Marco Ureña


Marcos Danilo Ureña Porras, known as Marco Ureña is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a striker for South Korean club Gwangju FC. He has also played for the Costa Rica national team.

Club career

Born in San José, Costa Rica, Ureña started his career at Primera División side Alajuelense and in March 2011, he joined Russian Premier League side Kuban Krasnodar. He did not manage to score a single goal in the Russian league.
In August 2014, Ureña moved to Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland on a four-month loan deal. The contract was made permanent on 10 December 2014.
On 21 July 2016, Midtjylland and Brøndby IF agreed to swap Ureña with Jonas Borring in a three-year deal.
It was announced on 27 January 2017 that Ureña had been signed by Major League Soccer side San Jose Earthquakes. He scored his first MLS goal in a 2–1 road loss to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on 1 April 2017. Ureña recorded his first MLS assist at home to achieve a 1–1 draw against Seattle Sounders FC on 8 April 2017. His game-winning goal over Minnesota United FC on 22 October secured San Jose's sixth-place spot in the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs, the team's first playoff appearance since 2012.
On 12 December 2017, MLS expansion side Los Angeles FC selected Ureña as its third pick in the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft.
Following his release by Los Angeles, Ureña was selected by Chicago Fire in the MLS Waiver Draft on 12 December 2018. However, he opted to join Alajuelense on 21 January 2019.
On 24 March 2020, Ureña joined Gwangju FC of the South Korean K League.

International career

Ureña participated in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup for Costa Rica where Costa Rica U-20 national football team, placed 4th after losing to Hungary in the match for the 3rd place. He scored three goals on that competition.
In 2009, Ureña made his debut for the Costa Rica national football team in a match against Venezuela.
In June 2014, Ureña was named in Costa Rica's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the team's opening match, he scored the third goal for Los Ticos in a 3–1 defeat of Uruguay.
At the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, he scored the winner in Costa Rica's opening match and 0–1 victory against Honduras off of an assist from New York City FC man and fellow MLS player Rodney Wallace on 7 July 2017, at Red Bull Arena. This performance earned him CONCACAF Man of the Match honors.
On 1 September 2017, Ureña recorded a brace in Costa Rica's crucial World Cup qualifier against the United States, again at Red Bull Arena. On 5 September 2017, Ureña scored off of a volley to equalize the match against Mexico, which also served as his first goal at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica.
In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica's 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 January 2011Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama1–02–02011 Copa Centroamericana
2.16 January 2011Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama2–02–02011 Copa Centroamericana
3.23 January 2011Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama1–21–22011 Copa Centroamericana
4.9 February 2011Estadio Olímpico Luis Ramos, Barcelona, Venezuela2–12–2Friendly
5.5 June 2011Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, United States1–05–02011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
6.5 June 2011Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, United States3–05–02011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
7.12 June 2011Soldier Field, Chicago, United States1–41–42011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
8.14 June 2014Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil3–13–12014 FIFA World Cup
9.3 September 2014Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States2–02–12014 Copa Centroamericana
10.17 November 2015Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama2–02–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.7 July 2017Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States1–01–02017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
12.1 September 2017Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States1–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.1 September 2017Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
14.5 September 2017Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica1–11–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
15.23 March 2018Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland1–01–0Friendly

Personal life

Ureña married Ana Paula Aguilar in May 2014.

Honours