Diego Godin Biography: Age, Height, Achievements, Facts & Net Worth -

Diego Roberto Godin Leal is an Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a central defender for the Uruguay national team and Italian club Inter Milan. Diego’s journey in becoming one of the best defenders in the world begins with the club Cerro, where he spent three years, during his initial career. He then joined Primera Divison side Nacional where he improved his skills and technique. His career took a major turn when he joined Atletico Madrid. Playing for the club he helped his side win UEFA Super Cup three times, La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana and the UEFA Champions League. He had played three World Cups and five Copa America Tournaments, since his debut in the national team in 2005.

EARLY LIFE

Diego was born on 16^th February 1986 in Rosario Uruguay to Julio Godin and Iris Lial. Diego’s involvement in Sports and athletics begin after an incident that almost took his life. Deigo’s family was very fond of hunting birds in the forest of Rosario. One fine day when as usually the family was hunting in the forest, the four years Diego accidentally fall into a stream while trying to catch the fishes which were swimming on the surface. Being trapped in the strong current of the stream he found himself neck-deep struggling for his life. His sister after finding him trapped inside the current rushed to inform their parents, in no time his father arrived and saved him from drowning. Recalling the incident years later Diego in an interview said that, “It was a Miracle, I had no swimming experience at the age of four coupled with the fact that I was wearing boots and winter Clothing. However, flapping my arms in a way I can’t remember saved my life”

The near-death incident later becomes one of the few occasions which helped Diego to rebel against circumstances that sought to pull him down, after the incident, he started participating actively in athletics including football, basketball, and swimming. At the age of 15, he decided to make his career in football and joined some local football club. At the age of 17, he stepped inside the club C.A Cerro to start his professional career in football.

PERSONAL LIFE

Diego married his long-time girlfriend Sofia, whom he met during a match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid when Sofia was trying to get a ticket of the match. Sofia is a graduate of Scuola Italiana di Montevideo. She is also the daughter of former football star Jose Herrera. The Couple tied knot on 26 December 2018

PROFESSIONAL LIFE

After spending three years in C.A Cerro he was transferred to the Primera Divison powerhouse Club Nacional de Football, where he quickly became the caption of the team due to his maturity and professionalism. In August 2007 he signed a three-year deal with the La Liga side Villarreal CF, he played 24 matches for the club. In 2010 his career took a major turn when he joined the club Atletico Madrid on 4^th August 2010.

The club brought him for around eight Million Euros, he played his first match for the club against the Inter Milan in a win by 2-0 for the UEFA Super Cup. Diego then signed the fresh contract again on 1^st November 2013 that keep him in the club till 2018. Playing for the club he netted four league goals during the campaign which helped (including one against the FC Barcelona to equalize the match score by 1-1) his team to conquer its first-ever league title in 18 years. After a week he netted a crucial role-taking his team in the final match of UEFA Champions League against the Real Madrid but unfortunately lost the game by 4-1. After his 315^th match against the Villarreal on 28^th October 2017, he became the only foreign player of the club who appeared in the most number of matches for the club, through surpassing Luis Perea. He was also nominated for the 2016 and 2018 Ballon d’Or awards. After serving nine years for the club he announces his departure from the club, on his last match against Sevilla FC that ended in a draw, he symbolically handed over the caption armband to Koke.

His presence at the Atletico Madrid saw the team winning two Europa League trophies, one La Liga trophy and two Champions League final entry where they lost to city rivals Real Madrid. On 1^st July 2019, he joined the Inter Milan for free on a three-year deal, it was reported that he had already agreed to a pre-contract in January. Diego joined the Uruguay national team at the age of 19, he played his first international match in May 2006. Playing for the national team he represented in the 2007 Copa America, 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2011 Copa AmericaAemrica win the team eventually won, 2013 FIFA Confederations cup, 2014 FIFA Cup. In 2015 he was named as a caption for Uruguay’s defense of the Copa America during the 2015 continental tournament in Chile. He was also the part of the team that participated in the 2018 World Cup, on March 25, 2019, he made his 126^th appearance internationally against Thailand at 2019 China Cup.

Clubs	Season
Cerro	2003-06
Nacional	2006-07
Villarreal	2007-10
Atletico Madrid	2010-19
Inter Milian	2019-current

HONORS

Atlético Madrid

La Liga: 2013–14
Copa del Rey: 2012–13
Supercopa de España: 2014runner-up: 2013
UEFA Europa League: 2011–12, 2017–18
UEFA Super Cup: 2010, 2012, 2018
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2013–14, 2015–16

INTERNATIONAL HONORS:

Uruguay

Copa América: 2011

ACHIEVEMENTS:

La Liga Player of the Month: April 2014, May 2014
La Liga Team of the Season: 2013–14, 2015–16
UEFA Champions LeagueSquad of the Season: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17
UEFA Team of the Year: 2014
UEFA Champions League Team of the Group Stage: 2015
La Liga Best Defender: 2015–16
UEFA La Liga Team of the Season: 2015–16
ESM Team of the Year: 2015–16
FIFProWorld XI: Third Team 2016, 2018; Fourth Team 2014, 2017; Fifth Team 2015
UEFA Europa LeagueSquad of the Season: 2017–18
FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2018
IFFHS Men’s World Team: 2018

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS:

Height: 6ft 2in

Weight: 73 kg

Eye color: Black

Hair color: Black

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Full Name: Diego Roberto Godin Leal

Date of Birth: 16^th February 1986

Place of Birth: Uruguay

Playing Position: Center-back

Nickname: Caption

EDUCATION: Unkown

Relationships: Sofia Herrera

Kids: none

HOBBIES: Playing Football

CONTROVERSY

Inter Milan defender Diego Godin has slammed Juventus talisman Cristiano Ronaldo for his controversial ‘cojones’ celebration during the Bianconeri’s win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last season. He further added that the Portuguese forward was disrespectful when he infamously punched him during a Super Cup derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in 2014