Cristian Bonilla

Cristian Harson Bonilla Garzón (born 2 June 1993) is a retired Colombian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Bonilla and the second or maternal family name is Garzón.
Cristian Bonilla
Bonilla with Colombia Olympic team at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Full name Cristian Harson Bonilla Garzón[1]
Date of birth (1993-06-02) 2 June 1993
Place of birth Manizales, Colombia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Boyacá Chicó 30 (0)
2012–2018 Atlético Nacional 56 (0)
2015 → La Equidad (loan) 28 (0)
2017–2018 → La Equidad (loan) 29 (0)
2018–2019 Al-Fayha 15 (0)
2019–2021 La Equidad 40 (0)
2020 → Millonarios (loan) 1 (0)
2022 San Antonio FC 3 (0)
International career
2008–2009 Colombia U17 6 (0)
2011–2013 Colombia U20 16 (0)
2016 Colombia Olympic 8 (0)
Medal record
 Colombia
Copa América Centenario
Bronze medal – third place2016 United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:45, 1 April 2022 (UTC)

Bonilla made his debut within the Colombian top tier at only 16 years of age with Boyacá Chicó, before eventually signing with Colombian giants Atletico Nacional, where he went on to win a double in his debut year, winning both the Copa Colombia title and the very first Superliga Colombiana.

He represented Colombia at the 2011 Toulon Tournament, where he was the best player of the final, as he went on to save two penalties in the penalty shoot out against France. Colombia went on to beat France 3–1, thus obtaining Colombia's 3rd title at the tournament. He featured in all of Colombia's matches at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where the hosts reached the quarter-finals. He was also the starting choice for the 2013 South American Youth Championship, where Colombia won their 3rd title.

Club career

Boyacá Chicó

Bonilla began his career in Boyacá Chicó. He made his debut at sixteen in the Copa Colombia. He appeared in several games with Chicó in the 2010 season. On 1 June 2012, it was announced that Bonilla would be sent on loan to Atlético Nacional with a buying option.

2012

With both Nacional goalkeepers Gastón Pezzuti and Franco Armani injured, Bonilla would be the first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the 2012 season.[3] He made his official debut with Los Verdolagas on 22 July 2012 against Junior in the second leg of the Superliga Colombiana, a match that ended 3–0 favoring Nacional.[4] This was his first clean sheet for the club as well as the first title of his club career.

He made his first league appearance on 29 July 2012 against Deportivo Cali, conceding three goals in a 3–1 defeat.[5]

Bonilla's second title would come in the 2012 Copa Colombia final against Deportivo Pasto. Due to his effective performance, Bonilla was able to achieve two clean sheets in the two-leg series. On 24 November 2012, Bonilla was put on the bench for the first time during his time with Nacional in a match against Itagüí. As a result of Pezzuti's recovery, Bonilla would compete for a spot in the starting eleven. However, due to what Bonilla had achieved to the moment with the club, Pezutti would be relegated to the bench. Armani was still recovering him his injury.

Equidad Seguros (loan)

He was loaned at Bogota based club La Equidad in December 2014.[6] He went on to perform an impressive season, resulting in a call up for the Colombia national football team.

Return to Atlético Nacional

In December 2015, Bonilla extended his link to the club, until 2018. He returns to Atlético Nacional in 2016.[7]

Equidad Seguros (loan)

On 27 June 2017, Bonilla rejoined La Equidad on loan, looking for more playing time.[8][9]

Al-Fayha

Om 26 July 2018, Bonilla joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Fayha.[10]

Later career

On 25 July 2019, Bonilla returned to Colombia and rejoined La Equidad in the Categoría Primera A.[11] A year later, on 17 July 2020, Bonilla joined Millonarios on loan with an option to make the move permanent.[12] His loan at Millonarios was cancelled, and he returned to La Equidad for the 2021 season.[13]

On 27 January 2022, Bonilla moved to the United States, joining USL Championship club San Antonio FC.[14] After starting in 3 matches, Bonilla announced his retirement from professional football on 31 March 2022.[15]

International career

Bonilla had his first international experience with the Colombian U-17 side disputing the 2009 South American Under-17 Football Championship, securing a fourth-place finish to qualify for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup where Colombia had also finished fourth. Bonilla was part of the U-20 team that won the 2011 Toulon Tournament. He was selected to be the starting goalkeeper for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup hosted in Colombia.

His previous talents representing Colombia over these recent years led him to return to the U20 team at the 2013 South American Youth Championship. He was selected as the number 1 goalkeeper playing in every match with the exception of the final where Colombia won their 3rd South American Youth title. He was praised for his impressive improvement since the last youth tournaments.

Bonilla made a return to the Toulon Tournament in the 2013 edition, where he made it to the finals with Colombia. However, Colombia gave away the sole winning goal in the first half in a 1–0 loss against Brazil. Despite this, he won the Meilleur gardien award.

Senior

On 11 May 2015, Bonilla was included in Colombia's 30-man preliminary squad for the 2015 Copa América.[16] On 30 May 2015 he was put on the final 23-man list for the Copa América as the third choice keeper behind Camilo Vargas and David Ospina as the starting goalkeeper in the tournament. Bonilla did not make an appearance in the cup.

The following year he made the cut for Colombia's squad for the Copa América Centenario. Just as in his previous participation he did not play any matches.

Career statistics

Club
As of 20 October 2023[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Boyacá Chicó 2010 Categoría Primera A 8 0 0 0 — — 8 0
2011 11 0 6 0 — — 17 0
2012 2 0 3 0 — — 5 0
Total 21 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 30 0
Atlético Nacional 2012 Categoría Primera A 15 0 5 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 21 0
2013 15 0 3 0 0 0 — 18 0
2014 4 0 3 0 0 0 — 7 0
2016 16 0 3 0 0 0 — 19 0
2017 6 0 0 0 0 0 — 6 0
Total 56 0 14 0 0 0 1 0 71 0
La Equidad (loan) 2015 Categoría Primera A 28 0 2 0 — — 30 0
2017 22 0 1 0 — — 23 0
2018 7 0 0 0 — — 7 0
Total 57 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 60 0
Al-Fayha 2018–19 Saudi Pro League 15 0 1 0 — — 16 0
La Equidad 2019 Categoría Primera A 6 0 0 0 — — 6 0
2020 4 0 0 0 — — 4 0
2021 30 0 0 0 4[lower-alpha 2] 0 — 34 0
Total 40 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 44 0
Millonarios (loan) 2020 Categoría Primera A 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
San Antonio 2022 USL Championship 3 0 0 0 — — 3 0
Career total 193 0 27 0 4 0 1 0 225 0
  1. Appearance in Superliga Colombiana
  2. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana

Honours

Club

Atlético Nacional

International

Colombia U-20

Colombia

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 List of Players: Colombia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2013. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.
  2. Cristian Bonilla Archived 16 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
  3. Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (20 July 2012). "Bonilla debutará con Nacional tras lesiones de Pezzuti y Armani". futbolred.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  4. "Atlético Nacional vs. Junior - 23 July 2012 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  5. "Deportivo Cali vs. Atlético Nacional - 29 July 2012 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  6. Minuto30.com (29 December 2014). "Cristian Bonilla, nuevo arquero de La Equidad para la temporada 2015". Minuto30 (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  7. Cristian Bonilla regresa a Nacional y Camilo Vargas saldría. Eltiempo.Com (27 December 2015). Retrieved on 2016-08-18.
  8. "Equidad Club Deportivo - Equipo Profesional de Fútbol Colombiano - Escuela de fútbol Pretemporada 2017 II". Equidad Club Deportivo (in Spanish). 27 June 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  9. "Cristian Bonilla se cansó de ser suplente y se va de Nacional | Goal.com Colombia". www.goal.com (in Spanish). 27 June 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  10. "Cristian Bonilla: "Venir a Arabia no es un retroceso, estoy a una hora de Qatar"". 26 July 2018.
  11. "Cristian Bonilla regresa a La Equidad". ESPNdeportes.com (in Spanish). 25 July 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  12. "Cristian Bonilla, nuevo arquero de Millonarios". Diario AS (in Spanish). 17 July 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  13. "La Equidad confirmó ocho nuevos futbolistas para el 2021". infobae (in European Spanish). 13 January 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  14. "Colombian Goalkeeper Cristian Bonilla Join San Antonio FC". USLChampionship.com. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  15. kbass (31 March 2022). "SAN ANTONIO FC GOALKEEPER CRISTIAN BONILLA ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT". SanAntonioFC.com. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  16. Cristian Bonilla surprise in the selection Colombia Archived 15 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Ca2015.com. Retrieved on 18 August 2016.
  17. Cristian Bonilla at Soccerway
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