Jhon Viáfara

Jhon Viáfara
Personal information
Full name Jhon Eduis Viáfara Mina
Date of birth (1978-10-27) 27 October 1978
Place of birth Robles, Colombia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999 Deportivo Pasto 44 (2)
2000–2001 América de Cali 37 (0)
2001–2002 Deportivo Pasto 18 (0)
2002–2005 Once Caldas 114 (9)
2005–2006 Portsmouth 14 (1)
2006Real Sociedad (loan) 11 (0)
2006–2008 Southampton 76 (5)
2008–2009 Once Caldas 49 (3)
2010 La Equidad 35 (5)
2011 Atlético Junior 4 (0)
2011 Deportivo Pereira 17 (4)
2012 La Equidad 19 (4)
2012–2013 Independiente Medellín 35 (2)
2013–2014 Deportivo Cali 43 (0)
2015 Rionegro Águilas 5 (0)
National team
2003–2010 Colombia 34 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Viáfara and the second or maternal family name is Mina.

Jhon Eduis Viáfara Mina (born 27 October 1978) is a Colombian midfielder who is currently unattached. He mostly recently played for Rionegro Águilas of the Colombian First Division.

Football career

Early career

Born in the Colombian town of Robles, Viáfara came to international attention whilst playing for Once Caldas, for whom he was instrumental during his club's success in the 2004 Copa Libertadores, scoring with a long range strike in the final against Boca Juniors.[1]

Portsmouth

His performances made him a regular in the Colombia national football team, and earned him a €2.2 million move to English club Portsmouth on 23 June 2005.[2]

He played 14 league matches under Alain Perrin at Portsmouth, scoring one league goal, in a 2–1 loss at Manchester City on 27 August.[3] Perrin was sacked and Viáfara was dropped by returned-manager Harry Redknapp.

On 30 January 2006, Viáfara was loaned for six months to Spanish club Real Sociedad of La Liga, along with Mark González of Liverpool.[4] At the end of this deal, Real declined the chance to purchase Viáfara and he returned to Portsmouth again,[5] after 11 matches played and two red cards.

Southampton

On 4 August 2006 he signed a three-year deal with Portsmouth's south-coast rivals Southampton of the Football League Championship. The transfer fee for the three-year deal was undisclosed, but is believed to be in the region of £750,000.[6] He appeared consistently in the 2006–07 season. One of his most memorable moments was scoring two goals in the Championship Play-off Semi-final Second Leg against Derby County, although it was not enough as Derby went on to win the tie in a penalty shootout.

He scored his first goal of the 2007–08 season with a 12-yard strike in Southampton's 3–2 win over Stoke City on 26 August 2007. Then on 29 September he got his second of the season with a 16-yard strike in the 2–1 win over Sheffield United which proved to be the winner.

Shortly into his third season at the club, after managerial turmoil to the degree of there having been four managers within six months, he left. The reasons for his departure are said to be homesickness, with Dutch manager Jan Poortvliet saying he "did not want anyone who was not completely committed to the club to remain at the club". Other rumours for his departure include wage-bill cutting by chairman Rupert Lowe, although Southampton are not reported to have received a fee for his return to Once Caldas.

Return to Colombia

After Viáfara's return to Once Caldas the team's fortunes improved, they won their third Colombian league championship in Apertura 2009.[7]

In 2010, he joined La Equidad and helped them to reach the final of the Apertura 2010 tournament as well as reaching the playoff stages of the Clausura 2010.[8]

In 2011, he was signed by Junior and got off to an excellent start, scoring vital goals in both of the side's first two games in the Copa Libertadores 2011 group stages.[9]

International career

International goals

As of 14 March 2014[10]
International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 25 March 2007 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States   Switzerland 0–1 0–1 Friendly

Honours

América de Cali
Once Caldas

References

  1. "Golazo: Jhon Viáfara vs Boca Juniors, Copa Libertadores final 2004". Southamerican-futbol.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  2. "Viafara heads to Portsmouth". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  3. "Man City 2-1 Portsmouth". BBC. 27 August 2005. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  4. "La Real Sociedad presenta a Viáfara y Mark González | Mercafutbol - Noticias de rumores y fichajes de fútbol". Mercafutbol.com. 2006-01-30. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  5. "Viafara will return to Portsmouth". BBC News. 13 June 2006.
  6. "Southampton sign Viafara & Licka". BBC News. 4 August 2006.
  7. "Colombia 2009". Rsssf.com. 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  8. "Colombia 2010". Rsssf.com. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  9. "What ever happened to? Jhon Viáfara". Southamerican-futbol.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  10. Jhon Viáfara at National-Football-Teams.com
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