Marco Ureña

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]

Marco Ureña
Ureña with the San Jose Earthquakes in 2017
Personal information
Full nameMarcos Danilo Ureña Porras[1]
Date of birth (1990-03-05) 5 March 1990 (age 34)
Place of birthSan José, Costa Rica
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s)Striker
Team information
Current team
C.S. Cartaginés
Number21
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2008–2010Alajuelense59(10)
2011–2014Kuban Krasnodar31(0)
2014FC Midtjylland (loan)10(2)
2015–2016FC Midtjylland19(3)
2016–2017Brøndby IF13(0)
2017San Jose Earthquakes25(5)
2018Los Angeles FC18(1)
2019–2020Alajuelense40(12)
2020Gwangju FC8(0)
2020–2022Central Coast Mariners48(12)
2022–C.S. Cartaginés6(0)
International career
2009Costa Rica U207(3)
2009–2018Costa Rica67(15)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:30, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 February 2020

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 performanceLeagueCupContinentalTotal
SeasonClubDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2011–12Kuban KrasnodarRussian Premier League20010210
2012–13601070
2013–1450102070
2014–15FC MidtjyllandDanish Superliga2131100224
2015–16821070162
2016–17Brøndby IFDanish Superliga00000000
2017San Jose EarthquakesMajor League Soccer25500255
2018Los Angeles FCMajor League Soccer9111102
2018–19AlajuelenseLiga FPD9090
2019–2031123112
2020GwangjuK League 1801090
2020–21Central Coast MarinersA-League225225
2021–22A-League Men26741308
TotalRussia3103020360
Denmark2952170386
United States34611357
Costa Rica40124012
South Korea801090
Australia4812415213
Career total190351139021038

International

As of 1 February 2020[31]
Costa Rica
YearAppsGoals
200910
201050
2011137
201200
201300
2014112
201581
201670
2017154
201861
201900
202010
Total6715

International goals

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.[32]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 January 2011Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Panama1–02–02011 Copa Centroamericana
2.2–0
3.23 January 2011  Honduras1–21–2
4.9 February 2011Estadio Olímpico Luis Ramos, Barcelona, Venezuela  Venezuela2–12–2Friendly
5.5 June 2011Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, United States  Cuba1–05–02011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
6.3–0
7.12 June 2011Soldier Field, Chicago, United States  Mexico1–41–4
8.14 June 2014Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil  Uruguay3–13–12014 FIFA World Cup
9.3 September 2014Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States  Nicaragua2–03–02014 Copa Centroamericana
10.17 November 2015Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Panama2–02–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.7 July 2017Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States  Honduras1–01–02017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
12.1 September 2017  United States1–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.2–0
14.5 September 2017Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica  Mexico1–11–1
15.23 March 2018Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Scotland1–01–0Friendly

Personal life

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

Honours

References

External links