Dona (beach soccer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Donaire and the second or maternal family name is López.
Dona
Dona at the 2021 World Cup.
Personal information
Full name Francisco Jesús Donaire López
Date of birth (1982-08-16) 16 August 1982 (age 41)
Place of birth Granada, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
International career‡
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006– Spain 330
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 August 2022[2]

Francisco Jesús Donaire López (born 16 August 1982), known simply as Dona, is a Spanish beach soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Spain national team. He has appeared at seven editions of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, winning the Golden Glove award in 2013.

Career[edit]

Dona was born in Granada but calls Almeria his hometown.[3][4]

He began playing beach soccer in 2000. He was trialled for the Spain national team in 2004 but was not picked at the time.[5] Eventually, Dona made his debut for Spain at the Copa Latina in December 2006,[5][6] during an era when Roberto Valeiro was Spain's primary goalkeeper.[7] He was then chosen for the 2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup;[1] Roberto was unable to make the tournament,[7] and Dona appeared in three of Spain's four matches at the event. Roberto stopped playing for Spain in 2010;[8] Spain next appeared at the World Cup in 2013 in which Dona was crucial in Spain's run to the final, winning the Golden Glove (best goalkeeper) award for his efforts and cementing himself as Spain's main goalkeeper in the process.[3] In 2014, he was voted by fellow international players and coaches[9] as the world's best goalkeeper at the inaugural Beach Soccer Stars awards ceremony,[10] ending the season on the verge of 200 caps for Spain.[11] By 2016, he had become the permanent captain of Spain.[6][12]

He reached 300 caps for Spain in a 5–4 extra time victory versus Italy at the 2021 World Cup qualifiers on 25 June 2021,[13][14] and was again nominated for best goalkeeper in the world at the 2022 Beach Soccer Stars awards,[15] this time finishing in the top three. Aged 40, Dona continued to prove his worth to the national team by saving three penalties in the shootout of the third place match versus Portugal at the 2023 European Games to secure the bronze medal,[16] and in continuing to win best goalkeeper awards during the season.[17] By being included in Spain's squad for the 2024 World Cup, Dona set a new joint record for longest time between first and most recent appearance at the World Cup (17 years, with Moslem Mesigar of Iran), overtaking the previous record holder, Belchior of Portugal (16 years).[18]

Statistics[edit]

Competition Year Apps Goals Ref.
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
Brazil 2007 3 0 [1]
France 2008 1 0 [2]
United Arab Emirates 2009 2 0 [3]
French Polynesia 2013 6 0 [4]
Portugal 2015 3 0 [5]
Russia 2021 3 0 [6]
United Arab Emirates 2024 3 1 [7]
Total 21 1 —

Honours[edit]

As of 2023.

The following is a selection, not an exhaustive list, of the major honours Dona has achieved:

Team[edit]

Individual[edit]

All are "best goalkeeper" awards unless stated:

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2016-11-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Pascual, Jose (8 September 2022). "Dona sigue aumentado su leyenda en el fútbol playa mundial". Radio Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Dona, elegido "Guante de Oro Adidas" del Mundial de Tahití". Royal Spanish Football Federation (in Spanish). 30 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  4. ^ Garcia, Nico (13 July 2012). "De la arena de la playa de El Zapillo al oro de Moscú". Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b ""Beach soccer has awoken something in me that football never did"". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Dona, capitán de la Selección de fútbol playa, celebra su primer Máster de porteros". Royal Spanish Football Federation (in Spanish). 29 January 2017. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Héroe sin medalla". La Opinión A Coruña [es] (in Spanish). 16 June 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Roberto Valeiro – Goalkeeping School". escueladeporteros.com. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  9. ^ Aguilera, Juanjo (26 October 2014). "A las puertas del cielo - Dona, nominado como mejor portero del mundo de fútbol playa, la Gala de las Estrellas de Beach Soccer". Ideal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Llorenç y Dona, en el equipo ideal del futbol playa mundial". Sport (in Spanish). 8 November 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  11. ^ ""Dona", el mejor portero del mundo". Nova Ciencia (in Spanish). 13 November 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  12. ^ Sanchez, Guillermo (11 July 2016). "Invictus.... España se consagra en Sanxenxo". Marca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  13. ^ Miralles, Carlos (27 June 2021). "Dona, histórico en la arena". La Voz de Almería (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  14. ^ Rozas, Rubén (27 June 2021). "El almeriense Dona logra el billete para la Copa del Mundo de fútbol playa". Radio Marca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  15. ^ "FÚTBOL PLAYA | Andrea Mirón, Chiky Ardil y Dona, nominados en los "Beach Soccer Stars 2022"". Royal Spanish Football Federation (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  16. ^ Gongora, Rafa (2 July 2023). "Dona para hasta las olas". La Voz de Almería (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  17. ^ Rozas, Ruben (16 October 2023). "El almeriense Dona, mejor portero del Mundialito de Fútbol Playa". Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  18. ^ The squads in stats. FIFA.com. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dona_(beach_soccer)&oldid=1212494028"