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Diego Pérez
	Pérez with Uruguay in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Diego Fernando Pérez Aguado
Date of birth	18 May 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Uruguay A' (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team
1999–2003	Defensor Sporting
2003–2004	Peñarol
2004–2010	Monaco
2010–2015	Bologna
Total
International career
2001–2014	Uruguay
Managerial career
2024	Uruguay U20 (interim)
2024–	Uruguay A'
Medal record
Representing Uruguay
Copa América
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Diego Fernando Pérez Aguado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo ˈpeɾes]; born 18 May 1980), nicknamed "Ruso" (Spanish for "Russian"), is a Uruguayan football manager and former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He has played 89 matches for the Uruguay national football team, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2011 editions of the Copa América. He is currently the manager of the Uruguay A' national team.

Club career

Pérez was born in Montevideo. At the age of 19, Pérez joined one of the clubs of his hometown, Defensor Sporting, soon becoming a first-team regular. He joined a larger club from Montevideo, C.A. Peñarol, in 2003 but only played 13 games with them before being shipped off to France to play for Didier Deschamps' AS Monaco. During his time at Monaco he had to battle for his place in the defensive midfield spot against Lucas Bernardi, Akis Zikos and Gerard López and was especially favored by the manager Francesco Guidolin during the Italian's reign in the 2005–06 season.

Bologna

On 31 August 2010, he was signed by Italian Serie A team Bologna for €2.1 million (including 5% solidarity contribution to youth clubs).^[2]^[3]^[4] No fee was scheduled to pay on that day, but 2 equal installments was scheduled on 31 December 2010 and 30 June 2011.^[4]^[5] At Bologna, he has teamed up with fellow Uruguayan internationals, Henry Damián Giménez, Gastón Ramírez and Miguel Britos, before this left the squad to join S.S.C. Napoli. In Pérez first season in the Serie A, Bologna managed 16th place and finished six points clear of relegation, confirming a fourth successive season in the Italian top flight. He also managed three assists during the campaign, tied for most on the team along with Riccardo Meggiorini.^[6]

After being without a club for 1+1⁄2 months, Pérez signed a new two-year contract with Bologna in August 2013.^[7] He retired at the end of the 2014–2015 season.

International career

Pérez was capped for Uruguay in four successive editions of the Copa América, helping his country lift their 15th South American championship in 2011. He was also selected to 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 16 July 2011, he scored his first goal for the national team in a match against hosts Argentina in the Copa America quarterfinals, although he was also sent off in the same match.^[8] Pérez was back for the final match against Paraguay, starting in defensive midfield in a 3–0 win.^[9]^[10]

Managerial career

Pérez was the assistant manager of the Uruguay under-20 team which won the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup and finished as runners-up at the 2023 South American U-20 Championship.^[11]

In May 2024, Pérez was named as the first ever manager of the Uruguay A' national team.^[12]

Personal life

His older brother Omar Pérez is also a professional footballer, who played for Cerro as a midfielder.

Career statistics

International

Source:^[13]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Uruguay	2001	8	0
	2002	3	0
	2003	0	0
	2004	6	0
	2005	5	0
	2006	3	0
	2007	10	0
	2008	5	0
	2009	8	0
	2010	12	0
	2011	14	1
	2012	6	0
	2013	7	1
	2014	2	0
Total		89	2

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 July 2011	Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa Fe, Argentina	Argentina	1–0	1–1	2011 Copa América
2.	23 June 2013	Itaipava Arena Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil	Tahiti	3–0	8–0	2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
Correct as of 7 October 2015^[14]