Marco Ureña

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ureña and the second or maternal family name is Porras.
Marco Ureña
Ureña with the San Jose Earthquakes in 2017
Personal information
Full name Marcos Danilo Ureña Porras[1]
Date of birth (1990-03-05) 5 March 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth San José, Costa Rica
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Cartaginés
Number 21
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Alajuelense 59 (10)
2011–2014 Kuban Krasnodar 31 (0)
2014 → FC Midtjylland (loan) 10 (2)
2015–2016 FC Midtjylland 19 (3)
2016–2017 Brøndby IF 13 (0)
2017 San Jose Earthquakes 25 (5)
2018 Los Angeles FC 18 (1)
2019–2020 Alajuelense 40 (12)
2020 Gwangju FC 8 (0)
2020–2022 Central Coast Mariners 48 (12)
2022– Cartaginés 50 (4)
International career‡
2009 Costa Rica U20 7 (3)
2009–2018 Costa Rica 67 (15)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 July 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 February 2020

Marcos Danilo Ureña Porras, known as Marco Ureña (born 5 March 1990), is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a striker for C.S. Cartaginés. He has also played for the Costa Rica national team.[3]

Club career

Born in San José, Costa Rica, Ureña started his career at Primera División side Alajuelense and in March 2011, he joined Russian Premier League side Kuban Krasnodar.[4][5]

In August 2014, Ureña moved to Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland on a four-month loan deal.[6] The contract was made permanent on 10 December 2014.[7]

On 21 July 2016, Midtjylland and Brøndby IF agreed to swap Ureña with Jonas Borring in a three-year deal.[8][9]

It was announced on 27 January 2017 that Ureña had been signed by Major League Soccer side San Jose Earthquakes.[10] He scored his first MLS goal in a 2–1 road loss to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on 1 April 2017.[11] Ureña recorded his first MLS assist at home to achieve a 1–1 draw against Seattle Sounders FC on 8 April 2017.[12] His game-winning goal over Minnesota United FC on 22 October secured San Jose's sixth-place spot in the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs, the team's first playoff appearance since 2012.[13]

On 12 December 2017, MLS expansion side Los Angeles FC selected Ureña as its third pick in the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft.[14]

Following his release by Los Angeles, Ureña was selected by Chicago Fire in the MLS Waiver Draft on 12 December 2018.[15] However, he opted to join Alajuelense on 21 January 2019.[16]

On 24 March 2020, Ureña joined Gwangju FC of the South Korean K League.[17]

On 22 December 2020, Urena signed with the Central Coast Mariners in the Australian A-League.[18]

International career

Ureña participated in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup for Costa Rica[19] where Costa Rica U-20 national football team, placed 4th after losing to Hungary in the match for the 3rd place. He scored three goals on that competition.

In 2009, Ureña made his debut for the Costa Rica national football team in a match against Venezuela.[20]

In June 2014, Ureña was named in Costa Rica's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[21] In the team's opening match, he scored the third goal for Los Ticos in a 3–1 defeat of Uruguay.[22]

At the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, he scored the winner in Costa Rica's opening match and 0–1 victory against Honduras off of an assist from New York City FC man and fellow MLS player Rodney Wallace on 7 July 2017, at Red Bull Arena.[23] This performance earned him CONCACAF Man of the Match honors.

On 1 September 2017, Ureña recorded a brace in Costa Rica's crucial World Cup qualifier against the United States, again at Red Bull Arena.[24] On 5 September 2017, Ureña scored off of a volley to equalize the match against Mexico, which also served as his first goal at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica.[25][26]

In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica's 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[27] This would be Ureña's last call to play for Costa Rica. Upon his return to Costa Rican football in 2022, Ureña explained that his disappearance from the national team was due to internal conflicts he had with both players and personnel from the Costa Rican Football Federation.[28] He cited Rónald González as the only coach that would call him up, but upon the arrival of Gustavo Matosas, Ureña knew he would not be called up anymore.[29]

Career statistics

Club

Ureña beats Fernando Muslera to score against Uruguay in the 2014 FIFA World Cup
As of 15 May 2022[30]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2011–12 Kuban Krasnodar Russian Premier League 20 0 1 0 — 21 0
2012–13 6 0 1 0 — 7 0
2013–14 5 0 1 0 2 0 7 0
2014–15 FC Midtjylland Danish Superliga 21 3 1 1 0 0 22 4
2015–16 8 2 1 0 7 0 16 2
2016–17 Brøndby IF Danish Superliga 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2017 San Jose Earthquakes Major League Soccer 25 5 0 0 — 25 5
2018 Los Angeles FC Major League Soccer 9 1 1 1 — 10 2
2018–19 Alajuelense Liga FPD 9 0 — — 9 0
2019–20 31 12 — — 31 12
2020 Gwangju K League 1 8 0 1 0 — 9 0
2020–21 Central Coast Mariners A-League 22 5 — — 22 5
2021–22 A-League Men 26 7 4 1 — 30 8
Total Russia 31 0 3 0 2 0 36 0
Denmark 29 5 2 1 7 0 38 6
United States 34 6 1 1 — 35 7
Costa Rica 40 12 — — 40 12
South Korea 8 0 1 0 — 9 0
Australia 48 12 4 1 — 52 13
Career total 190 35 11 3 9 0 210 38

International

As of 1 February 2020[31]
Costa Rica
Year Apps Goals
2009 1 0
2010 5 0
2011 13 7
2012 0 0
2013 0 0
2014 11 2
2015 8 1
2016 7 0
2017 15 4
2018 6 1
2019 0 0
2020 1 0
Total 67 15

International goals

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.[32]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 16 January 2011 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Panama 1–0 2–0 2011 Copa Centroamericana
2. 2–0
3. 23 January 2011  Honduras 1–2 1–2
4. 9 February 2011 Estadio Olímpico Luis Ramos, Barcelona, Venezuela  Venezuela 2–1 2–2 Friendly
5. 5 June 2011 Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, United States  Cuba 1–0 5–0 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
6. 3–0
7. 12 June 2011 Soldier Field, Chicago, United States  Mexico 1–4 1–4
8. 14 June 2014 Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil  Uruguay 3–1 3–1 2014 FIFA World Cup
9. 3 September 2014 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States  Nicaragua 2–0 3–0 2014 Copa Centroamericana
10. 17 November 2015 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Panama 2–0 2–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11. 7 July 2017 Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States  Honduras 1–0 1–0 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
12. 1 September 2017  United States 1–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
13. 2–0
14. 5 September 2017 Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica  Mexico 1–1 1–1
15. 23 March 2018 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Scotland 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Personal life

Ureña married Ana Paula Aguilar in May 2014.[33]

Honours

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009™: List of Players: Costa Rica" (PDF). FIFA. 6 October 2009. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2009.
  2. ^ "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 24 June 2018. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  3. ^ Brenes, Christian (30 July 2022). "Marco Ureña dejó un año de contrato en Australia y confiesa estar apasionado por Cartaginés". La Nacion.
  4. ^ МАРКОС УРЕНЬЯ СТАНЕТ ИГРОКОМ КУБАНИ. FCKuban.ru (in Russian). FC Kuban Krasnodar. 3 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  5. ^ Ureña viajó de nuevo a firmar con equipo ruso Archived 27 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine - Nación (in Spanish)
  6. ^ "FC Midtjylland lejer VM-spiller". FCM.dk (in Danish). FC Midtjylland. 29 August 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  7. ^ "FCM sikrer sig Ureña permanent". FC Midtjylland. 10 December 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  8. ^ Alvarado, José (21 July 2016). "Brondby danés fichó a Marco Ureña". Diario Extra. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  9. ^ Valverde, Esteban (21 July 2016). "Marco Ureña pasa del Midtjylland al Brondby de Dinamarca". La Nación. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  10. ^ "San Jose Earthquakes add Costa Rican international Marcos Urena". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  11. ^ "RECAP: Quakes take frustrating loss in NYC". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  12. ^ "RECAP: A late Wondo finish earns the Quakes a come-from-behind point vs. Seattle Sounders FC". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  13. ^ "RECAP: Quakes officially punch ticket to 2017 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs". San Jose Earthquakes. 22 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  14. ^ "LAFC select Tico striker, young prospects in 2017 Expansion Draft". Major League Soccer. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Chicago Fire Soccer Club Selects Midfielder Cristian Martínez, Forward Marco Ureña in 2018 MLS Waiver Draft | Chicago Fire FC".
  16. ^ @ldacr (22 January 2019). "Un león regresa a su casa..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "광주Fc - Gwangju Football Club".
  18. ^ "Central Coast Mariners Club". 22 December 2020.
  19. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  20. ^ "Marco URENA". FIFA. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Costa Rica World Cup 2014 squad". The Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  22. ^ "Uruguay 1-3 Costa Rica". BBC. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  23. ^ "Honduras 0, Costa Rica 1 | 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Match Recap". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  24. ^ "Earthquakes' Marco Ureña brace leads Costa Rica to win over USA | MLSSoccer.com".
  25. ^ Polacek, Scott. "Marco Urena Saves Draw for Costa Rica vs. Mexico in 2018 World Cup Qualifier". Bleacher Report.
  26. ^ "Ureña se quitó una espinita: anotar en el Estadio Nacional - Crhoy.com".
  27. ^ "Costa Rica national team World Cup squad: Oscar Ramirez names 23-man roster featuring Keylor Navas, six MLS players | Goal.com".
  28. ^ Alvarado, Sergio (6 August 2022). "Marco Ureña tira fuego sobre un secreto de la Sele de Rusia 2018". La Teja (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  29. ^ Castillo, Eduardo; Araya, José Fernando (7 August 2022). "Marco Ureña: "Yo sabía que después de Rusia 2018 la Selección iba a estar cerrada para mí"". Teletica (in European Spanish). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  30. ^ "M. Ureña". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  31. ^ "Marco Ureña". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  32. ^ "Ureña, Marco". National Football Teams. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  33. ^ Marco Ureña se sudó la camiseta y le anotó un tanto al amor - Nación (in Spanish)