Martín Cáceres

On 25 March he netted his first league goal, heading home an Andrea Pirlo corner kick in the 57th minute of a 2–0 home victory over Inter Milan.

José Martín Cáceres Silva (born 7 April 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy and the Uruguay national team.

Mainly a centre-back, he can also play on either flank, mostly as a right-back.

After starting out at Defensor Sporting, he was bought by Spanish club Villarreal in 2007.

In early February 2007, he signed for Spanish club Villarreal, with the deal being made effective in July.

Upon arriving at Villarreal, Cáceres was immediately sent on loan to fellow La Liga side Recreativo, being one of the most used players during the season and often partnering Beto in central defence as the Andalusians managed to retain their division status, finishing in 16th position; on 9 January 2008, he scored against the club that owned his rights in the Copa del Rey (1–0 home win, but 2–1 loss on aggregate), and never appeared officially for them.

Cáceres joined Barcelona on 4 June 2008, with a reported transfer fee of €16.5 million being paid to Villarreal.

In the following years he competed in Spain and Italy, notably winning six Serie A titles with Juventus and the 2009 Champions League with Barcelona.

On 6 August 2009, Barcelona loaned Cáceres to Juventus in Serie A, with the Turin team having an option to make his stay permanent at the end of the season for €11 million, plus €1 million in variables.

He made his debut in a pre-season friendly against former team Villarreal the following day, replacing Jonathan Zebina at right-back at half-time.

The league season began well for Cáceres as he made a goal-scoring debut, netting the opener in a 2–0 away win against Lazio.

He began as a regular under Ciro Ferrara, but his campaign would be ultimately disrupted by a number of injuries, including one in January 2010 that put him out of action for several months.

On 30 August 2010, Cáceres returned to Spain and joined Sevilla on a season-long loan, with an option to purchase.

He featured regularly for the Gregorio Manzano-led team, especially at right-back following the return of Abdoulay Konko to Genoa in January 2011.

On 1 May 2011, Cáceres was severely injured by Michael Jakobsen in a match against Almería, suffering a lacerated kidney following a dangerous challenge.

The Dane was given a straight red card, and the South American was initially ruled out for the rest of the campaign, but unexpectedly recovered for the final two games, with his side finishing fifth and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.

On 31 May 2011, Sevilla agreed a €3 million deal plus €1.5 million in variables with Barcelona for the permanent move of Cáceres to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.

A buyout clause of €50 million was included in the deal, which ran until June 2012.

During his only season at the Camp Nou he featured sparsely, due to both injury and technical decisions.

Even after his recovery, Cáceres only managed to be fourth-choice stopper behind Rafael Márquez, Gerard Piqué and Carles Puyol.

He appeared in three games in the campaign's UEFA Champions League – two starts, 217 minutes – being an unused substitute in the final against Manchester United which completed the treble for the Catalans.

In late January 2012, however, he returned to Juventus on loan.

At Juventus, Cáceres chose to wear the number 4 shirt, which had previously belonged to compatriot Paolo Montero.

He made his debut for Juve in his second spell on 8 February 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win against AC Milan in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and scoring both of his team's goals.

On 25 May 2012, Cáceres joined Juventus on a permanent basis, signing a four-year contract.

An Uruguay international since the age of 20, Cáceres represented the country in four World Cups, three editions of the Copa América and the 2013 Confederations Cup, winning the 2011 Copa América.

Born in Montevideo, Cáceres started his career with his local team Defensor, becoming a regular at a young age and competing in one full Primera División season with them.

He missed most of the first half of the 2014–15 campaign, after picking up an injury in a 3–2 home win over Roma in October 2014 which sidelined him for three months.

He returned to the starting line-up on 11 January 2015, scoring in a 3–1 defeat of Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo.

On 8 March, however, he fractured his ankle during a training session, requiring surgery; as a result, he was ruled out indefinitely.

Cáceres returned to the starting line-up on 8 August 2015, in Juventus' 2–0 victory over Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana.

In late September, however, he had his driving license revoked for six months and was suspended by the club after crashing his Ferrari into a bus stop in Turin following a wrong turn.

He was alleged to have been over the legal alcohol limit for driving.

Cáceres returned to action on 6 January 2016, starting and playing 84 minutes in a 3–0 home win against Hellas Verona.

On 4 February, it was confirmed that he would be sidelined for the rest of the season due to the rupture of his right Achilles tendon during the match the day before against Genoa.

In May, Juventus' director of football Giuseppe Marotta announced that the player's contract would not be renewed, and that he would be leaving the club on 30 June.

He later had a brief spell in England with Southampton before returning to Italy in 2017; despite his ability, his career was limited by several injuries.

On 16 February 2017, Cáceres joined Premier League club Southampton as a free agent, signing an initial contract lasting until the end of the season.

Ten days later he was included in a matchday squad for the first time, remaining an unused substitute in the final of the EFL Cup, a 3–2 loss to Manchester United.

After three months at St Mary's Stadium, Cáceres appeared in his first and only game for Southampton, starting in a 2–1 away win over Middlesbrough on 13 May.