Keylor Navas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 7/2014
Personal information
Full name:
Keylor Antonio Navas Gamboa-Coser
Date of birth:
15 December 1986
Place of birth:
San Isidro, Costa Rica
Height:
1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position:
Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team:
Levante
Number:
1
Youth career
Saprissa
Senior career*
Saprissa:
2005-2010
60x apps / 0 xgoals
Albacete:
2010-2012
36x apps / 0x goals
→ Levante (loan):
2011-2012
1x apps / 0x goals
Levante:
2012-
46x apps / 0x goals
National team
Costa Rica U17:
2003
3x apps / 0x goals
Costa Rica:
2008-
58x apps / 0x goals
* (appearances national team caps and goals correct as of 5 July 2014)
Keylor Antonio Navas Gamboa, born 15 December 1986, is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays for Levante UD in Spain as a goalkeeper.
After starting out at Saprissa he went on to spend most of his career in Spain, appearing with Levante in La Liga.
A full Costa Rican international since 2008, Navas gained more than 60 caps, representing the country at the 2014 World Cup and two Gold Cups.
Club career
Born in San Isidro de El General, Navas made his professional debut with Deportivo Saprissa on 6 November 2005, in a league match against Asociación Deportiva Carmelita.
He was first-choice in his two final seasons with the club, winning seven major titles including six national championships.
In July 2010 Navas signed with Albacete Balompié from Spain, exactly 20 years after countryman Luis Conejo who occupied the same position.
He only missed six second division games out of 42 during the season, but his team suffered relegation after finishing dead last.
In the 2011-12 campaign Navas reached La Liga, being loaned to Levante UD for one year.
He made his debut in the competition on 13 May 2012 in the last matchday, featuring in a 3:0 home win against Athletic Bilbao that confirmed the club's first ever qualification to the UEFA Europa League.
The move was subsequently made permanent, and he acted as backup to Gustavo Munúa in his first two seasons, becoming a starter afterwards.
Navas was part of the Costa Rican squad that played in the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Finland.
He was called to the full national team for the first time in August 2006, to play a friendly tournament in Europe against Austria and Switzerland, but he only gained his first cap two years later.
Navas appeared with Los Ticos in two CONCACAF Gold Cup editions, being crowned the best goalkeeper in 2009 to help his country to the semifinals.
He made his debut in the FIFA World Cup on 14 June 2014, appearing in a 3:1 group stage win against Uruguay in Fortaleza, and only conceded that time in the first three contests in an eventual qualification to the round-of-16 after ranking first.
On the 29th, in the last-16 game against Greece, he was named Man of the match after several saves in regulation time and a stop to Theofanis Gekas' penalty shootout attempt, with Costa Rica reaching the quarter-finals for the first time ever.