Cristian Darío Álvarez Azad (born 13 November 1985) is an Argentine former 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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Club career

Rosario Central

Born in

General Lagos General Lagos ( indigenous name: Takura) is Chile's northernmost commune in Parinacota Province, Arica and Parinacota Region. Its capital is Visviri. The area, once part of Peru, was captured by Chilean forces in the War of the Pacific by its ...

Santa Fe Province The Invincible Province of Santa Fe (, , lit. "Holy Faith") is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 2 ...

, Álvarez came through the youth ranks at hometown club

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

, making his first-team debut in a

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

game against

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

an side

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

on 23 February 2006, a 0–2 home defeat. He went on to fully establish himself as first choice, playing two seasons in the Primera División.

Espanyol

In late May 2008, Álvarez joined Spanish team

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

, signing a five-year contract. He spent most of his spell with 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 ...

restricted to

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 ...

matches, being barred in

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 ...

by Cameroonian

Carlos Kameni Idriss Carlos Kameni (born 18 February 1984) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He spent the vast majority of his career in Spain, mainly with Espanyol for whom he appeared in 229 official games over eight La Li ...

; his longest run in the latter competition came during the 2009–10 season as the starter had been selected to the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2 ...

and he made four appearances, conceding as many goals in two wins, one draw and one loss. Álvarez was promoted to first choice for the start of the 2011–12 campaign by manager

Mauricio Pochettino Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero (born 2 March 1972), also known mononymously by his nickname Poch, is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the United States men's national team. Pochettin ...

, with Kameni also still in the roster.

San Lorenzo

On 7 July 2013, Álvarez joined

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera División, the first tier of the Argentine foot ...

on a three-year deal. Initially a starter, he suffered an injury and eventually lost his place to

Sebastián Torrico Sebastián Alberto Torrico (born 22 February 1980 in Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza) is an Argentine former footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for San Lorenzo. Honours ;Godoy Cruz *Primera B Nacional: Season 2005/06 ;San Lorenzo *Argentine P ...

, contributing only three games as his team won the Torneo Inicial. Álvarez was also an unused substitute in the club's victorious run in the

2014 Copa Libertadores The 2014 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2014 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 55th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organized ...

. He returned to Spain and its top division for 2014–15, being loaned to

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

. In August 2015, still owned by San Lorenzo, Álvarez moved to

of the

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 ...

Zaragoza

On 3 August 2017, Álvarez agreed to a one-year contract at

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

, with an option to extend for two more years. The following February, after playing a required number of games, this was made effective. Álvarez put pen to paper to a further extension on 20 August 2020, until 2023. On 30 April 2021, he headed home from a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

in the 97th minute of the 2–2

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

away draw with

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Primera Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio Anxo ...

. Álvarez retired on 3 February 2025, aged 39. During his spell at the

La Romareda Estadio de La Romareda () is the home stadium of Real Zaragoza, in Zaragoza, Spain. It was inaugurated on 8 September 1957, with a game between Real Zaragoza and CA Osasuna (4–3). The official capacity is 33,608, with an average attendance of ...

, he made 236 competitive appearances.

Career statistics

Honours

San Lorenzo *

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

: 2013 Inicial *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Cristian 1985 births Living people People from Rosario Department Argentine sportspeople of Spanish descent 21st-century Argentine sportsmen Argentine men's footballers Footballers from Santa Fe Province Men's association football goalkeepers Argentine Primera División players Rosario Central footballers San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers La Liga players Segunda División players RCD Espanyol footballers Rayo Vallecano players Real Zaragoza players Paraguayan Primera División players Cerro Porteño players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay