Johan Mojica
Mojica with Colombia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Johan Andrés Mojica Palacio[1]
Date of birth (1992-08-21) 21 August 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth Cali, Colombia
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Osasuna
(on loan from Villarreal)
Number 22
Youth career
Academia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Academia 33 (0)
2012–2014 Llaneros 17 (0)
2013 → Deportivo Cali (loan) 14 (0)
2013–2014 → Rayo Vallecano (loan) 12 (0)
2014–2018 Rayo Vallecano 6 (0)
2014–2016 → Valladolid (loan) 64 (9)
2017–2018 → Girona (loan) 40 (0)
2018–2021 Girona 34 (0)
2020–2021 → Atalanta (loan) 11 (0)
2021 → Elche (loan) 17 (0)
2021–2022 Elche 36 (2)
2022– Villarreal 17 (0)
2023– → Osasuna (loan) 2 (0)
International career‡
2015– Colombia 22 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 August 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 July 2023

Johan Andrés Mojica Palacio (born 21 August 1992) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays for as a left-back for La Liga club Osasuna, on loan from Villarreal, and the Colombia national team.

Mojica began his football career in Colombia with second division side Academia before joining league counterpart Llaneros in 2012. Over the next two years, he had loan periods with Deportivo Cali and La Liga side Rayo Vallecano. In 2014, Mojica was permanently signed by Rayo, however, he did not play much games with the club and was loaned out that same year to Real Valladolid. Notably, Mojica was included in the 2014–15 Segunda División Team of the Year for his efforts with Valladolid. In January 2017, he was loaned to second-tier club Girona FC, where he helped the team achieve promotion to the first division. Consequently, Mojica's loan was renewed for a further year and he eventually signed a four-year contract with the club in June 2018. He was loaned out to Serie A side Atalanta in September 2020, with a buyout clause. In January 2021, his loan with the club was terminated early and Mojica returned to Spain on loan, joining La Liga side Elche CF for the remainder of that season. That same year, Mojica was bought outright by Elche and signed a three-year contract with the club. In September 2022, he moved to Villarreal on a four-year contract.

Mojica made his senior debut for Colombia in March 2015, and was chosen by José Pékerman for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Colombia

Born in Cali, Mojica began his career with Academia FC, making his first team debut on 25 June 2011, against Expreso Rojo.[2] Johan Mojica was a part of the Deportivo Cali youth system, known for its output of international players.

He retained a starting spot before moving to Llaneros FC. In January 2013, Mojica signed with Deportivo Cali.[3] On 30 March, he made his Categoría Primera A debut, against Itagüí.[4]

Rayo Vallecano

On 5 July 2013, Mojica moved to Spain, signing a one-year loan contract with Rayo Vallecano.[5] He made his official – and La Liga – debut on 15 September, coming on as a 69th minute substitute for Sebastián Fernández in a 5–0 away loss against Málaga.

Mojica featured in 12 matches during the campaign, as the Madrid side achieved a comfortable mid-table finish. On 28 July 2014, he signed a permanent four-year deal with Rayo, and was immediately loaned to Real Valladolid.[6]

Mojica was also converted to a left winger during the process,[7] and also scored a brace in a 7–0 home routing over FC Barcelona B on 21 December 2014. On 6 August 2015, his loan was extended for another year.[8]

Girona

On 31 January 2017, Mojica was loaned to fellow second tier club Girona FC until the end of the season.[9] After achieving promotion to the main category, his loan was renewed for a further year on 18 August.[10]

On 29 June 2018, Mojica was bought outright by the Catalans, signing a contract until 2022.[11]

Atalanta (loan)

On 22 September 2020, Mojica was loaned to Serie A side Atalanta for the season, with a buyout clause.[12] He made a total of 13 appearances for the club and did not score any goals.

Elche

On 15 January 2021, Mojica's loan to Atalanta was terminated early,[13] and he was loaned to La Liga side Elche for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[14] On 8 August, he signed a permanent three-year deal with the club.[15]

Villarreal

On 1 September 2022, Mojica signed a four-year contract with fellow top tier side Villarreal, for a reported fee of €5.5 million.[16][17] He made his debut for the club on 8 September, in a 4–3 home win over Lech Poznan, in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage; Mojica played the full 90 minutes and assisted the Yellow Submarine's first goal, scored by Samuel Chukwueze.[18]

Osasuna (loan)

On 26 July 2023, La Liga side Osasuna announced the signing of Mojica on a season-long loan from Villarreal, with no future option to buy. The Pamplona club paid a €100.000 loan fee.[19]

International career

On 22 March 2015, Mojica was called up by Colombia national team for the friendlies against Bahrain and Kuwait.[20] He made his international debut four days later, coming on as a second half substitute for Juan Fernando Quintero and scoring the fifth in a 6–0 win.[21]

He was included in Colombia's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[22] He started in all of Colombia's matches, including the round of 16 match against England, where Colombia lost 3–4 on penalties following a 1–1 draw.[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 June 2023[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Academia 2011 Primera B 19 0 4 0 — — 23 0
2012 Primera B 14 0 10 0 — — 24 0
Total 33 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 47 0
Llaneros 2012 Primera B 17 0 0 0 — — 17 0
Deportivo Cali (loan) 2013 Primera A 14 0 6 0 — — 20 0
Rayo Vallecano (loan) 2013–14 La Liga 12 0 3 0 — — 15 0
Rayo Vallecano 2016–17 Segunda División 6 0 1 0 — — 7 0
Total 18 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 22 0
Valladolid (loan) 2014–15 Segunda División 33 7 4 0 — 2[a] 0 39 7
2015–16 Segunda División 31 2 0 0 — — 31 2
Total 64 9 4 0 0 0 2 0 70 9
Girona (loan) 2016–17 Segunda División 10 0 0 0 — — 10 0
2017–18 La Liga 30 0 2 1 — — 32 1
Girona 2018–19 La Liga 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2019–20 Segunda División 33 0 0 0 — 3[a] 0 36 0
Total 74 0 2 1 0 0 3 0 79 1
Atalanta (loan) 2020–21 Serie A 11 0 0 0 2[b] 0 — 13 0
Elche (loan) 2020–21 La Liga 17 0 0 0 — — 17 0
Elche 2021–22 La Liga 33 2 1 0 — — 34 2
2022–23 La Liga 3 0 0 0 — — 3 0
Total 53 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 54 2
Villarreal 2022–23 La Liga 17 0 3 0 7[c] 0 — 27 0
Career total 301 11 34 1 9 0 5 0 349 12
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in La Liga play-offs
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 24 March 2023[25]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Colombia 2015 2 1
2018 6 0
2019 1 0
2020 4 0
2021 4 0
2022 4 0
2023 1 0
Total 22 1
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mojica goal.[25]
List of international goals scored by Johan Mojica
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 March 2015 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain  Bahrain 5–0 6–0 Friendly

References

  1. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Colombia" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2019.
  2. ^ Ficha del partido: Academia F.C. 1 – 1 Expreso Rojo (Match report: Academia F.C. 1–1 Expreso Rojo) Archived 19 July 2013 at archive.today; Academia's official website, 11 September 2012 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Johan Mojica, la cuota de juventud en la defensa del Deportivo Cali (Johan Mojica, the quote of youthfulness for Deportivo Cali's defence) Archived 12 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine; El País, 13 January 2013 (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Itagüí 0–3 Deportivo Cali: Leonel Álvarez doblegó a su legado (Itagüí 0–3 Deportivo Cali: Leonel Álvarez overcame his legacy); ESPN FC, 2 April 2011
  5. ^ Johan Mojica llega cedido al Rayo (Johan Mojica arrives on loan to Rayo); Marca, 5 July 2012 (in Spanish)
  6. ^ Mojica jugador del Rayo cuatro temporadas Mojica jugador del Rayo cuatro temporadas (Mojica, Rayo player for four seasons) Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine; Rayo Vallecano, 28 July 2014 (in Spanish)
  7. ^ Mojica: "Soy jugador de Primera" (Mojica: "I am a Primera player); Marca, 6 November 2014 (in Spanish)
  8. ^ Mojica seguirá en el Pucela (Mojica will remain at Pucela); Real Valladolid, 6 August 2015 (in Spanish)
  9. ^ Johan Mojica, nou jugador del Girona (Johan Mojica, new player of Girona); Girona FC, 31 January 2017 (in Catalan)
  10. ^ Mojica torna a Girona (Mojica returns to Girona); Girona FC, 18 August 2017 (in Catalan)
  11. ^ El Girona FC y Mojica, juntos hasta 2022 (Girona FC and Mojica, together until 2022); Girona FC, 29 June 2018 (in Spanish)
  12. ^ "Girona i Atalanta acorden la cessió de Johan Mojica" [Girona and Atalanta agree the loan of Johan Mojica] (in Catalan). Girona FC. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Ufficiale: Risolto il trasferimento temporaneo di Mojica". calcioatalanta.it (in Italian). 15 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Johan Mojica, nuevo fichaje del Elche CF" (in Spanish). Elche – Web Oficial. 15 January 2021.
  15. ^ "OFICIAL | Johan Mojica firma para las tres próximas temporadas" [OFFICIAL | Johan Mojica signs for the following three seasons] (in Spanish). Elche CF. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Welcome, Johan Mojica!". Villarreal CF. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Villarreal complete Mojica signing to strengthen defence". Villarreal USA. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  18. ^ "UEFA Conference League: Chukwueze scores, bags assist in Villarreal's win vs Lech Poznan". Daily Post Nigeria. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  19. ^ "Osasuna logra la cesión de Mojica" [Osasuna achieves the loan of Mojica]. CA Osasuna - Web Oficial (in Spanish). 26 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Estaba esperando el llamado a la selección Colombia": Johan Mojica ("I was waiting for the call of the Colombia national team": Johan Mojica) Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine; El País, 22 March 2015 (in Spanish)
  21. ^ Colombia goleó 6–0 a Bahrein con doblete de Radamel Falcao, en partido amistoso (Colombia thrashed Bahrein by 6–0 with a Radamel Falcao double, in a friendly match). Archived 28 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Libero. 26 March 2015 (in Spanish).
  22. ^ "Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez named in Colombia's World Cup squad | Goal.com". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018.
  23. ^ "Colombia vs. England - Football Match Summary - July 3, 2018 - ESPN".
  24. ^ Johan Mojica at Soccerway
  25. ^ a b "Player profile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 31 March 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johan Mojica.
CA Osasuna – current squad
Colombia squad – 2018 FIFA World Cup
2014–15 Segunda División Team of the Year
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