Roberto Merino Ramírez (born 19 May 1982) is a Peruvian 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 an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He also holds

Spanish citizenship The Spanish nationality legal framework refers to all the laws, provisions, regulations, and resolutions in Spain concerning nationality. Article 11 of the First Title of the Spanish Constitution refers to Spanish nationality and establishes ...

, due to the many years spent in the country.

Club career

Having moved to Spain in his teens after being born in

Chiclayo Chiclayo (; mochica language, Mochica: ''Cɥiclaiæp'') is the principal city and capital of the Lambayeque region and Chiclayo Province in northern Peru. It is located from the Pacific coast, from the city of Trujillo, Peru, Trujillo, and from ...

Lambayeque Region Lambayeque () is a Administrative divisions of Peru, department and Regional Government of Lambayeque, region in northwestern Peru known for its rich Moche culture, Moche and Chimú culture, Chimú historical past. The region's name originates ...

, Merino played youth football with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

(only one year) and

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

. He made his senior debuts with the latter's reserves, in

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. In January 2003, Merino joined

Atlético Malagueño Club Atlético Malagueño, shortened to Atlético Malagueño, () is a Spanish football team based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1990, it is the reserve team of Málaga CF, and currently plays in , holding home ...

, being an important midfielder element as

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

's B-team

retained In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a retained firefighter, also known as an RDS firefighter or on-call firefighter, is a firefighter who does not work on a fire station full-time but is paid to spend long periods of time on call to respond to eme ...

their newly acquired status in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, with the player having contributed with 20 games and five goals to the promotion (

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

included). Subsequently, he moved to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and signed with

Servette FC Servette FC is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Geneva, founded in March 1890 with rugby as its first sporting activity, and named after the Geneva district of the same name. The football section was created on ...

but, with the club facing bankruptcy, left in the following

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

Ciudad de Murcia Club de Fútbol Ciudad de Murcia, usually abbreviated to Ciudad de Murcia, was a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the namesake autonomous community. They played at the 16,000-seater ''Estadio de La Condomina''. Ciudad Murcia was reloc ...

– also in Spain's second level – alongside teammate

João Paulo Daniel João is a given name of Portuguese origin. It is equivalent to the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the s ...

. Merino was signed by

Atromitos F.C. Atromitos Football Club (, ''PAE APS Atromitos Athinon''), also simply known as Atromitos ), is a Greek professional football club based in Peristeri, a suburban city in the Athens agglomeration, that competes in the Super League. Founded in ...

in January 2006, from fellow

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

side

Akratitos FC A.P.O. Akratitos Ano Liosia () is a Greek football professional club from Ano Liosia, Athens, Greece. They currently play in the Alpha Division of the Football League championship, which is the third level of the Greek football pyramid. They mai ...

. In February 2009, after two full seasons and two halves, he changed teams (and countries) again, joining

U.S. Salernitana 1919 Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. On 8 January 2011, Merino signed with Al-Nasr SC of the

Kuwait Premier League The Kuwait Premier League (), known as Zain Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Kuwait football pyramid system. Formed in 1961, Kuwait SC holds the best record in the competition, having won 20 times. History The ...

, on loan from Salernitana. Less than one month after, however, he left the

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n club; according to the player, he decided to leave because he did not feel comfortable and had other objectives for his football career. On 28 February 2011, Merino signed a half-season contract with

Unión Comercio Club Deportivo Unión Comercio, simply known as Unión Comercio, is a Peruvian professional football club based in the city of Nueva Cajamarca, San Martín, Peru. The club plays in the Liga 2, the second tier of Peruvian football, after being ...

– at almost 29, this marked the first time he would be playing in the

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; known simply as ''First Division'', and Liga 1 Te Apuesto for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 1, is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since ...

. He stated that his main reason for joining was to earn a regular starting spot on the Peru national team.

International career

Merino represented

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

at under-18 level, having already spent several years living in the country. He decided to play for

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 ...

as a senior, earning his first and only

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

on 7 June 2009 in a 1–2 home loss 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 ...

for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

qualifiers.

Personal life

Merino's younger brother, Iván, was also a footballer. A defender, he too represented Mallorca B and Salernitana.

Honours

Club

;Juan Aurich *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

*
Gazzetta dello Sport profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merino, Roberto 1982 births Living people Footballers from Chiclayo Peruvian people of Spanish descent Peruvian men's footballers 21st-century Peruvian sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Segunda División players Segunda División B players RCD Mallorca B players Atlético Malagueño players Ciudad de Murcia footballers Swiss Super League players Servette FC players Super League Greece players A.P.O. Akratitos Ano Liosia players Atromitos F.C. players Serie B players Serie C players US Salernitana 1919 players ASG Nocerina players Al Nasr SC (Kuwait) players Peruvian Primera División players Unión Comercio footballers Juan Aurich footballers Universidad Técnica de Cajamarca footballers Categoría Primera A players Deportes Tolima footballers Roberto Merino Roberto Merino Spain men's youth international footballers Peru men's international footballers Peruvian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Kuwait Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia SEF Torres 1903 players Kuwait Premier League players Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait 21st-century Spanish sportsmen