Mele in 2017
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Santiago Andrés Mele Castañero | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1997-09-06) 6 September 1997 (age 26) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Atlético Junior | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 77 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Fénix | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Fénix | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Osmanlıspor | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | → Ankaragücü (loan) | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | → Lleida Esportiu (loan) | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2024 | Plaza Colonia | 40 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | → Unión Santa Fe (loan) | 48 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | → Atlético Junior (loan) | 20 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Atlético Junior | 21 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Uruguay U18 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Uruguay U20 | 28 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Uruguay U22 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Uruguay | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Santiago Andrés Mele Castañero (born 6 September 1997) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Categoría Primera A club Atlético Junior and the Uruguay national team.[1][2]
A youth academy graduate of Fénix, Mele made his professional debut on 30 August 2016 in a 1–0 loss against Cerro.[3]
On 4 September 2017, Turkish top division club Osmanlıspor announced the signing of Mele on a five-year deal.[4] He was immediately loaned out to second division club Ankaragücü for 2017–18 season.[5] However, with Korcan Çelikay and Altay Bayındır ahead of him in pecking order, he didn't receive any playing minutes.[6]
Mele's loan was cut short in following January and he subsequently got loaned out to Spanish third division side Lleida Esportiu.[7] With Diego Rivas Rego as first-choice goalkeeper, Mele failed to find playing minutes again.
Two years after joining the club, Mele made his debut for Osmanlıspor on 17 August 2019 in a 2–1 win against Boluspor.[8]
Mele is a former Uruguay youth international. He was part of Uruguay under-20 team which won the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and finished fourth at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[2] He was also part of the Uruguay under-22 team which finished fourth at the 2019 Pan American Games.[9]
On 21 October 2022, Mele was named in Uruguay's 55-man preliminary squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[10] He made his senior team debut on 28 March 2023 in a 2–1 win against South Korea.[11]
In June 2024, Mele was named in Uruguay's 26-man squad for the 2024 Copa América.[12]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fénix | 2016 | Uruguayan Primera División | 6 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Osmanlıspor | 2017–18 | Süper Lig | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | TFF First League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Ankaragücü (loan) | 2017–18 | TFF First League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Lleida Esportiu (loan) | 2017–18 | Segunda División B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Plaza Colonia | 2020 | Uruguayan Primera División | 19 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Career total | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2023 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Atlético Junior
Uruguay U20
Individual
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Atlético Junior – current squad
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