Farid Mondragon is a famous Colombian goalkeeper. He became famous for his performance for the national team, because three times in his career he participated in world championships. In 1994 and 1998, and then, after a long break, in 2014, he also entered the history of sports as the oldest player in the World Cups, the only one who entered the field in matches at the World Cup with an interval of 20 years.
Athlete Biography
Farid Mondragon was born in the Colombian city of Cali in 1971. He began his professional career at the age of 19 with a team in his hometown called Deportivo. Then he played for the Colombian clubs Real Cartagena and Independiente Santa Fe.
In 1993, Farid left for Paraguay, where he spent part-time on the Cerro Porteno team. From there he moved to the Argentinean team "Argentinos Juniors". Then he returned briefly to the Colombian Independente Santa Fe, which he had already played for.
In 1995, Farid Mondragon moved to the famous Argentine club Independiente, where in the first season he won a serious trophy - the Super Cup Libertadores. In the final, his club had to fight with the Brazilian “Flamengo”. At home, the Argentines won a landslide victory, scoring two goals. Farid Mondragon kept the gate intact. In the second leg, Romario in the middle of the second half opened the score, but the Brazilians could not achieve more.
Career in Europe
In 1998, Farid Mondragon decided to try playing in Europe. He began playing for the Spanish Zaragoza. The team performed in the Example, took 9th place. True, the hero of our article could not win places in the first team, having appeared on the field only 13 times.
Then he returned briefly to the Argentinean Independiente, but in 2001 he finally decided to achieve fame in Europe. In his career were the French “Metz”, German “Cologne”, Turkish “Galatasaray”. It was in Turkey that he managed to win several titles.
He played for Galatasaray from 2001 to 2007, having spent 185 matches during that time. Twice became the champion of Turkey, in 2005 won the Turkish Cup.
At the very end of his career, like many famous players, he played in the American championship for the “Philadelphia Union”, and ended his career in his native “Deportivo Cali”.
First world championship
In the football world, most know Farid Mondragon, whose photo is in this article, from his appearances for the national team. At the world championships he made his debut in 1994 in the United States.
For Colombians, it was extremely unfortunate. In the first meeting, they lost to the Romanian national team 1: 3, and then lost to the United States 1: 2. Before the last round, there was practically no chance to continue the fight. But the Colombians still managed to tune in and get 3 points, beating the Swiss 2-0. True, even this did not allow them to rise from last place.
Mundial in France
In 1998, Farid Mondragon, whose biography this article introduces, went to his second world championship in France.
In this tournament, the first rival of the Colombians was the national team of Romania. And again, the Europeans were stronger, this time they won 1-0, scoring at the end of the first half. In the second round, the Colombian team won, with a minimum score, beating Tunisia. The only goal in the end was scored by Lader Presyado.
In the last round, the team of the football player Farid Mondragon needed to defeat the British so as not to leave the group. But the founders of football scored two unanswered goals. Colombia was again out of the playoffs.
Return to the big football
After that, Mondragon was not seen at the world championships for 16 years. And when many were already sure that his career was over, he returned. As part of the national team, he came to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
Of course, Mondragon was no longer considered the first number in the team. A place in the gate was taken by David Ospina, demonstrating a brilliant game, like the entire Colombian team.
South Americans began with the defeat of the Greek national team (3: 0), then with a score 2: 1 beat Cote d'Ivoire. In the final round with Japan, it was enough for Colombians to draw in order to secure their first place in the group. After the break, the score was equal (1: 1), and in the second half, the Colombians scored two more goals, almost guaranteeing victory. Then the historical moment took place. At 85 minutes, with a score of 3: 1, instead of Ospina, Mondragon entered the field. At that time he was 43 years and 3 days. Thus, he updated the achievement of Cameroonian Roger Mill, who played at the World Cup in the United States at 42 years and 39 days. He surpassed his achievement by almost a year.
In the allotted time to him, Mondragon not only kept his goal intact, but also witnessed how Colombia gained a major victory, scoring the fourth goal.
In the 1/8 finals, his team was stronger than Uruguay, beating 2-0.
The triumphal procession of the Colombian team managed to break off only the Brazilians, who beat them in the quarter finals with a score of 2: 1.
Mondragon is now 46 years old. It is known that in recent years he has been experiencing a severe personality crisis. At the beginning of 2016, the media reported that he was trying to commit suicide by taking a large dose of antidepressants.