Alexander Mejía

Alexander Mejía Sabalza (born 11 July 1988) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Club Libertad.[3] He is described by FIFA's official website as "a linchpin noted for his ability to tidy up mistakes, rob possession and track down and pressurise opponents".[4]

Not to be confused with Alex Mejia.
Alexander Mejía
Mejía with Colombia at the 2014 World Cup
Personal information
Full name Alexander Mejía Sabalza[1]
Date of birth (1988-07-11) 11 July 1988
Place of birth Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Libertad
Number 13
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2012 Deportes Quindío 101 (4)
2011 → Once Caldas (loan) 37 (0)
2012–2014 Atlético Nacional 88 (0)
2015–2016 Monterrey 14 (0)
2015–2016 → Atlético Nacional (loan) 40 (0)
2016–2018 León 63 (0)
2019– Libertad 10 (0)
National team‡
2012– Colombia 25 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 February 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 October 2016

Club career

Colombia

Mejía made his professional debut for Deportes Quindío in 2005, where he played for seven years, including a loan spell at Once Caldas.[4] In 2012, he joined Atlético Nacional and won both the Copa Colombia and the Superliga Colombiana in his first season.[4] In the following seasons, Mejía helped Nacional to three consecutive Colombian league titles, becoming team captain after the departure of Macnelly Torres.[4]

Mexico

Mejía finished his loan at Nacional in June 2016. He was then transferred to León in the Liga MX for the Apertura 2016.[5] However, as a part of the deal, he was able to stay with Nacional until after the Medellín club had finished its campaign in the Copa Libertadores.[6]

International career

In 2012, Mejía made his debut for the Colombia national team in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Peru.[4] He went on to become a regular member of the squad in the remainder of the campaign, making five appearances overall.[4]

2014 World Cup
Main articles: 2014 FIFA World Cup and Colombia at the FIFA World Cup § 2014 World Cup

On 9 June 2014, he was named in Colombia's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and played in four of the five matches Colombia had.[7] On 14 June, Mejía appeared as a sixty-ninth-minute substitute in Colombia's opening match of the tournament, a 3–0 victory over Greece in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.[8] Mejía also appeared in the following match against Ivory Coast on 19 June 2014, coming on as a substitute in the seventy-ninth minute, and seeing out a 2–1 victory in Brazil's capital, Brasília.[9] In Colombia's third – and last – game of the Group Stage, they played against Japan. Mejía started at a defensive midfielder role alongside Fredy Guarín, playing the entire eighty-minute game. Colombia won 1–4.[10] Mejía's last game of the 2014 World Cup came against Uruguay in the Round of 16 in the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro on 28 June. Colombia won 2–0,[11] and progressed to the Quarter-finals, playing against the hosts, Brazil, losing 2–1.[12]

Season statistics
Domestic club statistics
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental[lower-alpha 2] Other[lower-alpha 3] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Atlético Nacional 2012 Categoría Primera A 27 0 11 0 8 0 2 0 48 0
2013 36 0 4 0 8 0 — 48 0
2014 19 0 2 0 10 0 2 0 33 0
Atlético Nacional (loan) 2015 23 0 1 0 0 0 — 24 0
2016 17 0 1 0 12 0 1 0 31 0
Total 1220190380501840
Monterrey 2014–15 Liga MX 14 0 3 0 — 17 0
León 2016–17 Liga MX 23 0 3 1 — 26 1
2017–18 25 0 4 0 29 0
2018–19 10 0 5 0 15 0
Total 740121—861
Career total 1960311380502701
  1. Appearances in the Copa Colombia and Copa MX
  2. Includes appearances in the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana
  3. Appearances only in the Superliga Colombiana

Honours

Club

Atlético Nacional

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Colombia" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  2. https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/alexander-mejia/
  3. Alexander Mejía es nuevo jugador de Libertad de Paraguay, goal.com, 29 December 2018
  4. "Alexander MEJIA". FIFA. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  5. "Alexander Mejía regresa a México con León". Univision Deportes (in Spanish). 9 June 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  6. "Oficial: Atlético Nacional cede a Davinson Sánchez al Ajax, pero jugará Copa Libertadores". HSB Noticias (in Spanish). 21 June 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  7. "World Cup 2014: Radamel Falcao out of Colombia squad". BBC sport. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  8. Whalley, Mike (14 June 2014). "Colombia 3–0 Greece". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  9. Sanghera, Mandeep (19 June 2014). "World Cup: Colombia 2–1 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  10. Fanning, Evan (24 June 2014). "Japan v Colombia, World Cup 2014: as it happened". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  11. McNulty, Phil (28 June 2014). "Colombia 2–0 Uruguay". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  12. Rich, Tim (4 July 2014). "Brazil vs Colombia match report World Cup 2014: Thiago Silva and David Luiz score to set up semi-final against Germany". The Independent. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
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