Martín Cáceres

At 37 years old, Martín Cáceres has this physical status:

Club career

Born in Montevideo, Cáceres, Cáceres began his career with his local team, Defensor, and the team was active at a young age and playing in a complete Primera División season with them. He signed for Villarreal, a Spanish club, in early February 2007, with the contract coming into force in July.

Upon arriving in Villarreal, Cáceres, he was immediately sent on loan to fellow La Liga team Recognizo, often working Beto in central defense as the Andalusians managed to hold their division status, finishing in 16th place; on January 9, 2008, he scored against the club that owned his rights (but 2–1 loss on aggregate) although he never appeared in official form.

Cesceres came from Barcelona on June 4th, 2008, with a reported transfer fee of €16.5 million being paid to Villarreal. In the offer, which ran until June 2012, there was a buyout provision of €50 million. He appeared sparsely during his first season at Camp Nou due to both injury and technical decisions.

Even after his return to action, Cáceres only managed to be the fourth-choice stopper behind Rafael Márquez, Gerard Piqué, and Carles Puyol. He appeared in three games in the UEFA Champions League this season, including two starts and 217 minutes in the final against Manchester United, which ended the Catalans' treble.

Barcelona loaned Cáceres to Juventus in Serie A on August 6, 2009, with the Turin team having the option to make his stay permanent at the end of the season for €11 million, plus €1 million in variables. Jonathan Zebina was recalled at right-back at halftime in his debut in a pre-season friendly against former Villarreal the following day.

In a 2–0 away win over Lazio, the league season got off to a promising start for Cáceres. He made a goal-scoring debut on his debut, netting the opener in a 2–0 victory over Lazio. He began as a regular under Ciro Ferrara, but his campaign would be severely marred by a string of injuries, including one in January 2010 that kept him out of service for several months.

With the option to buy, Cáceres returned to Spain and joined Sevilla on a season-long loan. He appeared on a regular basis for the Gregorio Manzano-led crew, particularly at right back after Abdoulay Konko's return to Genoa in January 2011.

Following a difficult challenge, Cáceres was terribly injured by Michael Jakobsen in a match against Almera on May 1st. The Dane was given a straight red card, and the South American was initially suspended for the remainder of the season, but his team soon recovered for the final two games, finishing fifth and qualifying to the UEFA Europa League.

Sevilla decided a €3 million contract with Barcelona for the permanent relocation of Cáceres to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium on May 31, 2011. In late January 2012, however, he returned to Juventus on loan.

Cáceres wore the number 4 shirt, which had previously belonged to compatriot Paolo Montero, despite being able to wear it at Juventus. In a 2–1 away win over A.C. Milan in the Coppa Italia's semi-finals, he made his debut for Juve in his second stint, scoring both of his teams' goals. In the 57th minute of a 2–0 home win over Inter Milan, he netted his first league goal, sending home an Andrea Pirlo corner kick.

Cáceres joined Juventus on a permanent basis in May 2012, signing a four-year deal. He missed the majority of the first half of the 2014–15 season after suffering an injury in a 3–2 home win over Roma in October 2014, which sidelined him for three months. In a 3–1 victory over Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo on January 11, he returned to the starting lineup on January 11, 2015, scoring in a 3–1 victory. He fractured his ankle during a training session, requiring surgery, but as a result, he was barred from entering indefinitely.

In Juventus's 2–0 victory over Lazio in the Supercopa Italiana on August 8, the Cáceres returned to the starting line-up. However, he had his driving license suspended for six months and was suspended by the club after crashing his Ferrari into a bus stop in Turin in late September following a wrong turn. He was found to have been over the legal alcohol threshold for driving.

In a 3–0 home victory over Hellas Verona on January 6, the Cáceres returned to action, starting and playing 84 minutes. It was announced on February 4th that he would be out of action for the remainder of the season as a result of his right Achilles tendon ruptured during the match against Genoa. Juventus' director of football Giuseppe Marotta said in May that the player's deal would not be renewed and that he would leave the club on June 30th.

Cáceres joined Southampton as a free agent on February 16, 2017, extending their deal until the end of the season. For the first time, he was included in a matchday squad for the first time, leaving him an unused substitute in the EFL Cup's final, losing by 3–2 to Manchester United.

Cáceres was in his first and only game for Southampton after three months at St Mary's Stadium, beginning with a 2–1 victory over Middlesbrough on May 13. He was released on May 25th.

The Cáceres returned to Italy in early August 2017, signing for Hellas Verona on a contract that will run until June 2018. However, it was reported that Lazio had already expressed an interest in acquiring his services but that they were unable to because their quota of two non-EU signings from abroad had already been depleted. He joined Verona as a result, but rumors linking him with a potential transfer to Lazio in January emerged in the media, suggesting that there were no constraints blocking the transfer of non-EU players between Italian clubs.

Cáceres joined Lazio on a one-year deal with the option for a renewal on January 8, 2018. In a 4–3 loss to Fiorentina on April 18, he scored his first goal of the season, with the fifth-placed team suffering sparingly.

Juventus reported the signing of Cáceres on a five-month loan on January 29, 2019, marking his third season with the club. In a 3–3 home draw against Parma in the domestic league, he made his first appearance since 2016.

Cáceres left Juventus at the end of the season, when his deal with Lazio came to an end.

With the option for a new season, Cáceres joined Fiorentina on a one-year contract. He revealed that he had been positive for COVID-19 for 60 days on May 18th.

On September 1, 2021, Cáceres moved to Cagliari on a one-year deal, where he collaborated with national teammates Diego Godn and Nahitan Nández. Sardinians defeated Sampdoria 3–1. He scored his second goal on October 17th, his second in the Sardinians' 2nd victory.

After the free agent decided to a one-year contract at Levante with the possibility of a one-year extension, the Cáceres returned to the Spanish top tier on January 30th. Nine of his appearances were launched as part of his potential relegation; the same happened to his old team, Cagliari;

Cáceres joined Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy on August 24th as a free agent until the season's end.

International career

At the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, the Cáceres played for Uruguay, playing in all of the matches in a potential round-of-16 draw. He was named the top defender at the 2007 South American U-20 Championship, helping his team advance to third place.

Cáceres made his debut on the full side against South Africa on September 12, 2007. In 2010, he was selected by manager scar Tabárez for his list of 23 players for that year's FIFA World Cup, as back-up to Porto's Jorge Fucile, who was right-back and playing in the semi-finals against the Netherlands and the third-place match against Germany (both 3–2 losses).

Cáceres scored his first international goal on June 23, 2011, defeating Estonia 3–0 in a 3–0 friendly home win. He played five out of six games during the tournament, with the Charras winning their 15th continental tournament, despite Fucile not being selected to the 2011 Copa América in Argentina. In a penalty shootout win over the hosts in the quarter-finals, he made the decisive penalty.

In the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, the Cáceres made four appearances for Uruguay. His penalty was saved by Juventus teammate Gianluigi Buffon as the opposition won the shootout by 3–2 after extra time. He was also a member of the 2014 World Cup squad, which featured four times in the tournament to help the country reach the last-16 phase, where they lost a 2–0 loss to Colombia at the Maracane Stadium on June 28.

Cáceres was ruled out of the 2015 Copa América squad due to an ankle injury suffered in March 2015. A serious Achilles tendon injury in February 2016 did not stop him from participating in the Copa América Centenario the next summer.

For the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Cáceres was included in Uruguay's final 23-man squad. In a quarter-final appearance, he appeared in all the games and minutes.

Tabárez named Cáceres in the squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil in March. Luis Suárez's assist was provided by him on Friday in the team's first group match of the tournament, winning by 4–0 over Ecuador. He appeared four times in total during the tournament, including in the quarter-final tie against Peru in which his team was eliminated from the tournament after losing 5–0 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after regulation time.

In a 4–2 loss to Ecuador in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Cáceres earned his 100th cap on October 13th.

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