Juan Camilo Zúñiga Mosquera (; born 14 December 1985) is a Colombian 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
wing-back.
Zúñiga has previously played for Italian clubs
Siena
Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...
and
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 ...
, having won two
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 ...
titles with the latter; he was also sent on loan by Napoli to
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
and
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
in 2016.
At international level, Zúñiga was part of the
Colombia national football team
The Colombia national football team (), nicknamed ''Los Cafeteros,'' represents Colombia in men's international Association football, football and is managed by the Colombian Football Federation, Federación Colombiana de Fútbol (), the govern ...
that played in the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
, and has also represented his nation in three
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 ...
tournaments.
Club career
Atlético Nacional
Born in
Chigorodó
Chigorodó () is a town and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia. It is part of the Urabá Antioquia sub-region.
Residents
* Jaime Castañeda, cyclist
Climate
Chigorodó has a tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest clima ...
,
Antioquia Antioquia is the Spanish form of Antioch.
Antioquia may also refer to:
* Antioquia Department
Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders th ...
, Zúñiga made his professional debut with Colombian giant Atlético Nacional. With Nacional, he gained three titles while being at the club for seven seasons. In total, he made 129 league appearances and scored 9 goals.
Siena
Zúñiga left
Atlético Nacional
Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in MedellÃn. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...
in the summer of 2008 and was contracted by Italian side
Siena
Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...
. The transfer fee was €2.32 million. While at Siena, Zúñiga gave impressive performances, which attracted several clubs. In total, he made 28 leagues appearances, failing to score a goal.
Napoli
On 9 July 2009,
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 ...
signed the Colombian from Siena on a five-year deal for €8.5 million. Zúñiga then usually featured on the left-hand side of the 3–5–2 formation, as the left wingback, since
Christian Maggio often occupies the right-hand side.
After the arrival of
Andrea Dossena
Andrea Dossena (; born 11 September 1981) is an Italian football coach and former player who played as a left winger or left back.
Dossena started his professional career at Verona in 2001, having progressed through the club's youth ranks. Havi ...
in January 2010, he lost his starting place and became a backup wingback on both flanks in the
2010–11 Serie A
The 2010–11 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 109th season of top-tier Italian football, the 79th in a round-robin tournament, and the 1st since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B ...
season.
Zúñiga scored his first
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 ...
goal for Napoli against
Catania
Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
on 20 February 2011. His second goal was on 15 May 2011 against
Internazionale
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 football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...
in the 46th minute. His third, spectacular goal occurred against
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 ...
on 21 December 2011.
In late August 2013, Zúñiga suffered an injury. Weeks later, it was confirmed that he would be forced to have knee surgery and be out for a month, likely causing him to miss the rest of the season for 2013. Nevertheless, Zúñiga signed a new contract in October 2013.
In April 2014, it was announced after five months that Zúñiga had finally recovered from his knee injury and would continue regularly for Napoli.
In the first half of the
2015–16 Serie A
The 2015–16 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th season of top-tier Italian football, the 84th in a round-robin tournament, and the 6th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...
season, he was left out of the squad.
Bologna (Loan)
On 13 January 2016, Zúñiga signed for
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
on loan until the end of the season. He made his league debut for the club on 17 January 2016, in a 2–2 draw with
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 replaced
Emanuele Giaccherini in the 71st minute.
Watford (Loan)
On 13 July 2016, it was announced that Zúñiga would join
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
on a season-long loan, with an option to buy, reuniting with former Napoli teammates
Miguel Britos and
Valon Behrami
Valon Behrami (born 19 April 1985) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Despite starting his professional football career in Switzerland with FC Lugano, Behrami played mostly in Italy, though also played for two ...
, as well as manager
Walter Mazzarri
Walter Mazzarri (; born 1 October 1961) is an Italian professional football manager and former player.
After a 14-year playing career with Italian clubs including Reggiana and Empoli, Mazzarri coached several smaller Italian sides and in 2007 ...
. On 18 September 2016, Zúñiga came on in the 83rd minute for
Étienne Capoue and scored 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 ...
in his side's 3–1 win. In what was only his third appearance for Watford in the Premier League, he subsequently won a penalty, converted by
Troy Deeney
Troy Matthew Deeney (born 29 June 1988) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He was most recently player-manager of Forest Green Rovers F.C., Forest Green Rov ...
, for Watford's third goal. It was reported that Zúñiga returned to Naples after the loan, for his final year of contract.
Return to Atlético Nacional
After spending the first half of the
2017–18 season out of Napoli's squad, Zúñiga joined his first club
Atlético Nacional
Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in MedellÃn. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...
on a free transfer on 30 January 2018.
Retirement
In 2018, Zúñiga announced his retirement from football.
International career
Zúñiga played for
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 ...
in the 2005
World Youth Cup
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...
before progressing to the senior national team in 2005. He was regarded as being similar to other famous adventurous full-backs such as
Cafu
Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right-back. Widely regarded as one of the greates ...
and
Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), often known as Roberto Carlos and sometimes ''RC3'', is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer. He has been described as the "most offensive-minded left-back in the ...
by the Italian press during the under-20
World Youth Cup
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...
, because of his attacking nature.
Zúñiga started most of Colombia
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 ...
qualifiers, only missing two games: against
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
after being given permission to leave the team for the birth of his son, and 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 ...
due to injury. He scored his first international goal during the qualifying campaign, which came in stoppage time in a 4–0 home win over
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 RÃo de la Plata to the south and the A ...
; he also assisted
Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao GarcÃa Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for CategorÃa Primera A club Millonarios F.C., Millonarios. Nicknamed "El ...
's opening goal during the match.
He was called up for 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 ...
and appeared in four of the five matches that
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 ...
played in the tournament. On 4 July 2014, while Colombia's quarter-final match against hosts
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
was nearing its end, Zúñiga landed his right knee into
Neymar
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (; born 5 February 1992), also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or Forward (association foo ...
's lower back while challenging for the ball. Neymar was stretchered off and further examinations showed that Neymar suffered a fractured
vertebra
Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spina ...
, ruling him out of the rest of the World Cup.
After the match, which Colombia lost 2–1, Zúñiga insisted that he had not meant to injure Neymar.
[ Neymar's teammate ]Thiago Silva
Thiago Emiliano da Silva (born 22 September 1984) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fluminense. Regarded as one of the best defenders of all time, he is known ...
defended Zúñiga, stating that he was not the type of player who would purposely cause an injury to any player. Conversely, Brazilian legend Ronaldo said that he believed that Zúñiga's violent challenge was a foul committed with the intention of causing harm. The day after the match, it was revealed that Zúñiga had sent a letter of apology to Neymar, saying that he was "deeply sorry and sad" for unintentionally causing the injury. Neymar later accepted the apology. Though Zúñiga publicly apologized to Neymar, his Instagram and Twitter accounts were flooded with racial insults and death threats addressed to him and his family by some Brazilian fans.
The following year, in 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, ...
, Zúñiga participated in his team's second group match against Brazil, during which an on-pitch brawl broke out following Colombia's 1–0 victory.
Style of play
A quick, energetic, versatile, and hard-working player, Zúñiga was capable of playing in several positions along the left flank, and was deployed as an attacking full-back, as a wing-back, and as a winger; a right-footed player, he was also capable of playing on the right, but from a tactical standpoint, he favoured the left flank, as it allowed him to take on and beat opponents in one on one situations, and subsequently cut inside and shoot on goal with his stronger foot. Once regarded as a possible heir of Cafu
Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right-back. Widely regarded as one of the greates ...
, he was mainly known for his pace, strength, technique, and dribbling
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
As ...
skills, as well as his powerful striking ability from outside the area; these attributes made him a dangerous offensive threat, and enabled him both to score and create goals for teammates.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Zúñiga goal''.
Honours
Atletico Nacional
* CategorÃa Primera A
The CategorÃa Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...
: 2005-I, 2007-I, 2007-II
Napoli
* 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 ...
: 2011–12, 2013–14
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuniga, Juan
1985 births
Living people
Colombian men's footballers
Colombia men's under-20 international footballers
21st-century Colombian sportsmen
Colombia men's international footballers
Atlético Nacional footballers
Siena FC SSD players
SSC Napoli players
Bologna FC 1909 players
Watford F.C. players
CategorÃa Primera A players
Serie A players
Premier League players
Colombian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in England
2007 Copa América players
2011 Copa América players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
2015 Copa América players
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in England
Men's association football fullbacks
Footballers from Antioquia Department
Colombian people of African descent