Federico Mancuello

Federico Andrés Mancuello (born 26 March 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as central midfielder for Argentine Primera División club Argentinos Juniors. Mancuello started his career at Independiente and had a brief loan at Belgrano during 2011–12 season. He moved to Flamengo at the beginning of the 2016 season. He also represented Argentina on two occasions scoring one goal.

Club career Early years Mancuello made his league debut for Independiente in a 1–2 home defeat by Arsenal de Sarandí on 14 December 2008. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 away defeat to Lanús on 5 April 2009. He scored again on 11 April in a 2–1 win over Huracán.

Loan to Belgrano After not being considered by Independiente's coach Antonio Mohamed in July 2011 Mancuello was loaned to Club Atlético Belgrano for one year. On 26 October he scored his first and only goal in a 1–0 victory against Tigre. In January 2012 Mancuello suffered an injury in a match of the Copa Argentina which kept him out of the fields for several weeks when he was being a key player of his team.

Return to Independiente For the 2012 Torneo Clausura, Mancuello returned to Independiente. His only goal that season came in a 2–1 victory against Liverpool in Uruguay, where he scored the equaliser. However, the club was relegated for the first time in his first season back.

Independiente were soon promoted back to the Primera División after only one season in the Nacional B where they finished third and Mancuello scored two goals. On 31 August 2014, Independiente faced their rivals Racing Club, but Mancuello scored to help Independiente to a 2–1 victory, saying it was "the most important goal of my career". After scoring 10 goals in 19 games in the 2014 season, Argentina manager Gerardo Martino stated that he would keep Mancuello in mind for future call-ups.

Flamengo 2016 season On January 6, 2016, Mancuello was signed by Brazilian club Flamengo for a fee of R$12 million. In the first half of the season Mancuello didn't perform as expected due to some injuries, playing all of his 12 matches as a starter and scoring 3 goals. As the 2016 Série A started he lost his status of starter, but established himself as of the most important substitutes of the team.

On 6 August 2016 Mancuello scored his first Série A goal in a 1–0 win against Atlético Paranaense in Kléber Andrade Stadium, the game-winner goal was scored in a beautiful back heel flick. On 28 August 2016, against Chapecoense, he substituted Éverton on the 62nd minute and scored his second Série A in the injury time, Flamengo won the match 3–1 at Arena Condá. His third Série A goal was, once again, a game-winner, this time against Cruzeiro in a beautiful placed shot in the 87th minute. In his first season at Flamengo, Mancuello made 36 appearances and scored five goals in all competitions.

International career On March 20, 2015, Mancuello was called up by Argentine coach Gerardo Martino for the friendly matches against El Salvador on March 28 and Ecuador on March 31, 2015. He made his debut against El Salvador at Fedex Field, replacing Ángel Di María in the second half and scoring a debut goal from a free kick at the end of the match. In May, he was selected for the preliminary squad for the 2015 Copa América but he wasn't considered for the definitive draft.

Career statistics Club career

International career Date Venue Opponent Final score Goal Result Competition Ref 1. 28 March 2015 Fedex Field, Landover, Maryland, USA 2–0 1 Win Friendly

Honours Independiente Copa Sudamericana: 2010

Flamengo Campeonato Carioca: 2017

Cruzeiro Copa do Brasil: 2018 Campeonato Mineiro: 2018