Franco Armani · Biography

Franco Armani made his professional debut in April 2008 for Ferro Carril Oeste in the Primera B Nacional, Argentina’s second tier, in a 4-0 defeat to Atlético Rafaela. It was one of only two games he played for the Caballito club. Born on 16 October 1986 in Casilda, in Santa Fe province, he is a goalkeeper whose career was split between Colombia’s Atlético Nacional and River Plate. In July 2026 he returned to Nacional.

Youth career and early years

He came through the youth ranks at Aprendices Casildenses, his hometown club, and then spent time at Central Córdoba in Rosario and at Estudiantes de La Plata before joining Ferro. He barely played in the 2007-08 season, and in 2008 he moved to Deportivo Merlo, a lower-division club in Greater Buenos Aires. He made 37 appearances there between 2008 and 2010 and got the regular football he had not had at Ferro.

Atlético Nacional, 2010 to 2018

In 2010 he moved to Colombia to join Atlético Nacional. He became the first-choice goalkeeper and stayed for eight seasons. With the Medellín club he won six Colombian league titles (2011-I, 2013-I, 2013-II, 2014-I, 2015-II and 2017-I), the Copa Colombia in 2012, 2013 and 2016, and the Superliga in 2012 and 2016. In October 2013 he went 1,046 minutes without conceding across several competitions.

His biggest title came in 2016, when Nacional won the Copa Libertadores, beating Independiente del Valle in the final. He kept his goal intact for 745 minutes during that campaign and was named in the South American Team of the Year. He added the Recopa Sudamericana in 2017 and was voted the best goalkeeper in the Colombian top flight in 2015, 2016 and 2017. He left after 247 competitive matches and 13 trophies, more than any other player in the club’s history.

River Plate, 2018 to 2026

In January 2018, River Plate paid his release clause, reported at around three million dollars, and he signed a three-year contract on 11 January. On 14 March 2018 he was named man of the match in a 2-0 win over Boca Juniors in the 2017 Supercopa Argentina. Later that year he won the 2018 Copa Libertadores. The second leg of the final was played at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid on 9 December, where River beat Boca 3-1 after extra time. The first leg at La Bombonera had ended 2-2, and a late save from Armani kept River level in that game. His 36 saves were the most by any goalkeeper in that year’s competition.

He also won the 2018-19 Copa Argentina, the 2019 Recopa Sudamericana, the Supercopa Argentina in 2019 and 2023, the Argentine league in 2021 and 2023, and the Trofeo de Campeones in 2021 and 2023. In the league he went 965 minutes without conceding, the second-longest run in Argentine top-flight history. He made 366 competitive appearances for River.

Argentina national team

He won his first cap on 26 June 2018 at the World Cup in Russia. He started in place of Willy Caballero in a 2-1 win over Nigeria that took Argentina into the last 16, then played in the 30 June defeat to France. He played every minute of the 2019 Copa América, where Argentina finished third. He was a backup at the 2021 Copa América, which Argentina won, and made one appearance. He was also part of the squad that won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, although he did not play, and of the squad for the 2022 Finalissima in London. Before the 2024 Copa América, which Argentina also won, he announced that he would retire from international football after the tournament. He finished with 19 caps and seven clean sheets.

Playing style

Armani relies on sharp reflexes, a strong presence on his line and good reading of one-on-one situations. He built a reputation in Colombia as a dependable shot-stopper, and Olé described him as “a goalkeeper who wins matches”. His clean-sheet runs at Nacional and River and his 36 saves in the 2018 Libertadores support that reputation.

Return to Medellín

After eight and a half years at River, he terminated his contract in mid-2026. On 8 July 2026 his return to Atlético Nacional as a free agent was confirmed, eight years after he had left the Medellín club.