Sergio Romero

Sergio Germán Romero (born 22 February 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Boca Juniors.

Romero appeared in the substitute bench throughout the 2005 season.

Romero passed from the youth to the first team of -Racing Club in 2006, making his debut in the Argentine Primera División.

Throughout the 2006 season, he continued to be in the substitute bench.

Despite this, he signed his first professional contract with the club.

Romero made his debut with Racing Club in the Argentine Primera División in 2007 and then transferred to Dutch club AZ Alkmaar at the end of the season.

In the 2007 season, Romero found himself competing the first-choice goalkeeper role with José Luis Martínez Gullotta.

Romero made his Racing Club debut of Matchday 1 of Torneo Apertura, in a 1–1 draw against Nueva Chicago.

However, in the following match, Romero lost his first-choice goalkeeper role to Gustavo Campagnuolo and spent two months on the sidelines.

Weeks after signing for AZ when he moved in the summer, Romero made his first appearance in two months on 14 April 2007 against Colón, in a 1–1 draw; followed up by another appearance on 22 April 2007, in a 3–3 draw against Belgrano.

After Campagnuolo suffered an injury, Romero made his last appearance for the club on 17 June 2007, in a 4–2 win over Godoy Cruz.

It was announced on 24 March 2007 that Romero signed for AZ Alkmaar, who were managed by Louis van Gaal when he joined the club on 1 July.

There, Romero was expected to fight for the first-choice goalkeeper role with Boy Waterman.

After an injury to Waterman, Romero made his Eredivisie debut on 30 September 2007 against Heracles Almelo, during which he conceded a penalty, and AZ lost 2–1.

He also was part of the team that won gold at the 2008 Olympics.

Born in Bernardo de Irigoyen, Romero began his youth career at Almirante Brown and CAI before joining Racing Club.

In his second match of the season against Twente on 23 February 2008 he kept his first clean sheet for the side, in a 0–0 draw.

In 2008–09, Romero established himself as first-choice goalkeeper at AZ following the departure of Waterman to Den Haag.

Romero kept a 950-minute clean sheet for AZ from November 2008 to February 2009.

While on the side-lines, AZ won the Eredivisie in the 2008–09 season.

Romero ended the 2008–09 season having made 31 appearances in all competitions.

He won the Eredivisie in 2009, and two years later joined Italian side Sampdoria.

Romero is the most capped goalkeeper in the history of the Argentina national team, playing over 90 times since his debut in 2009.

On 5 March 2009 in the quarterfinals of the KNVB Cup he made a mistake which allowed Breda's Nourdin Boukhari to score, as AZ were beaten 2–1.

After the defeat, he broke the bones in his hand by punching the door and walls of his team's changing room in frustration, an injury which ruled him out of the team at a crucial stage of the season.

He returned on 26 April 2009 after Joey Didulica was injured in a clash with Luis Suárez, playing 16 minutes of a 1–1 draw against Ajax.

The 2009–10 season marked the departure of Van Gaal to Bayern Munich.

Romero was linked with a move away from AZ, with Juventus and Bayern Munich keen on signing him, but stayed at the club throughout the summer.

Romero started the season well in the Johan Cruyff Shield, when he helped AZ win 5–1 against Heerenveen to win the title.

Continuing to be first-choice goalkeeper, Romero made his UEFA Champions League debut on Matchday 1 of the Group Stage in a 0–1 loss against Olympiacos.

However, a week later, he suffered a knee injury that side-lined him for a week.

A week later on 3 October 2009 he returned to the first team from injury in a 1–0 win over Breda.

Later in the season Romero suffered a further injury which caused him to be substituted in the first half of a 1–0 win over Sparta Rotterdam on 21 March 2010.

From that moment on, Romero became a regular in the team, with AZ finishing 11th.

While keeping a clean sheet Romero signed a new contract with the club, keeping him there until 2012.

In 2013, Romero joined Monaco on a season-long loan.

He has represented Argentina at two World Cups and at three Copa América tournaments, finishing as runner-up in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as well as in the 2015 and 2016 Copa América tournaments.

He signed for Manchester United in July 2015, largely serving as backup to David de Gea but playing in a series of important matches for the club.

Romero was the starting goalkeeper through Manchester United's 2016-17 UEFA Europa League run, playing in the Final and keeping a clean sheet as the club defeated Ajax to win a fifth major European trophy in their history.

He made 61 appearances for United across six seasons in total, later returning to Argentina with Boca Juniors in 2022, where he won the Argentine Primera División.