Martín Cáceres

Early years

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. 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 de Huelva, 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.

Barcelona

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

Loan to Juventus

On 6 August 2009, Barcelona loaned Cáceres to…

Cáceres played for Uruguay at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada, appearing in all the matches in an eventual round-of-16 exit. Previously, he was named the best defender at the 2007 South American U-20 Championship, helping his team to third place. Cáceres made his debut for the full side on 12 September 2007, in Johannesburg against South Africa. In 2010, he was selected by manager Óscar Tabárez for his list of 23 players for that year's FIFA World Cup, as back-up to Porto's Jorge Fucile at right-back and taking part in the semi-finals against the Netherlands and the third-place match against Germany (both 3–2 losses). Cáceres scored his first international goal on 23 June 2011, in a 3–0 friendly home win over Estonia. With Fucile not being selected to the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, he played five out of six games during the tournament – as right and left back – with the Charrúas winning their 15th continental tournament. He notably scored the decisive penalty in a penalty shootout victory over the hosts in the quarter-finals. Cáceres made four appearances for Uruguay in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the third-place match against Italy, his penalty was saved by Juventus teammate Gianluigi Buffon as the opposition won the shootout by 3–2 after a 2–2 deadlock following extra time. He was also a member of the squad that took part at the 2014 World Cup, featuring four times in the tournament to help the nation reach the last-16 phase, where they suffered a…

Cáceres's primary position is that of a central defender, but he can also operate as a left or right-back, being noted for his pace, strength, tackling and aerial ability. He has also been deployed as a wing-back or winger, on either side of the pitch. During his time with Juventus, Cáceres' tenacious approach drew comparisons to compatriot Montero, who also played there.

Club

As of match played 4 August 2024

International

Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cáceres goal.