Football Player's Biography 7: Fernando Muslera

Full name	Fernando Néstor Muslera Micol
Date of birth	16 June 1986 (1986-06-16) (age 24)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper

Fernando Néstor Muslera Micol (Spanish pronunciation: [feɾˈnando muzˈleɾa]; born 16 June 1986 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Italian Serie A club Lazio and the Uruguayan national team, where he is first choice goalkeeper. Muslera currently resides in Rome, Italy. He also has a girlfriend, Eliana Dide.

Club career

early career

Muslera started his professional football career with Montevideo Wanderers in 2004, having come through the club's youth system. After impressive performances for Wanderers, giants Nacional opted to take him on loan in 2006.
Despite only playing at Nacional for a short time, Muslera's performances saw him linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs such as Benfica, Juventus, Lazio and Arsenal.

Lazio

Muslera joined Lazio at the close of the 2007 summer transfer window for €3 million as a replacement for the retired Angelo Peruzzi and after plans to sign Juan Pablo Carrizo were delayed due to the non-EU status of the Argentine. Muslera was signed by the Roman side to become the new first choice goalkeeper ahead of veteran Marco Ballotta.
Muslera made his debut for Lazio in a 3–1 home win against Cagliari on 16 September 2007, and made four more consecutive starts, the last which was a disastrous performance in Lazio's 1–5 home loss to Milan on 7 October, a match in which he was at fault on four of the five goals Lazio conceded. That result saw him benched in favour of 44-year-old Marco Ballotta. Muslera remained as the second choice for the remainder of the season, making only four more league appearances and none in the UEFA Champions League. He did however play all of Lazio's remaining Coppa Italia matches, putting in good performances.
Muslera started as second-choice keeper for the 2008–09 season behind new signing Juan Pablo Carrizo but regained the starting spot in January 2009 following a run of poor form by Carrizo, coupled with conflicts with team management. Muslera's first starting appearance in the league this season saw him make several saves in a 3–1 loss to Sampdoria, including blocking an Antonio Cassano penalty. Further impressive performances in away wins over Napoli and Genoa, as well as in his first ever Derby della Capitale, saw Muslera regain a considerable amount of faith he had lost the previous season.
Known to the Lazio fans as castorino, or the "little beaver", Muslera was also an integral part of the club's successful Coppa Italia campaign, making decisive saves against Milan and Juventus as Lazio reached the final for the first time in five seasons. In the final on May 13, 2009, Muslera saved two penalties as Lazio emerged victorious 6–5 in the shootout after the match ended 1–1 in extra time.
The Uruguayan's impressive season saw him cement his position as the Roman club's first choice in the 2009–10 season, despite the arrival of Argentine keeper Albano Bizzarri on a free transfer. Muslera played in goal as Lazio opened the season with a 2–1 win over Inter in the 2009 Supercoppa Italiana, played in Beijing.

International career

Muslera had been called up for the Uruguayan national team on numerous occasions, but did not earn his first cap until October 10, 2009, when he started in Uruguay's 2–1 away win over Ecuador. The match was Uruguay's penultimate qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He made his FIFA World Cup debut against France on June 11th, 2010, Uruguay's opening game of the tournament and the second game on the opening day of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He kept a clean sheet during all 3 of Uruguay's group matches (0–0 against France, 3–0 against South Africa, and 1–0 against Mexico). Muslera was decisive in the quarterfinal match against Ghana, when he saved two penalties at the penalty shootout.
On August 11, 2010 he played in a friendly match against Angola in Lisbon, Portugal. Uruguay won 2-0.