Nicolás Otamendi has established himself as a solid and consistent defender under Pep Guardiola’s tutelage at Manchester City . Despite being signed by Guardiola’s predecessor Manuel Pellegrini, it took some time to find consistency. After the arrival of the Catalan manager, he saw his true potential, which became clear when he started at Vélez Sarsfield . That was the promise of his talent, he was called up to the national team by Diego Maradona when he had just made 11 professional appearances. Since then he has been the defensive linchpin of the Argentina team and has competed in several high-profile tournaments including the World Cup and Copa America.

Born name

Nicolas Hernan Gonzalo Otamendi

nickname

The Mohican, der General, Marshall, Kaiser

Sun sign

Aquarius

Place of birth

Buenos Aires, Argentina

nationality

training

Nicolás Otamendi decided to drop out of high school just a year before graduation as he wanted to focus fully on his football career.

He began his football journey at Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield youth academy .

occupation

Professional soccer player

family

• Father – unknown
• Mutter – Silvia
• Siblings – He has 3 older siblings.

Manager

Nicolás Otamendi is represented by Martin Sendoa.

Position

centre-back

Shirt Number

28, 30, 19 – Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield

30. FC Porto, Clube Atlético Mineiro, Manchester City

20 – Clube Atlético Mineiro

23 – FC Valencia

2, 4, 13, 15, 17 – Argentina national team

To build

Athletic

Height

5 feet 11¼ inches or 181 cm

weight

74 kg

girlfriend/spouse

Nicolás Otamendi is a very private person and has refused to allow the public spotlight to rest on his private life. He is married and has three daughters – Morena, Mia and Valentín.

race/ethnicity

Hispanic

hair colour

dark brown

eye color

dark brown

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

tattoos

brand promotion

Nicolás Otamendi has signed a personal endorsement deal with Nike . Because of the deal, he wears Nike boots for his professional games.

Known for

• An integral part of Manchester City after joining the club in 2015, he has established himself as a regular starter with the team and has also managed to win several trophies with the club.
• His successful stint at FC Porto . During his four-year stint with the Portuguese club, he managed to win three domestic titles, a UEFA Europa League and a Taça de Portugal.

First football game

In May 2008, he made his professional debut with Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield in a Clausura tournament match against Rosario Central . His team won the game 2-1.

In September 2010, he made his first appearance for FC Porto in a league match against SC Olhanense . He scored his side’s first goal in the first minute in a 2–0 win.

In September 2015, Otamendi made his debut for Manchester City in the Champions League group stage against Juventus FC . He had replaced club captain Vincent Kompany in the 75th minute in a 2–1 loss.

In May 2009, he made his first international appearance for the Argentina national team in a friendly against Panama . Argentina won the game 3-1.

First TV show

In 2010, Nicolás Otamendi made his first TV show appearance on the comedy talk show, Caiga Quien Caiga – CQC .

Strengthen

• pass
• tackle
• Strength
• Aggressive play style
• positioning
• Mut

weaknesses

• air duel
• He might lose focus at times.

Nicolás Otamendi Actually

1. He briefly flirted with the idea of ​​becoming a boxer when he was playing for Vélez Sarsfield in the U15 team . However, he soon focused on his game again.
2. His first major break came in the 2009 Clausura season when new signing Sarsfield coach Ricardo Gareca asked Otamendi to replace Waldo Ponce in the third game of the season after Ponce had injured himself while playing for the Chilean national team.
3. In the 2009 Clausura season, he played all the remaining games of the season, meaning he missed only two games out of a total of 19 games. His club also won the Clausura title.
4. In recognition of his strong performances in the 2009 season, he was included in the South American Team of the Year which is chosen based on a poll of continent-wide journalists traditionally conducted by the newspaper, El País .
5. In August 2010 he was bought by FC Porto from Velez . The Portuguese club paid a €4m transfer fee to acquire 50% of its representation rights. They paid the same amount in September 2011 to purchase the remaining rights of his representation.
6. In his first season with the Portuguese national team, he made 15 league appearances, scoring 5 goals as his side raced towards the title.
7. In February 2014, Spanish club FC Valencia decided to pay 12 million euros to sign Otamendi from Porto . He signed a 5-year contract with the new club.
8. Immediately after signing Otamendi, Valencia decided to loan him to Clube Atlético Mineiro . He completed 19 appearances for the Brazilian team.
9. In October 2014, he scored his first professional goal for Valencia FC in a 3–1 win at Atletico Madrid.
10. In the 2014/15 season he made history while playing for Valencia becoming the first defender in club history to score 6 goals in the only La Liga season.
11. He was named La Liga Team of the Year at the end of the 2014-15 season. His performance helped his side qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 4 years.
12. He refused to coach Valencia in the 2015 pre-season when he grappled with club management’s intention to prevent his move from the club.
13. Manchester City announced in August 2015 that they had signed Otamendi from Valencia . They had paid the Spanish club an initial transfer fee of £28.5million.
14. He scored his first goal for Manchester City in October 2015 in his side’s home game against Norwich City . It was the first goal in City’s 2-1 win.
15. He scored his first goal for Argentina national team in September 2011 in a friendly against Venezuela. This was the only goal scored in that game.
16. His strong performances helped his national team reach the 2015 Copa America final. At the conclusion of the event he was named to the Team of the Tournament .
17. Follow Nicolás Otamendi on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.