uruguay U23's for the

Uruguay Olympic football team Uruguay national under-23 football team (also known as Uruguay under-23, Uruguay U-23, Uruguay Olympic football team) represents Uruguay in under-23 international football competitions such as the Olympic Games and Pan American Games. The se ...

at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, where he played in one game. He was called up to the

squad for friendlies against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and

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

. Polenta was named in

's senior squad for a

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

qualifier against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

in March 2016.

Style Of Play

Mainly a

centre 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 ...

, he can also operate as a

left 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 ...

U20 International goals

, - bgcolor=#DFE7FF , 1. , , 16 January 2011 , ,

Estadio Monumental Virgen de Chapi Estadio de la UNSA (official name) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Arequipa, Peru. The stadium was built by the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, University of San Agustín in the early 1990s and named after the Virgin Chapi. ...

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

, Peru , , , , 0–1 , , 2–1 , ,

, - bgcolor=#DFE7FF , 2. , , 22 January 2011 , ,

, Peru , , , , 0–4 , , 0–4 , ,

, - bgcolor=#DFE7FF , 3. , , 13 July 2011 , , Estadio Juan Antonio Lavalleja,

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...

, Uruguay , , , , 2–0 , , 2–0 , , Friendly

Honours

;Nacional Club *

: 2014–15 *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

* 2017 Intermedio Final Winner Individual *

2014–15 Uruguayan Primera División season The 2014–15 Liga Profesional de Primera División season, also known as the 2014–15 Copa Uruguaya or the 2014–15 Campeonato Uruguayo, was the 111th season of Uruguay's top-flight football league, and the 84th in which was is professional. ...

: Defensive Player Of The Year Award

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polenta, Diego 1992 births Living people Footballers from Montevideo Uruguayan footballers Uruguayan expatriate footballers Uruguay youth international footballers Uruguay under-20 international footballers Uruguay international footballers Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Uruguay Men's association football defenders Genoa C.F.C. players S.S.C. Bari players Club Nacional de Football players Unión de Santa Fe footballers Club Olimpia footballers LA Galaxy players Uruguayan Primera División players Paraguayan Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Serie A players Serie B players Major League Soccer players Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Paraguay Expatriate footballers in Argentina Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Uruguayan people of Italian descent