Yerry Fernando Mina González (September 23, 1996, Guachené) known as 'Hijo de Guachené' or 'La Máquina' plays as a central defender. At 1.96 meters tall Mina has been able to contribute with goals in the different teams he has played for. In addition to his passion for soccer, Yerry has always supported the children and youth of his hometown and founded the Yerry Mina Foundation. n Yerry Mina, with which he has managed to fulfill one of his dreams by creating the first soccer campus in Colombia for boys and girls from 7 to 17 years old.
His beginnings in soccer
Yerry began his soccer career with Deportivo Pasto at the age of 18. He made his professional debut on March 20, 2013, under the command of technical director Flabio Torres, in a game valid for the Copa Colombia. Mina began to stand out thanks to his biotype, stature and physical strength, in addition to his speed and technical conditions. These characteristics and qualities made several Colombian Professional Soccer teams begin to set their eyes on the 'son of Guachené'.
His stature has made that besides being aware of the defense of his teams, Mina scores different goals when he decides to go up to the opponent's area. His first goal was scored with Deportivo Pasto's jersey in the Colombian League in 2013. At the end of that year he was transferred to Independiente Santa Fe.
Independiente Santa Fe: consolidation in Colombia
Yerry Mina would arrive at the end of 2013 Independiente Santa Fe, he would arrive to reinforce the cardinal team for the first semester of 2014, where the red express would dispute the local tournaments and the Copa Libertadores 2014. With the dorsal number 25, Mina made his debut in the Colombian League on January 24, 2014 and scored his first goal with Santa Fe in a game against Once Caldas where the lions were down 0-2 and Yerry would score the discount for the cardinal.
Mina was alternating his starting position and the arrival of coach Gustavo Costas did not change this situation much, but for the second half of the year Yerry continued to score goals in the second half of the year.In the second semester, Yerry continued scoring goals whenever he was given the opportunity. He participated in the 5-0 drubbing of Deportes Tolima (5-0) and another one in the capital classic (4-1) on the eighth date of the League. At the end of the semester Mina was runner-up in the Copa Colombia and champion of the 2014 Finalization Tournament with Independiente Santa Fe.
Thanks to his talent, Mina consolidated his position as a starter and key player of the capital team, achieving another title against Atlético Nacional in the Superliga, where Yerry would once again play a leading role by scoring a goal in the second leg. But not only in local tournaments he would score goals, Mina was also present in the historic victory that Santa Fe provided to Colo Colo Chilean team in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores 2015. By the second half of 2015, Mina was already a cardinal reference and a revelation defender for South American soccer. Mina also with his outstanding performances was an undisputed starter in the 2015 Copa Sudamericana champion team.
These triumphs with Independiente Santa Fe led the player born in Guachené, Cauca, to be recognized as the "best young player" and to be included in the ideal team of the Copa Sudamericana. He was also awarded with the call-up for the preparatory microcycle of the Colombia U-23 National Team.
Yerry international
His talent continued to make different clubs take notice of the Colombian defender, it was thus that Brazilian soccer set its eyes on the 'Son of Guachené' and it was on May 11, 2016 when he was officially presented as a player of Palmeiras, a team with which he signed for five seasons. He made his debut in the Brazilian team with a goal against Santos on July 12, but in the second half he had to leave due to a muscle discomfort.
In Brazil, Yerry was also crowned champion of the 2016 Brasileirão in the narrow victory over Chapecoense, being elected as the best defender during the season. Mina was also an important defender for Palmeiras and a decisive goal scorer, in the 2017 Copa Libertadores he gave the victory to his team with a goal in the 90th minute against Jorge Wilstermann. By winning the championship with Palmeiras, Mina was recognized as the "best central defender" and was part of the ideal team of the Brazilian soccer championship.
Barcelona, a dream for Mina
Like a dream come true for the player and for soccer lovers, on January 11, 2018 Yerry Mina was announced to Futbol Club Barcelona, two days later he was presented at Camp Nou and with his particular smile he put the name of Colombia in the Spanish headlines. He made his debut on February 8, entering the 83rd minute for Gerard Piqué in the 0-2 victory against Valencia. He would make his debut as a starter on February 11 in a goalless draw against Getafe CF at Camp Nou. And although his dream at Barcelona was fleeting, the name of the player from Guachené will remain in the history of the Spanish team.
Everton, a breath of fresh air in Europe
After his short time and few performances at Barcelona, the name of Yerry Mina began to sound in different teams, finally on August 9, 2018 the transfer to Everton F.C. of the Premier League of England took place. After several months without playing due to injury, his debut came on November 3 against Brighton & Hove entering from the bench for Gylfi Sigurðsson and playing the last minutes of the match.
Despite his injuries Mina has always managed to get stronger and return to the field with the machine that he is, and in his first game as a starter on November 11 he was the star of the match in the goalless draw against Chelsea FC. His first goal was scored on December 26 in a 5-1 victory against Burnley Football Club.
Yerry Mina and the Colombian National Team
Yerry would reach the Colombia senior national team by being called up in early 2016 for the friendly matches in preparation for the Copa America Centenario, managing to be called up in the same year to the knockout matches.
Colombians have also enjoyed his goals seeing him with the tricolor on ; on October 11 he scored his first goal in the 2-2 draw against Uruguay in Barranquilla in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. But the Colombian defender's goals did not stop there; he scored his first brace on June 13, 2017 in a 4-0 friendly win over Cameroon.While Mina has generated confidence in the back line, his rivals have him referenced as a "danger" when he decides to go up to the opposing area, where he takes advantage of his stature that has made more than one Colombian scream for a goal.
Finally, Mina was included in the list of coach José Pékerman to play in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, a World Cup that left a goal-scoring mark on Yerry. He made his debut in the World Cup in Russia against Poland, scoring the first goal in a 3-0 win. The Colombian defender would give the qualification to his national team against Senegal scoring the only goal of the match and where Yerry would come out as a figure.
But this would not be enough for the 'Son of Guachené', in the round of 16 he scored the equalizer in the 93rd minute against England, a goal that led to penalties. His participation in the Russia 2018 World Cup would end with three goals.
Cagliari