Víctor Núñez

Víctor Amaury Núñez Rodríguez (born 15 April 1980) is a retired professional footballer who played as a forward for multiple clubs, including C.S. Herediano, L.D. Alajuelense, and Deportivo Saprissa. He currently serves as assistant coach at C.S. Herediano.

For the film director, see Victor Nuñez

Víctor Núñez
Personal information
Full name Víctor Amaury Núñez Rodríguez
Date of birth (1980-04-15) 15 April 1980
Place of birth Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Heredia U17 Manager
Youth career
Saprissa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2003 Saprissa 48 (11)
2000–2001 → Limonense (loan) 31 (21)
2002–2003 → Santa Bárbara (loan) 18 (16)
2003–2008 Alajuelense 57 (26)
2004–2006 → Cartaginés (loan) 53 (29)
2008–2010 Liberia Mía 51 (31)
2010–2015 Herediano 105 (52)
2015 Real España 19 (2)
2015–2016 Santos de Guápiles 21 (11)
2016–2017 Herediano 48 (13)
2018 Santos de Guápiles 6 (1)
2018– Cibao 5 (0)
International career‡
2006–2013 Costa Rica 27 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 January 2016
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 October 2008
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Núñez and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez.

He has the all-time record for the number of goals in Costa Rica's first division.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Núñez moved to Costa Rica at age 9.[1] He was naturalised there on 31 January 2003,[1] and subsequently opted to play internationally for the Costa Rica national team.

Club career

Nuñez came out of the minor league system of Deportivo Saprissa where he played his first seasons. He made his professional debut in a league match against Goicoechea on 16 December 1999.[1]

Nuñez scored his first goal on 12 October 2000 against Alajuelense while playing on loan for Limonense.[1] He has led the league in goal-scoring four times (Invierno 2007, Invierno 2008, Invierno 2009 and Verano 2013) and became the top active league goalscorer in March 2009[2] while becoming the second player to score more than 200 league goals in November 2013.[3] He simultaneously amassed a total of 217 goals in all games, only 30 short of Costa Rican recordholder Juan Ulloa.[4]

His nickname, El Mambo, references the traditional rhythm of his home country (mambo).

He never fully earned trust at Saprissa so he was loaned again once he went back to them. After a few bad disappointing seasons with Saprissa but with a high recognition in the country, he was signed by Saprissa's archrival Alajuelense. He did not have a lot of options during his first year, so he was, again, loaned to Cartaginés and after an amazing campaign he returned to Alajuelense and finally became an important piece of the team. In July 2010, he joined Herediano from Águilas Guanacastecas.[5] After four years with Herediano, Núñez moved abroad to play for Honduran side Real España.[6]

He is a strong and decisive player who has a great ability to dribble rivals and has score amazing goals, he is usually very accurate on his shots.

On 23 June 2018, he was signed by Cibao FC in his natal country, Dominican Republic,[7] where he will not occupy a place of foreigners.[8]

International career

Núñez made his debut for Costa Rica in a February 2006 friendly match against South Korea[9] and has, as of May 2014, earned a total of 28 caps, scoring 6 goals. He represented his country in 7 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[10] and was part of the Costa Rica squad for 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany, making him the first Dominican Republic-born athlete to compete in a FIFA World Cup..

He also played at the 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup[11] and 2011 Copa Centroamericana[12]

Career statistics

International goals
Scores and results list. Costa Rica's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.12 September 2007National Soccer Stadium, Toronto, Canada Canada1–01–1Friendly
2.13 October 2007Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador El Salvador1–02–2
3.21 November 2007Estadio Rod Carew, Panama City, Panama Panama1–11–1
4.14 June 2008Grenada National Stadium, St. George's, Grenada Grenada2–22–22010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.15 October 2008Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, San José, Costa Rica Haiti2–02–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.14 January 2011Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama Honduras1–01–12011 Copa Centroamericana

References
  1. "Sonría, "Mambo"". Al Día. 6 November 2005. Archived from the original on 13 November 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
  2. Mambo , máximo goleador activo en Primera División - Nación (in Spanish)
  3. Calvo C., Rodrigo (21 November 2013). "Errol Daniels y Víctor 'Mambo' Núñez, dos leyendas del gol" (in Spanish). Nacion. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  4. A Víctor Núñez lo seduce otro récord de goleo - Nación (in Spanish)
  5. “Mambo” Núñez jugará con Herediano - Nación (in Spanish)
  6. Víctor Mambo Núñez ahora es menos letal; se va del Herediano al Real España - Nación (in Spanish)
  7. "Cibao FC anuncia el fichaje del jugador dominicano Víctor "El Mambo" Núñez" (in Spanish). Cibao FC. 23 June 2018.
  8. "Víctor 'Mambo' Núñez jugará en República Dominicana". La Nación (in Spanish). 22 June 2018.
  9. "International Friendly Matches 2006". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  10. Víctor Núñez – FIFA competition record (archived)
  11. UNCAF (Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup) 2009 - Details - RSSSF
  12. Copa Centroamericana 2011 (UNCAF Nations Cup) - RSSSF
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