Cristhian Stuani

Cristhian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo (born 12 October 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for English club Middlesbrough and the Uruguay national team as a striker.

He started out at Danubio, and was bought by Reggina in 2008. He went on to spend the vast majority of his professional career in Spain, in representation of several clubs, most notably with Espanyol.

Stuani made his debut for Uruguay in 2012, and appeared for the nation at the 2014 World Cup and two Copa América tournaments. He also holds an Italian passport.^[2]

Club career

Early career

Born in Tala, Canelones, Stuani started his professional career with Danubio. In 2005, he went on loan to C.A. Bella Vista in the Uruguayan Segunda División, performing well enough to be recalled.

Reggina

In January 2008, after scoring 19 goals in the 2007 Apertura with Danubio, Stuani was signed by Reggina Calcio in Italy, penning a four-year contract with the Serie A club. He made his official debut on the 12th, playing 30 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against Empoli.

When Stuani joined, the club was second from bottom and had the least goals scored in the league, following Rolando Bianchi's departure for Manchester City in the previous summer – he went scoreless in 12 games, but the Reggio Calabria team managed to retain their division status. In 2008–09, he scored his only league goal from a penalty kick in the last round, a 1–1 home draw against Siena,^[3] having only appeared in four more matches during the entire season, which ended in top-flight relegation.

Spain

On 31 July 2009, Stuani joined Albacete Balompié in the Segunda División, on loan. He finished the season with 22 goals in 39 games, including hat-tricks in wins against CD Castellón^[4] and Córdoba CF,^[5] putting him in second in the scoring charts behind Elche CF's Jorge Molina, but his team only finished two points above the relegation zone.^[6]

For 2010–11, Stuani remained in the country and on loan, but moved to La Liga with Levante UD.^[7] He was used mostly as a backup to Felipe Caicedo,^[8] but still contributed with eight goals – second-best in the squad – as the Valencians easily retained their division status, netting twice in a 3–1 home win against Málaga CF.^[9]

In the next season, Stuani was loaned to another side in main category of Spanish football, Racing de Santander.^[10] In December 2011, he scored a brace in each leg of the Copa del Rey tie against Rayo Vallecano, including a late penalty in the second game which secured a win on the away goals rule following a 6–6 aggregate draw.^[11]

In the summer of 2012, Stuani was linked with a move to Deportivo de La Coruña and even passed his medical but, on 28 August, still owned by Reggina, he signed with RCD Espanyol.^[2] The move was made permanent in the following campaign.

Middlesbrough

On 15 July 2015, Middlesbrough reached an agreement for the transfer of Stuani,^[12] with the deal being completed after receiving international clearance on 7 August, for a rumoured €3 million fee.^[13] His first appearance in the Football League Championship occurred on 9 August, as he replaced Kike in the 77th minute of an eventual 0–0 away draw against Preston North End.^[14] Three days later he made his first start, in the opening round of the League Cup, scoring in each half of a 3–1 win over Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park;^[15] he scored a brace again in the second round on the 25th, as his team came from behind to win at Burton Albion.^[16]

Stuani scored his first league goal on 29 August 2015, concluding a 3–1 success at Sheffield Wednesday.^[17] Seventeen days later, he netted twice in a victory of the same margin against Brentford at the Riverside Stadium.^[18]

On 28 December 2015, Stuani finished Stewart Downing's cross in the 44th second for the only goal of the home game against Wednesday, putting Middlesbrough on top of the table.^[19] He did not find the net again until the final game of the season on the following 7 May, opening a 1–1 home draw against Brighton & Hove Albion which won promotion to the Premier League at the opponents' expense; the goal's worth was valued at £170 million.^[20]

On 21 August 2016, Stuani scored his first goals in the top division in his first game in the competition, grabbing a brace against Sunderland in a 2–1 victory at the Stadium of Light.^[21]

International career

Stuani in action against Austria in 2014

Stuani made his senior debut for Uruguay on 14 November 2012 in a friendly match with Poland (3–1 away win). On 10 September of the following year, he scored his first international goal, helping to a 2–0 home success against Colombia for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.^[22] On 13 November 2013, he netted the Charrúas' second in their 5–0 win in Jordan for the playoffs first leg, finishing Nicolás Lodeiro's cross at close range.^[23]

Stuani was selected by manager Óscar Tabárez for the finals in Brazil.^[24] He scored in both of Uruguay's warm-up matches for the tournament, the only goal of the game against Northern Ireland after coming on at half-time for Diego Forlán,^[25] and the second in a 2–0 win over Slovenia.^[26] He made his tournament debut on 14 June, starting in a 1–3 loss to Costa Rica in Fortaleza,^[27] and added a further three bench appearances in a round-of-16 exit.

Stuani was named in Uruguay's squad the following year, as they attempted to defend their continental crown at the 2015 Copa América. He made two substitute appearances in Group B, in a quarter-final finish.

International goals

Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 September 2013	Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Colombia	2–0	2–0	2014 World Cup qualification
2.	13 November 2013	Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan	Jordan	2–0	5–0	2014 World Cup qualification
3.	31 May 2014	Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Northern Ireland	1–0	1–0	Friendly
4.	5 June 2014	Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Slovenia	2–0	2–0	Friendly
5.	5 September 2015	Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama	Panama	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Career statistics

As of match played 21 August 2016^[28][29]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cristhian Stuani.

• Cristhian Stuani profile at BDFutbol
• Cristhian Stuani at National-Football-Teams.com
• Cristhian Stuani – FIFA competition record

Uruguay squads
Uruguay squad – 2014 FIFA World Cup 1 Muslera 2 Lugano (c) 3 Godín 4 Fucile 5 Gargano 6 Á. Pereira 7 Rodríguez 8 Hernández 9 Suárez 10 Forlán 11 Stuani 12 Muñoz 13 Giménez 14 Lodeiro 15 Pérez 16 M. Pereira 17 Arévalo 18 Ramírez 19 Coates 20 González 21 Cavani 22 Cáceres 23 Silva Coach: Tabárez Uruguay squad – 2015 Copa América 1 Muslera 2 Giménez 3 Godín (c) 4 Fucile 5 Sánchez 6 Á. Pereira 7 C. Rodríguez 8 Hernández 9 Rolán 10 De Arrascaeta 11 Stuani 12 Muñoz 13 G. Silva 14 Lodeiro 15 G. Pereira 16 M. Pereira 17 Arévalo Ríos 18 Corujo 19 Coates 20 González 21 Cavani 22 J. Rodríguez 23 M. Silva Coach: Tabárez Uruguay squad – 2016 Copa América Centenario 1 Muslera 2 Giménez 3 Godín (c) 4 Fucile 5 Sánchez 6 Á. Pereira 7 Laxalt 8 Hernández 9 Suárez 10 Ramírez 11 Stuani 12 Campaña 13 Victorino 14 Lodeiro 15 Vecino 16 M. Pereira 17 Arévalo Ríos 18 Corujo 19 G. Silva 20 González 21 Cavani 22 Rolán 23 M. Silva Coach: Tabárez