Luis Ernesto Michel

Personal information
Full name	Luis Ernesto Michel Vergara
Date of birth	July 21, 1979 (1979-07-21) (age 30)
Place of birth	El Grullo , Jalisco, Mexico
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Guadalajara
Number	1
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps (Gls)†
1999–2003	CD Tapatio	031 0(0)
2003–	Guadalajara	094 0(0)
2004–2005	→ Santos Laguna (loan)	002 0(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of July 1, 2008. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of September 2, 2007

Luis Ernesto Michel Vergara (born July 21, 1979 in El Grullo, Jalisco) is a Mexican professional footballer, currently playing for Chivas de Guadalajara as their starting goalkeeper, wearing jersey #1.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Michel's Attire 3 Nicknames 4 Season-ending Injury 5 Club Honours 5.1 Chivas 6 External links

[edit] Biography

Michel debuted against Irapuato, replacing the suspended starting keeper Oswaldo Sánchez on September 24, with Chivas winning 3–2. Three years later, Michel found himself playing in the Clausura 2006 playoffs, when the usual second-choice keeper, Alfredo Talavera, was not playing well and head coach José Manuel de la Torre gave the starting spot to Michel, who wore #31. Luis Ernesto played well, despite receiving 6 goals in 3 games, and being eliminated by Pachuca on an injury-time goal, but he proved that he could be an effective substitute for Sánchez. Months later, Michel played in the Copa Libertadores for 2006, playing in the first match against Veléz Sarsfield of Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Luis Michel will be getting married December 11,2009 in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has a brother that is a well known Doctor in Guadalajara. His family is originally from El Grullo, Jalisco. As a kid, he split his time between Guadalajara and El grullo where he played in the local soccer leagues as a goal keeper.

After Sánchez was dealt away to Santos Laguna for the Clausura 2007 tournament, Michel was promoted to starting goalkeeper, wearing jersey #23. After months of playing, they switched his jersey number to #1.

[edit] Michel's Attire

In the Clausura 2006 playoffs, Luis Ernesto Michel traditionally wore a red goalie uniform, earning him the nicknames "El Diablo" (The Devil) and "El Coloradito" (The Little Red One). After wearing a white goalie jersey on occasions during the 2007 season, he switched to an all-black uniform, leading some fans to call him "El Caballero Negro" (The Dark Knight).

[edit] Nicknames

Michel is known to his teammates as "Michelito", but to many fans, he's known as "El Gato" for his cat-like aggressiveness. Despite his predecessor's popularity, Michel's goalkeeping style, which is similar to that of Sánchez, has earned him the nickname "Fray Michel" (Friar Michel), since he was the understudy to "San Oswaldo" (St. Oswaldo).

[edit] Season-ending Injury

During a Superliga match against Atlante F.C., he suffered a double fracture on the radius and ulna bones in his forearm after erroneously diving to save a loose ball. Michel was ruled out for the Apertura 2008 season by doctors, making him miss his chance to play with his national team. However, Michel made his comeback, and won the Interliga 2009.

[edit] Club Honours

[edit] Chivas

• Primera Division de Mexico: Apertura 2006
• InterLiga: 2009
• Best Goalkeeper in Apertura 2007, Clausura 2008

[edit] External links

• Luis Ernesto Michel stats at MedioTiempo.com (Spanish)

v • d • e Club Deportivo Guadalajara – current squad 1 Michel · 2 de Luna · 3 Galindo · 4 Reynoso · 5 Araujo · 6 Esparza · 7 Pineda · 8 Fabián · 9 Arellano · 10 Medina · 11 Morales · 13 Ávila · 14 J. Hernández · 16 Solís · 17 Ponce · 18 Baez · 19 Magallón · 20 Mejía · 21 Salazar · 23 V. Hernández · 24 Nava · 25 Ocampo · 48 Dávila · 99 Bravo · Manager: Real