Luis Michel

Luis Ernesto Michel

Michel playing with Guadalajara in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Luis Ernesto Michel Vergara
Date of birth	(1979-07-21) July 21, 1979
Place of birth	El Grullo, Jalisco, Mexico
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Guadalajara
Number	29
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2003	Tapatio	26	(0)
2004–2005	→ Santos Laguna (loan)	2	(0)
2006–	Guadalajara	234	(0)
2014	→ Saprissa (loan)	18	(0)
International career‡
2007–	Mexico	15	(0)
Medal record Representing Mexico CONCACAF Gold Cup Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2011
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 January 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 12, 2011

Luis Ernesto Michel Vergara (born July 21, 1979) is a Mexican football goalkeeper who currently plays for Guadalajara in the Liga MX. Michel has captained both Guadalajara and the Mexico national team in official matches, captaining the latter in the 2011 Copa América.

Club career

C.D. Guadalajara

Michel debuted against Irapuato, replacing the suspended starting keeper Oswaldo Sánchez on September 24, with Chivas winning 3–2. Three years later, Michel found himself playing in the Clausura 2006 playoffs, when the usual second-choice keeper, Alfredo Talavera, was not playing well and head coach José Manuel de la Torre gave the starting spot to Michel, who wore the number 31. Luis Ernesto played well, despite receiving 6 goals in 3 games, and being eliminated by Pachuca on an injury-time goal, but he proved that he could be an effective substitute for Sánchez. Months later, Michel played in the Copa Libertadores in 2006, playing in the first match against Veléz Sarsfield of Argentina in the quarter-finals.

Throughout Michel's career, he has received some nicknames for the jerseys he wears as in the Clausura 2006 playoffs, Luis Ernesto Michel traditionally wore a red goalie uniform, earning him the nicknames "El Diablo" (The Devil) and "El Coloradito" (The Little Red One). After wearing a white goalie jersey on occasions during the 2007 season, he switched to an all-black uniform, leading some fans to call him "El Caballero Negro" (The Black Knight).

After Oswaldo Sánchez was dealt away to Santos Laguna for the Clausura 2007 tournament, Michel was promoted to starting goalkeeper, wearing jersey number 23. After months of playing, they switched his jersey number to number one. During a SuperLiga match against Atlante in 2008, he suffered a double fracture on the radius and ulna bones in his forearm after erroneously diving to save a loose ball. Michel was ruled out for the Apertura 2008 season by doctors, making him miss his chance to play with his national team. He was replaced by backup goalkeeper Sergio Rodriguez, until he was replaced by Victor Hernandez. However, Michel made a comeback and won the Interliga 2009 with Guadalajara.

On January 11, 2010 manager Jose Luis Real named Luis Michel as team captain after Ramon Morales was released. He captained Chivas for their historic 8–0 run, which is now the record of most wins in a row at the start of the season. They received their first loss at the hands of Jaguares 4–0 ended their run. When Michel was called up to the national team, Victor Hernandez took over until his injury, in which Liborio Vicente Sánchez filled in. Received his first red card on November 5, 2011 against Pachuca.

Saprissa

On January 6, 2014 Guadalajara loaned Michel to Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa for six months, with Saprissa having the option of extending the deal for an extra six months.

International career

Mexico national team

Michel was first called up to the national side in 2007 by then-coach Hugo Sanchez, but did not play. He debuted for the national side against New Zealand and won 2–0. His second appearance was against Iceland which ended with a 0–0 draw. Michel was selected by Javier Aguirre for the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad and played in the first preparation match against Ecuador, which again ended 0–0. He also appeared against Gambia in which he conceded one goal in El Tri's 5–1 victory. Michel was called to the Mexican under-22 national team as one of the over-22 reinforcements that participated in the 2011 Copa América tournament held in Argentina. He captained Mexico in all three of their group matches.

International appearances

As of July 12, 2011 Template:International goalkeeper stats header |- | 1.|| March 3, 2010 || Pasadena, United States || New Zealand || 0 || 2–0 || Friendly |- | 2.|| March 24, 2010 || Charlotte, United States || Iceland || 0 || 0–0 || Friendly |- | 3.|| May 7, 2010 || New York, United States || Ecuador || 0 || 0–0 || Friendly |- | 4.|| May 30, 2010 || Bayreuth, Germany || Gambia || 1 || 5–1 || Friendly |- | 5.|| June 12, 2011 || Las Vegas, United States || Venezuela || 3 || 0–3 || Friendly |- | 6.|| June 22, 2011 || Pereira, Colombia || Colombia || 0 || 0–0 || Friendly |- | 7.|| June 25, 2011 || Quito, Ecuador || Ecuador || 0 || 1–0 || Friendly |- | 8.|| July 4, 2011 || San Juan, Argentina || Chile || 2 || 1–2 || 2011 Copa América |- | 9.|| July 8, 2011 || Mendoza, Argentina || Peru || 1 || 0–1 || 2011 Copa América |- | 10.|| July 12, 2011 || La Plata, Argentina || Uruguay || 1 || 0–1 || 2011 Copa América |}

Sponsorships

Michel has been sponsored by Joma, Pirma, Rinat, and Puma. Michel currently has a sponsorship with Nike (boots) and Voit (gloves).

Personal life

Luis Michel married on December 11, 2009 in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has a brother that is a well known doctor in Guadalajara. His family is originally from El Grullo, Jalisco. As a kid, he split his time between Guadalajara and El Grullo where he played in the local football leagues as a goalkeeper.

Michel is of French descent from his fathers side.

Honours

Club

Guadalajara

• Primera División (1): Apertura 2006
• InterLiga (1): 2009

Saprissa

• Primera División (1): Verano 2014

International

Mexico

• CONCACAF Gold Cup (1): 2011

Individual

• League's Best Goalkeeper (2): Apertura 2007, Clausura 2008

External links

• Luis Michel – Liga MX stats at MedioTiempo.com (archived) (in Spanish)
• Luis Michel at National-Football-Teams.com