- Maynor Figueroa
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This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Figueroa and the second or maternal family name is Róchez.
Maynor Figueroa 
Maynor Figueroa playing for Wigan AthleticPersonal information Full name Maynor Alexis Figueroa Róchez[1] Date of birth 2 May 1983 [1] Place of birth Jutiapa, Honduras Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [2] Playing position Left back/Centre back Club information Current club Wigan Athletic Number 31 Youth career 1993–1999 Victoria Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1999–2003 Victoria 24 (2) 2003–2008 Olimpia 100 (6) 2008 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 31 (0) 2008– Wigan Athletic 77 (2) National team‡ 1999–2003 Honduras U-20 3 (1) 2001–2003 Honduras U-23 8 (0) 2003– Honduras 78 (2) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 May 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 April 2011Maynor Alexis Figueroa Róchez (born 2 May 1983 in Jutiapa, Honduras) is a Honduran footballer who plays as a left back for Premier League club Wigan Athletic.
Contents
Career
Club career
Born in Jutiapa, Atlántida Department,[1] Figueroa started his career with Victoria, before moving to Olimpia in 2003. He later became club captain. In 2007, Figueroa received offers from Major League Soccer clubs, one of which was revealed to be New England Revolution, but Olimpia's administrator, Osman Madrid, turned down all the offers. Figueroa has had previous interest from foreign clubs aside from those in the MLS. Club Toluca of Mexico being one of those making offers during 2007. However, during an interview, Madrid indicated the terms sought by other teams had been neither agreeable nor economically favourable to Olimpia or Figueroa.
Wigan Athletic
On 20 December 2007, Honduran newspaper El Heraldo reported that, as a result of interest expressed by the Premier League club Wigan Athletic, Figueroa would be travelling to England. In January 2008, Figueroa joined Wigan on loan for the rest of the 2007–08 season.[3] In July 2008, after a complicated process involving work permit and visa issues, Figueroa rejoined Wigan on loan for a further six months, after which Wigan had the option to make the deal permanent.[4]
On 23 December 2008, Wigan announced Figueroa had signed a three-and-a-half-year contract to join the club permanently.[5] He scored his first goal for Wigan on 11 January 2009. He scored a close range header to secure a late winner against Tottenham Hotspur.[6] On 12 December 2009, Figueroa scored a goal against Stoke City from his own half to put Wigan in the lead. Figueroa noticed Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen off his line at a free kick and struck the ball quickly to send the ball soaring over Sørensen and into the net.[7] Although the match ended 2–2, Figueroa made the headlines the following day, with Alan Hansen calling it a candidate for Goal of the Season.[8] Indeed, Figueroa's goal was chosen as Match of the Day's Goal of the Season for 2009–10. By the end of the 2009–10 campaign, he had made 81 appearances and scored twice in all competitions for Wigan. On 26 February 2011, he made his 100th Premier League appearance, playing the full 90 minutes at left-back in a 4–0 defeat against Manchester United at the DW Stadium.
The 2010-11 campaign proved difficult for Wigan and Figueroa. However he scored a fantastic goal against fellow relegation struggling side Birmingham City F.C. on 19 March 2011 that led to a 2-1 win for Wigan.[9] On the last day of the season, Wigan needed to win and have results go their way in order to secure Premier League safety. Figueroa provided the breakthrough for the away side in the 78th minute, setting up Hugo Rodallega to win the game 1-0 at Stoke City and confirm Wigan's safety in the Premier League.
International career
Figueroa made his debut for Honduras in 2003 and has since gone on to make 76 international appearances, scoring two goals in the process, against Belize and Cuba. He was part of the Honduras squad at the 2005 and 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cups. He was also named in the 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Figueroa played out of position as a centre back at the World Cup, due to the form of Emilio Izaguirre. Figueroa also represented Honduras at U-20 and U-23 level from 1999 to 2003 and 2001 to 2003 respectively, scoring once in 3 games for the U-20s and failing to score in eight outings with the U-23 side.
Style of play
He is mostly known for his accurate left foot, powerful shot and long throw-in ability, as well as his corner and free kick taking.
Personal life
Figueroa is married to Sandra Norales, a handball player who is also an international with the Honduras women's national handball team or Federación Hondureña de Balonmano (FEHBALM).[10]
References
- ^ a b c "Figueroa". FootballDatabase. http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=player&Id=1688&pn=Maynor_Alexis_Figueroa_R%C3%B3chez. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/page/PlayerProfile/0,,12306~42782,00.html. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ "Wigan swoop for defender Figueroa". BBC Sport. 2008-01-17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/7194758.stm. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
- ^ "It Fig-ures". Wigan Athletic F.C.. 2008-07-29. http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10429~1353315,00.html. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
- ^ "Figueroa wraps up move to Wigan". BBC Sport. 2008-12-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/7763493.stm. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (2009-01-11). "Wigan 1–0 Tottenham". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7808366.stm. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
- ^ Percy, John (2009-12-14). "Maynor Figueroa halfway to Wigan paradise". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article6955117.ece. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ Fletcher, Paul (2009-12-12). "Stoke 2–2 Wigan". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/8401760.stm. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
- ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/292838?cc=5901
- ^ "Honduras: World Cup 2010 team guide". guardian.co.uk. 2010-06-05. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/05/honduras-world-cup-2010-team-guide. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
External links
- Maynor Figueroa career stats at Soccerbase
- Maynor Figueroa at National-Football-Teams.com
- Official website
Honduras squad – 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup 
Honduras squad – 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 Puerto • 2 • 3 Figueroa • 4 Caballero • 5 E. Vallecillo • 6 Mendoza • 7 E. Martínez • 8 Palacios • 9 Pavón • 10 de León • 11 J. Martínez • 12 O. Vallecillo • 13 Costly • 14 García • 15 W. Martínez • 16 Oliva • 17 Alvarez • 18 Claros • 19 Rodríguez • 20 Guevara • 21 Izaguirre • 22 Morales • 23 Guerrero • 24 Santamaría • Coach: RuedaHonduras squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Canales • 2 Chávez • 3 Figueroa • 4 J. Palacios • 5 Bernárdez • 6 Thomas • 7 Núñez • 8 W. Palacios • 9 Pavón • 10 J.N. Palacios • 11 Suazo • 12 Welcome • 13 Espinoza • 14 García • 15 Martínez • 16 Sabillón • 17 Álvarez • 18 Valladares • 19 Turcios • 20 Guevara (c) • 21 Izaguirre • 22 Escober • 23 Mendoza • Coach: RuedaHonduras squad – 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finalists 1 Vallecillo • 2 Chávez • 3 Figueroa • 4 Leverón • 5 Bernárdez • 6 Thomas • 7 E. Martínez • 8 Palacios • 9 Bengtson • 10 Núñez • 12 Mejía • 13 Costly • 14 O. García • 15 W. Martínez • 16 Sabillón • 17 Espinoza • 18 Valladares • 19 Portillo • 21 J. Garcia • 22 Escober • 23 Delgado • 24 Beckeles • 25 Hernández • Coach: SuárezWigan Athletic F.C. – current squad 1 Kirkland · 2 Gohouri · 3 Alcaraz · 4 McCarthy · 5 Caldwell · 6 Thomas · 7 Crusat · 8 Watson · 9 Di Santo · 10 Maloney · 11 Moses · 12 Pollitt · 13 Nicholls · 14 Gómez · 15 McManaman · 16 McArthur · 17 Boyce · 18 Sammon · 19 Jones · 20 Rodallega · 21 Diamé · 22 Van Aanholt · 23 Stam · 24 López · 26 Al-Habsi · 30 Dicko · 31 Figueroa · Manager: Martínez
Categories:- 1983 births
- Living people
- Honduran footballers
- Honduran people of Black African descent
- Honduras international footballers
- Honduran expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Association football defenders
- Club Deportivo Olimpia footballers
- Victoria players
- Wigan Athletic F.C. players
- Premier League players
- Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Honduras footballers
- 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2010 FIFA World Cup players
- 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
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