Biography
José María Giménez de Vargas is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the Uruguay national team. He is considered Uno de los Nuestros (one of us) by the true Colchoneros fans. After starting out his professional career with his Danubio FC, Giménez moved to Spain, signing for Atlético Madrid ahead of the 2013-14 season. A solid, powerful and fast moving defender, Giménez settled quickly with the club, winning four major titles with the latter, including the La Liga title in his debut season.
At international level, Giménez made his Uruguay debut in 2013, and has since represented the nation at two Fifa World Cups and four editions of the Copa América.
Giménez made his professional debut for Danubio F.C. in the Uruguayan Primera División on 17 November 2012, when the manager was Juan Ramón Carrasco, against River Plate Montevideo in which he started and played the full 90 minutes.
On 25 April 2013, it was confirmed that Giménez had signed for EUR900,000 with Spanish side Atlético Madrid, and would join the club in the pre-season of the 2013-14 season. On 14 September, Giménez made his Atleti - and La Liga - debut, starting in a 4-2 home win over UD Almería.
Giménez scored his first goal for the club on 6 December 2014, opening a 2-0 win away to Elche CF to move Atlético into second place. He also scored a header against their biggest rival Real Madrid in Atlético's 2-0 win in the Copa del Rey in January 2015.
On 20 February 2019, Giménez scored the opener in 2-0 home win against Italian champions Juventus to give Atlético the advantage in the first leg of the Round of 16 fixture in the UEFA Champions League.
Ahead of the 2019-20 season, Giménez was made third captain of the team, behind Koke and Jan Oblak.
Giménez participated for Uruguay at the 2013 Fifa Under-20 World Cup as the team finished as runner-up to France.
He debuted for the Uruguay senior team in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Colombia on 10 September 2013. On 2 June 2014, Giménez was named in Uruguay's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. The 19-year-old defender made his tournament debut against England in the team's second group match, depositing for the injured captain Diego Lugano in a 2-1 victory for La Celeste. He went on to start in the final group match - a 1-0 win over Italy - and the 2-0 round of 16 loss to Colombia.
Giménez scored his first international goal in a 1-0 friendly win against South Korea on 8 September 2014. In May 2015, he was named in Uruguay's squad for the 2015 Copa América by coach Óscar Tabárez. On 20 June, he scored Uruguay's goal in a 1-1 draw with Paraguay which saw both teams progress to the knockout stage.
In May 2018 he was named in Uruguay's provisional 26-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 15 June, with the score tied at 0-0, he scored the winning goal in the final minute of Uruguay's opening game of the World Cup against Egypt.
In March 2019, Tabárez included Giménez in the final 23-man Uruguay squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. He headed the equalizer in the 2-2 group draw with Japan in Porto Alegre, and was the only Uruguayan in the Team of the Tournament despite a quarter-final exit. José is married to Regina Iafolla, who he had been dating since they were teenagers.
