Hernán Ismael Galíndez (born 30 March 1987) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

club

Huracán Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused th ...

. Born in Argentina, he represents the Ecuador national team. Born in Argentina, he began his career in Argentina with

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

before settling in Ecuador with Universidad Católica, where he made over 300 appearances in a nine-year spell. In 2022, he joined

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university in Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the co ...

but left the club after six months, citing harassment from the club's fanbase. He returned to Ecuador with Aucas, helping the side win the first title in the club's history in his debut season. After a one-and-a-half-year stint in Aucas, he returned to his birth country as he signed with Argentine club, Huracán. He plays for the Ecuador national team and represented them at the two editions of

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

(

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

), as well as the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, playing three times in each tournament.

Club career

Early career

As a child, Galíndez played for local youth clubs Estrella Juniors and Alianza Sports as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. During a local youth tournament at the age of seven, he switched to play as a

and faced a neighbouring team featuring

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

. Galíndez later recounted that Messi scored the first goal he had ever conceded, although his team went on to win and he and his teammates were awarded a bicycle for winning. At the age of 10, he joined the

youth team, remaining with the club until he was 21, spending a period on loan with

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

during the 2010–11 season. When the club was relegated in 2010, both Galíndez and his family received death threats and he contemplated giving up the game. In 2012, Galíndez was released by Rosario and joined

Rangers de Talca Club Social de Deportes Rangers is a Chilean football (soccer), football club based in the city of Talca. The club was founded November 2, 1902 and plays in the Chilean Primera División B, second level of the Chilean football system. Their home g ...

, but he only took part in the preseason until he was loaned to

Universidad Católica del Ecuador Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

in the

Ecuadorian Serie B The Primera Categoría Serie B, shortened to Serie B or Primera B, is a professional football league in Ecuador. It is in the second tier of the Ecuadorian football league system. Currently contested by ten clubs, it operates a system of promotio ...

. Having never left Argentina before, Galíndez was offered a room by teammate Facundo Martínez on arrival. He helped the club win promotion to the

Ecuadorian Serie A The Liga Pro Ecuador Serie A, simply known as the Liga Pro or the Serie A (or the Ecuadorian Serie A to distinguish it from the Italian Serie A and the Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série A), or as Liga Pro Ecuabet for sponsorship re ...

in his first season. On 6 March 2016, he saved two penalties in a game against

L.D.U. Quito Liga Deportiva Universitaria () is an Ecuadorian professional football club (association football), football club based in Quito. They play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. Th ...

, securing a 1–1 draw for his side.

Universidad de Chile

Galíndez signed for Chilean side

in January 2022 on a two-year deal with the club having the option of a third. He made his debut for the side in a 4–2 victory over

Unión La Calera Unión La Calera is a Chilean football club based in La Calera, Chile. The club competes in the Primera División de Chile. It was founded as Club de Deportes La Calera on 26 January 1954, after the merger of three teams from the city: ''Condor' ...

on 6 February 2022. He made 14 appearances for the side before personal issues led him to request a transfer. After

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

rejected

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

's appeal against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

's qualification for the

over the fielding of an ineligible player, Galíndez claimed he was targeted by angry Chilean fans on social media as an Ecuadorian international. This was the second complaint of harassment by fans made by Galíndez following his transfer after his wife received abusive messages online.

Aucas

Universidad received approaches from L.D.U. Quito, but Galíndez instead chose to join rival Ecuadorian side Aucas with the agreed fee being reported around $250,000. He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 victory over Orense on 9 July and was not on the losing side for the remainder of the season over 13 matches. He helped the side win the Ecuadorian Serie A for the first time in the club's history, defeating

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

1–0 on aggregate in the final. In the decisive second leg of the final, Galíndez saved a penalty from Barcelona captain

Damián Díaz Damián Rodrigo Díaz Montero (, born 1 May 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Banfield. Born in Argentina, he represents the Ecuador national team. Club career Rosario Central Díaz began his career ...

to help his side to victory and end the season with six consecutive clean sheets.

International career

Born in Argentina, Galíndez became a nationalised Ecuadorian in February 2019, a process which he had originally started in 2016. He was called up to the Ecuador national team for the first time by manager

Gustavo Alfaro Gustavo Julio Alfaro (born 14 August 1962) is an Argentine football manager and former player who manages the Paraguay national football team. Although Alfaro had a short career as a footballer, he was captain of the Atlético de Rafaela when th ...

in October 2020 as a replacement for Johan Padilla who tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. He was selected for the Ecuador squad for the

2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football, football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to ...

and made his international debut on 23 June 2021 in a 2–2 draw with

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in Ecuador's third group match. He played the remainder of his side's matches as they reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated by

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. After going seven games without conceding a goal, Galíndez was selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and was chosen as the starting goalkeeper in all three of his nation's matches, ahead of

Alexander Domínguez Alexander Domínguez Carabalí (born 5 June 1987) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ecuadorian Serie A club LDU Quito and the Ecuador national team. Club career LDU Quito (2006-2016) Domínguez played f ...

, as they were eliminated in the group stage. Galíndez was called up to the final 26-man Ecuador squad for the

2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...

Style of play

Galíndez has been described as a "complete goalkeeper", possessing quick reflexes but also being able to play well with the ball at his feet.

Personal life

Galíndez has a twin brother.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Universidad Católica *

: Aucas *

: 2022

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galindez, Hernan 1987 births Living people Argentine emigrants to Ecuador Naturalized citizens of Ecuador Footballers from Rosario, Santa Fe Ecuadorian men's footballers 21st-century Ecuadorian sportsmen Sportspeople of Argentine descent Ecuador men's international footballers Argentine men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers 2021 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2024 Copa América players Argentine Primera División players Primera Nacional players Ecuadorian Serie A players Chilean Primera División players Rosario Central footballers Quilmes Atlético Club footballers Rangers de Talca footballers C.D. Universidad Católica del Ecuador footballers Club Universidad de Chile footballers S.D. Aucas footballers Club Atlético Huracán footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Ecuador Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Chile 21st-century Argentine sportsmen Argentine twins