María Fernanda Zúñiga

María Fernanda Zúñiga
Personal information
Full name	María Fernanda Zúñiga Cifuentes
Date of birth	12 September 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Chile
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Unión Española [es]
Youth career
	Palestino [es]
Senior career*
Years	Team
2015–2018	Palestino [es]
2019–2022	Universidad de Chile
2023	Estudiantes
2024–	Unión Española [es]
International career
2013	Chile U17
2015	Chile U20
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

María Fernanda Zúñiga Cifuentes (born 12 September 1997) is a Chilean footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Unión Española^[es].

Club career

As a child, Zúñiga played against male players at both her neighbourhood and SIFUP^[es], the trade union of professional football players in Chile.^[2]

At club level, she began her career with Palestino^[es] from 2015 to 2018.^[3]

In 2019, she switched to Universidad de Chile, signing her first professional contract in February 2022.^[4]

In 2023, she moved to Argentina and joined Estudiantes de La Plata in the Primera División A,^[3] making her debut against Estudiantes de Buenos Aires^[es].^[2] The next season, she returned to Chile and joined Unión Española^[es].^[5]

International career

Having taken part in several trials with the Chile national team at youth level since 2011,^[6] she represented the under-17's in the 2013 South American Championship^[7] and the under-20's in the 2015 South American Championship.^[6]^[8]

Personal life

She is nicknamed Paco^[6] or Pakito.^[3]

References

^ "María Fernanda Zúñiga Cifuentes". estudiantesdelaplata.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b Maldonado, Víctor (13 April 2023). "Jugó contra hombres, pasó por la U y hoy brilla en Argentina: "Acá es más exigente"". AS Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "FÚTBOL FEMENINO: REFUERZO INTERNACIONAL PARA ESTUDIANTES". Infocielo (in Spanish). 20 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
^ Loma-Osorio, Antonio (16 February 2022). "La U Femenina suma nuevos contratos: dos piezas claves del plantel serán profesionales". En Cancha (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.
^ Molina, Geraldine (9 February 2024). "Unión Española fortalece su plantel y confirma sus primeros 10 fichajes". Contragolpe (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "LOS ÁNGELES CUSTODIOS DE LAS CHICAS DE ROJO SUB 20". ANFP (in Spanish). 20 November 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
^ "Nóminas de Chile para Campeonatos Sudamericanos Femeninos Sub-17". Partidos de La Roja (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.
^ "Nóminas de Chile para Campeonatos Sudamericanos Femeninos Sub-20". Partidos de La Roja (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.

External links

María Fernanda Zúñiga at Soccerway
María Fernanda Zúñiga at PlaymakerStats.com

[1] "María Fernanda Zúñiga Cifuentes". estudiantesdelaplata.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.

[maldonado-2] Maldonado, Víctor (13 April 2023). "Jugó contra hombres, pasó por la U y hoy brilla en Argentina: "Acá es más exigente"". AS Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.

[infocielo-3] "FÚTBOL FEMENINO: REFUERZO INTERNACIONAL PARA ESTUDIANTES". Infocielo (in Spanish). 20 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

[4] Loma-Osorio, Antonio (16 February 2022). "La U Femenina suma nuevos contratos: dos piezas claves del plantel serán profesionales". En Cancha (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.

[5] Molina, Geraldine (9 February 2024). "Unión Española fortalece su plantel y confirma sus primeros 10 fichajes". Contragolpe (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2024.

[anfp-6] "LOS ÁNGELES CUSTODIOS DE LAS CHICAS DE ROJO SUB 20". ANFP (in Spanish). 20 November 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

[7] "Nóminas de Chile para Campeonatos Sudamericanos Femeninos Sub-17". Partidos de La Roja (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.

[8] "Nóminas de Chile para Campeonatos Sudamericanos Femeninos Sub-20". Partidos de La Roja (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023.

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