Jonathan Santana
Quick Facts
Biography
Jonathan Santana Gehre (born 19 October 1981) is an Argentina-born Paraguayan football midfielder who plays for Sarmiento and the Paraguay national team.
Santana was a key part of Paraguay's national team whilst under management of Tata Martino, featuring in three major competitions since his called up to the squad in 2007, the 2007 Copa América, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2011 Copa América. Santana missed the final of the latter due to a red card in the semi-final against Venezuela.
Career
Club
Santana started his career at San Telmo of the Argentine 3rd Division. He went on to play for a number of Argentine Primera clubs, including San Lorenzo and River Plate. In August 2006 he signed a five-year contract with German VfL Wolfsburg. In the winter of 2009, he was loaned out to San Lorenzo.
On 26 July 2010, the Turkish club Kayserispor announced the hiring of the Paraguayan midfielder for three seasons.
Santana debuted for Cerro Porteño in a 3–1 away victory against Club 12 de Octubre on 16 February 2014, Santana was substituted onto the field for Fidencio Oviedo in the 83rd minute of the match.
National team
In June 2007, Santana received Paraguayan citizenship (his mother is a Paraguayan citizen born in San Ignacio, Misiones Department and Argentina did not recognize dual citizenship). He played for Paraguay in the 2007 Copa América. He was also named in Paraguay's final 23-men squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He entered the field during Paraguay's first game, a 1–1 draw with Italy, but suffered an injury during the match. However, as Paraguay's coach Gerardo Martino had already made the three available substitutions, Santana had to stay on the field and play injured for the remaining time.
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Cerro Porteño | 2014 | 9 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
Career total | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Honours
- San Lorenzo
- Copa Mercosur: 2001
- VfL Wolfsburg
- Bundesliga: 2008–09