María Fernanda Zúñiga

María Fernanda Zúñiga Cifuentes (born 12 September 1997) is a Chilean footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Unión Española [es].

María Fernanda Zúñiga
Personal information
Full name María Fernanda Zúñiga Cifuentes
Date of birth (1997-09-12) 12 September 1997 (age 26)
Place of birth Chile
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Unión Española [es]
Youth career
Palestino [es]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Palestino [es]
2019–2022 Universidad de Chile
2023 Estudiantes
2024– Unión Española [es]
International career
2013 Chile U17
2015 Chile U20
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

As a child, Zúñiga played against male players at both her neighbourhood and SIFUP [es], the trade union of professional football players in Chile.[2]

At club level, she began her career with Palestino [es] from 2015 to 2018.[3]

In 2019, she switched to Universidad de Chile, signing her first professional contract in February 2022.[4]

In 2023, she moved to Argentina and joined Estudiantes de La Plata in the Primera División A,[3] making her debut against Estudiantes de Buenos Aires [es].[2] The next season, she returned to Chile and joined Unión Española [es].[5]

International career edit

Having taken part in several trials with the Chile national team at youth level since 2011,[6] she represented the under-17's in the 2013 South American Championship[7] and the under-20's in the 2015 South American Championship.[6][8]

Personal life edit

She is nicknamed Paco[6] or Pakito.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ "María Fernanda Zúñiga Cifuentes". estudiantesdelaplata.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b Maldonado, Víctor (13 April 2023). "Jugó contra hombres, pasó por la U y hoy brilla en Argentina: "Acá es más exigente"". AS Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "FÚTBOL FEMENINO: REFUERZO INTERNACIONAL PARA ESTUDIANTES". Infocielo (in Spanish). 20 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  4. ^ Loma-Osorio, Antonio (16 February 2022). "La U Femenina suma nuevos contratos: dos piezas claves del plantel serán profesionales". En Cancha (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  5. ^ Molina, Geraldine (9 February 2024). "Unión Española fortalece su plantel y confirma sus primeros 10 fichajes". Contragolpe (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "LOS ÁNGELES CUSTODIOS DE LAS CHICAS DE ROJO SUB 20". ANFP (in Spanish). 20 November 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Nóminas de Chile para Campeonatos Sudamericanos Femeninos Sub-17". Partidos de La Roja (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Nóminas de Chile para Campeonatos Sudamericanos Femeninos Sub-20". Partidos de La Roja (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.

External links edit