Cristhian Stuani

Summary

Cristhian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkɾistjan esˈtwani]; born 12 October 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Girona.

Cristhian Stuani
Stuani playing for Uruguay at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Cristhian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo[1]
Date of birth (1986-10-12) 12 October 1986 (age 37)
Place of birth Tala, Uruguay
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Girona
Number 7
Youth career
Danubio
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2007 Danubio 36 (23)
2006–2007Bella Vista (loan) 14 (12)
2008–2012 Reggina 18 (1)
2009–2010Albacete (loan) 39 (22)
2010–2011Levante (loan) 30 (8)
2011–2012Racing Santander (loan) 32 (9)
2012–2015 Espanyol 103 (25)
2015–2017 Middlesbrough 59 (11)
2017– Girona 224 (118)
International career
2003 Uruguay U17 12 (3)
2005 Uruguay U20 15 (6)
2012–2019 Uruguay 50 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 April 2024

He started out at Danubio, being bought by Reggina in 2008. He went on to spend the vast majority of his professional career in Spain, in representation of several clubs including Espanyol; he signed with Middlesbrough from England in 2015 and, two years later, joined Girona.

Stuani made his debut for Uruguay in 2012 and appeared for the nation at two World Cups and three Copa América tournaments. He also holds an Italian passport.[2]

Club career edit

Danubio edit

Born in Tala, Canelones, Stuani started his professional career with Danubio. In 2005, he went on loan to Bella Vista in the Uruguayan Segunda División, performing well enough to be recalled.

Reggina edit

In January 2008, after scoring 19 goals in the 2007 Apertura with Danubio, Stuani was signed by Reggina in Italy, penning a four-year contract with the Serie A club.[3] He made his official debut on the 12th, playing 30 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against Empoli.[4]

When Stuani joined, the club was second from bottom and had the fewest goals scored in the league, following Rolando Bianchi's departure for Manchester City in the previous summer – he went scoreless in 12 games, but the Reggio Calabria team managed to retain their division status. In 2008–09, he scored his only league goal from a penalty kick in the last round, a 1–1 home draw against Siena,[5] having only appeared in four more matches during the entire season, which ended in top-flight relegation.

On 31 July 2009, Stuani joined Albacete in the Segunda División, on loan. He finished the season with 22 goals in 39 games, including hat-tricks in victories over Castellón[6] and Córdoba,[7] putting him in second in the scoring charts behind Elche's Jorge Molina, but his team only finished two points above the relegation zone.[8]

For 2010–11, Stuani remained in the country and on loan, but moved to La Liga with Levante.[9] He was used mostly as a backup to Felipe Caicedo,[10] but still contributed with eight goals – second-best in the squad – as the Valencians easily retained their division status, netting twice in a 3–1 home defeat of Málaga.[11]

In the next season, Stuani was loaned to another side in the Spanish top flight, Racing de Santander.[12] In December 2011, he scored a brace in each leg of the Copa del Rey tie against Rayo Vallecano, including a late penalty in the second game which secured a win on the away goals rule following a 6–6 aggregate draw.[13]

Espanyol edit

In summer 2012, Stuani was linked with a move to Deportivo de La Coruña and even passed his medical[14] but, on 28 August, he signed a four-year contract with Espanyol[15] even though that club and Reggina had initially agreed on a season-long loan.[2]

Stuani netted 12 times in his last year at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, only trailing Sergio García's 14 in his team.[16]

Middlesbrough edit

On 15 July 2015, Middlesbrough reached an agreement for the transfer of Stuani,[17] with the deal being completed after receiving international clearance on 7 August, for a rumoured 3 million fee.[18] His first appearance in the Football League Championship occurred on 9 August, as he replaced Kike in the 77th minute of an eventual 0–0 away draw against Preston North End.[19] Three days later he made his first start, in the opening round of the League Cup, scoring in each half of a 3–1 win over Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park;[20] he scored a brace again in the second round on the 25th, as his team came from behind to win at Burton Albion.[21]

Stuani scored his first league goal on 29 August 2015, concluding a 3–1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday.[22] Seventeen days later, he netted twice in a victory of the same margin against Brentford at the Riverside Stadium.[23]

On 28 December 2015, Stuani finished Stewart Downing's cross in the 44th second for the only goal of the home game against Wednesday, putting Middlesbrough on top of the table.[24] He did not find the net again until the final game of the season on the following 7 May, opening a 1–1 home draw to Brighton & Hove Albion which won promotion to the Premier League at the opponents' expense; the goal's worth was valued at £170 million.[25]

On 21 August 2016, Stuani scored his first goals in the top division in his first game in the competition, grabbing a brace against Sunderland in a 2–1 win at the Stadium of Light.[26]

Girona edit

On 21 July 2017, Stuani joined Gironanewly promoted to the Spanish top flight – for an undisclosed fee.[27] He made his debut for the club on 19 August, starting and scoring twice in a 2–2 home draw against Atlético Madrid.[28] He finished his first year in fifth place of the scoring charts at 21 goals.[29]

On 10 March 2019, Stuani became the club's all-time scorer in the top tier with 38 successful strikes after a 2–3 loss to Valencia at the Estadi Montilivi, surpassing former holder Jandro;[30] despite totalling 19 during the season to repeat the same position in the scoring department, the team succumbed to relegation on the last matchday.[31][32]

Subsequently, a number of clubs approached Stuani for a summer move, most notably champions Barcelona.[33][34] However, he eventually put pen to a contract extension with until 2023.[35] He missed the first two league games due to a groin injury,[36] but scored in his first appearance on 1 September 2019 to help the hosts defeat Málaga 1–0;[37] he added a hat-trick the following weekend, at home to Rayo Vallecano (3–1).[38]

International career edit

 
Stuani in action against Austria in 2014

Stuani made his senior debut for Uruguay on 14 November 2012, in a friendly with Poland (3–1 away win).[39] On 10 September of the following year, he scored his first international goal, helping to a 2–0 home victory against Colombia for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[40] On 13 November 2013, he netted the Charrúas' second in their 5–0 win in Jordan for the playoffs first leg, finishing Nicolás Lodeiro's cross at close range.[41]

Stuani was selected by manager Óscar Tabárez for the finals in Brazil.[42] He scored in both of Uruguay's warm-up matches for the tournament, the only goal of the game against Northern Ireland after coming on at half-time for Diego Forlán,[43] and the second in a 2–0 win over Slovenia.[44] He made his tournament debut on 14 June, starting in a 3–1 loss to Costa Rica in Fortaleza,[45] and added a further three bench appearances in a round-of-16 exit.

Stuani was named in Uruguay's squad the following year, as they attempted to defend their continental crown at the 2015 Copa América. He made two substitute appearances in Group B, in a quarter-final finish.

Stuani was included in the final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[46] His first match in the competition took place on 30 June, when he replaced Edinson Cavani (who had scored twice) for the final 16 minutes of the 2–1 round-of-16 victory over Portugal.[47] He started in the next match due to injury to the same teammate, and played 59 minutes in the 2–0 defeat against France.[48]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of match played 13 April 2024[49][50]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Danubio 2004 Uruguayan Primera División 2 0 2 0
2005 5 0 5 0
2005–06 15 4 15 4
2006–07 0 0 0 0
2007–08 14 19 14 19
Total 36 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 23
Bella Vista (loan) 2006–07 Uruguayan Primera División 14 12 14 12
Reggina 2007–08 Serie A 12 0 0 0 12 0
2008–09 6 1 0 0 6 1
Total 18 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 1
Albacete (loan) 2009–10 Segunda División 39 22 0 0 39 22
Levante (loan) 2010–11 La Liga 30 8 3 2 33 10
Racing Santander (loan) 2011–12 32 9 4 4 36 13
Espanyol 2012–13 32 7 2 0 34 7
2013–14 34 6 4 1 38 7
2014–15 37 12 8 3 45 15
Total 103 25 14 4 0 0 0 0 117 29
Middlesbrough 2015–16 Championship 36 7 1 0 3 4 40 11
2016–17 Premier League 23 4 4 1 1 0 28 5
Total 59 11 5 1 4 4 0 0 68 16
Girona 2017–18 La Liga 33 21 0 0 33 21
2018–19 32 19 2 1 34 20
2019–20 Segunda División 36 29 0 0 4[c] 2 40 31
2020–21 25 10 2 0 2[c] 0 29 10
2021–22 37 22 1 0 4[c] 2 42 24
2022–23 La Liga 32 9 2 1 34 10
2023–24 29 8 5 5 34 13
Total 224 118 12 7 0 0 10 4 246 129
Career total 555 229 38 18 4 4 10 4 607 255

International edit

Appearances and goals by national team and year[51]
National team Year Apps Goals
Uruguay 2012 1 0
2013 6 2
2014 11 2
2015 8 1
2016 6 0
2017 6 0
2018 8 0
2019 4 3
Total 50 8
Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Stuani goal.[51]
List of international goals scored by Cristhian Stuani
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 September 2013 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay   Colombia 2–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 13 November 2013 Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan   Jordan 2–0 5–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 31 May 2014 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay   Northern Ireland 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4 5 June 2014 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay   Slovenia 2–0 2–0 Friendly
5 5 September 2015 Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama   Panama 1–0 1–0 Friendly
6 22 March 2019 Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning, China   Uzbekistan 2–0 3–0 2019 China Cup
7 3–0
8 25 March 2019 Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning, China   Thailand 3–0 4–0 2019 China Cup

Honours edit

Danubio

Uruguay

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ a b "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 18 June 2018. p. 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b Juárez, Mari Carmen (28 August 2012). "El Espanyol ficha al delantero uruguayo Christian [sic] Stuani" [Espanyol sign Uruguayan forward Christian Stuani]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Una máquina de ganar" [A winning machine] (in Spanish). ESPN. 28 December 2007. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Saudati dal dischetto grazia la Reggina – l'Empoli deve accontentarsi del pari" [Saudati grace Reggina from the spot – Empoli must be happy with draw]. La Repubblica (in Italian). 12 January 2008. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
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  13. ^ Esteva, Javier (21 December 2011). "Todo por un penalti tonto" [All because of a foolish penalty]. Marca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
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  16. ^ Roma, Raimon (22 July 2017). "Christian Stuani és el primer davanter" [Christian Stuani is the first forward]. Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
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  19. ^ Aloia, Andrew (9 August 2015). "Preston North End 0–0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
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  27. ^ "Cristhian Stuani makes move to La Liga". Middlesbrough F.C. 21 July 2017. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  28. ^ Pérez, José I. (19 August 2017). "El ADN del Atlético no se ficha" [You can't sign Atlético's DNA]. Marca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  29. ^ Gracia, Albert (20 May 2018). "El gol en Girona se apellida Stuani" [Goal is named Stuani in Girona]. Sport (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  30. ^ Segura, Alejandro (11 March 2019). "Stuani se convierte en el máximo goleador histórico del Girona" [Stuani becomes Girona's all-time scorer]. Marca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
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  45. ^ Smith, Ben (14 June 2014). "Uruguay 1–3 Costa Rica". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  46. ^ "Maxi Gómez y Stuani se cuelan en la lista de 23 de Uruguay" [Maxi Gómez and Stuani squeeze into Uruguay's list of 23]. Marca (in Spanish). 2 June 2018. Archived from the original on 2 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  47. ^ Mather, Victor (30 June 2018). "Uruguay makes sure Ronaldo follows Messi out of World Cup". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  48. ^ Mather, Victor; Draper, Kevin (6 July 2018). "France, looking like a World Cup heavyweight, beats Uruguay". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  49. ^ "C. Stuani". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  50. ^ "Cristian Stuani". Footballdatabase. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  51. ^ a b "C. Stuani – Matches". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  52. ^ "Stuani strikes again as ruthless Uruguay win China Cup". The Nation. 26 March 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  53. ^ "Stuani, del Girona, 'Pichichi' con 29 goles" [Stuani, from Girona, 'Pichichi' with 29 goals]. Sport (in Spanish). 21 July 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  54. ^ "Stuani fue goleador de la Segunda de España e irá por el ascenso con Girona" [Stuani was top scorer in Spain's Segunda and will fight for promotion with Girona]. El Observador (in Spanish). 30 May 2022. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  55. ^ "Cristhian Stuani named LaLiga SmartBank Player of the Month for December". La Liga. 31 December 2021. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.

External links edit

  • Cristhian Stuani at BDFutbol
  • Cristhian Stuani at National-Football-Teams.com
  • Cristhian Stuani – FIFA competition record (archived)