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Luis Ricardo Mejía Cajar (born 16 March 1991) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays 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 ...
for
Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , , local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional Association football, football league in Uruguay organized b ...
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 ...
.


Club career

Nicknamed ''Manotas'', Mejia made his professional debut playing with Tauro in 2007. In 2008, he was transferred to Uruguayan side
Centro Atlético Fénix Centro Atlético Fénix is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The football team currently plays in Uruguayan Segunda División. Fénix is one of the most popular and traditional teams of Uruguay's 2nd Division, along with Racing Club de Mo ...
, but finally made his team debut on 21 August 2010 on a match against
Tacuarembó Tacuarembó ( Guaraní language, Guarani: ''Takuarembo'', literally: "Bamboo shoot") is the capital city of the Tacuarembó Department in north-central Uruguay. History On 24 October 1831, a presidential decree by Fructuoso Rivera ordered the cr ...
, being rewarded as the man of the match. His outstanding performances called the interest of various team of Europe. In January 2011, he was loaned for 6 months to
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
but was never able to win a place in the first team, so he had to cope with playing in the reserve team. Upon his return to Fénix in June 2011, he cemented his position in the starting lineup of the team. In the
2012–13 Uruguayan Primera División season The 2012–13 Primera División Uruguaya, Liga Profesional de Primera División season, also known as the 2012–13 Copa Uruguaya or the 2012–13 Campeonato Uruguayo, was the 109th season of Uruguay's top-flight football league, and the 82nd in w ...
, he played 27 games where they conceded 37 goals in the annual table and finished in seventh position, one spot away from qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana. In the 2013–14 championship he played 18 games where Fénix conceded 22 goals, again resulting in a seventh-place position. After several impressive seasons as a top-performing goalkeeper in the Uruguayan top flight, Mejía signed for
Club Nacional Club Nacional is a Paraguayan professional football club based in the neighbourhood of Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1904, the club currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División, and holds its home games at Estadio Arsenio Erico. Int ...
in 2015. For his first three seasons at the club, he was back-up goalkeeper to Esteban Conde, but obtained the starting position in the team for the 2018 season. In
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, he made 24 league appearance as Nacional won their forty-seventh domestic title. After losing the starting role in the team to the Uruguayan international goalkeeper Sergio Rochet for the starting role in 2020, Mejía returned to Fénix for one season, and then left Uruguay for the first time since 2011 to join
Unión Española Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile currently participating in the Primera División de Chile. History Foundation, Amateur Era and First seasons ...
for the
2022 Chilean Primera División The 2022 Chilean Primera División, known as Campeonato PlanVital 2022 for sponsorship purposes, is the 92nd season of the Chilean Primera División, Chile's top-flight football league. The season began on 4 February 2022 and ended on 6 November 2 ...
. He returned to Nacional in
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
, retaking the position as the primary goalkeeper in the team following Rochet's transfer to Internacional.


International career

Mejía was part of the Panama U-20 squad that participated in the
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...
in Canada. He was the youngest goalkeeper in the world cup and the revelation. He was also part of the Panama U-20 squad that participated in the
2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2011 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was expanded to 12 teams beginning in 2011. The tournament determined the four CONCACAF teams that participated at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Colombia. In addition, the top three finishers f ...
where his outstanding performances led them to qualify to the Youth World Cup in Colombia. His senior international debut for
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
came on 8 June 2009 against
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, in a
Friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...
. He was part of the Panama U-23 squad that participated in the
2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament The 2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the thirteenth edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted association football, footb ...
which they could not qualify to the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. In 2011, he was called up by
Julio Dely Valdés Julio César Dely Valdés (born March 12, 1967) is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a twin brother of Jorge Dely Valdés and younger brother of Armando Dely Valdés. Club career Born in Colón, Dely ...
to play the
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on Jun ...
. In the
2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 16th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean regions organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was ...
, he played 2 matches and conceded 6 goals as Panama were eliminated in the group stage. Mejía was also called up for the
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
version of the tournament, where his side finished as runners-up as they lost the final 1-0 against
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
at
SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium ( ) is a domed multi-purpose stadium in Inglewood, California, U.S., a suburb of Los Angeles. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack and neighbors the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome. Opened in September 2020, the ...
, in which he was the back-up goalkeeper to first-choice Orlando Mosquera. He was similarly a substitute goalkeeper for the
2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...
, where Panama were eliminated in the quarterfinals, eventually losing to
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 ...
.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Club Nacional * 2019 Uruguayan Primera División, 2020 Uruguayan Primera División * 2019 Supercopa Uruguaya, 2025 Supercopa Uruguaya Panama *
CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...
runner-up:
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
,
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
; third place:
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mejia, Luis 1991 births Footballers from Panama City Living people Men's association football goalkeepers Panamanian men's footballers 21st-century Panamanian sportsmen Panama men's international footballers Tauro F.C. players Centro Atlético Fénix players Toulouse FC players Club Nacional de Football players Unión Española footballers Racing Club de Montevideo players Uruguayan Primera División players Chilean Primera División players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2024 Copa América players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Panamanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Uruguay Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Expatriate men's footballers in France Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Chile