Alexander Mejía should not be confused with Alex Mejia.
| Alexander Mejía | |
| Full Name: | Alexander Mejía Sabalza[1] |
| Birth Date: | 11 July 1988 |
| Birth Place: | Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia |
| Height: | 1.72 m[2] |
| Currentclub: | Deportivo Cali |
| Clubnumber: | 13 |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Years1: | 2005–2012 |
| Clubs1: | Deportes Quindío |
| Caps1: | 101 |
| Goals1: | 4 |
| Years2: | 2011 |
| Clubs2: | → Once Caldas (loan) |
| Caps2: | 37 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2012–2014 |
| Clubs3: | Atlético Nacional |
| Caps3: | 88 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2015–2016 |
| Clubs4: | Monterrey |
| Caps4: | 14 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2015–2016 |
| Clubs5: | → Atlético Nacional (loan) |
| Caps5: | 40 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2016–2018 |
| Clubs6: | León |
| Caps6: | 63 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2019–2021 |
| Clubs7: | Libertad |
| Caps7: | 65 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs8: | Santa Fe |
| Caps8: | 11 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs9: | Atlético Nacional |
| Caps9: | 13 |
| Goals9: | 1 |
| Years10: | 2023 |
| Caps10: | 7 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Years11: | 2024– |
| Clubs11: | Deportivo Cali |
| Caps11: | 2 |
| Goals11: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2012–2022 |
| Nationalteam1: | Colombia |
| Nationalcaps1: | 27 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Pcupdate: | 6 July 2021 |
| Ntupdate: | 22:08, 27 January 2022 (UTC) |
Alexander Mejía Sabalza (born 11 July 1988) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Deportivo Cali.[3] He is described by FIFA's official website as "a linchpin noted for his ability to tidy up mistakes, rob possession and track down and pressurize opponents".[4]
Mejía made his professional debut for Deportes Quindío in 2005, where he played for seven years, including a loan spell at Once Caldas.[4] In 2012, he joined Atlético Nacional and won both the Copa Colombia and the Superliga Colombiana in his first season.[4] In the following seasons, Mejía helped Nacional to three consecutive Colombian league titles, becoming team captain after the departure of Macnelly Torres.[4]
Mejía finished his loan at Nacional in June 2016. He was then transferred to León in the Liga MX for the Apertura 2016.[5] However, as a part of the deal, he was able to stay with Nacional until after the Medellín club had finished its campaign in the Copa Libertadores.[6]
On 29 December 2018, Mejia joined Club Libertad of Paraguay on a free transfer for two years.[7]
In 2012, Mejía made his debut for the Colombia national team in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Peru.[4] He went on to become a regular member of the squad in the remainder of the campaign, making five appearances overall.[4]
On 9 June 2014, he was named in Colombia's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and played in four of the five matches Colombia had.[8] On 14 June, Mejía appeared as a sixty-ninth-minute substitute in Colombia's opening match of the tournament, a 3–0 victory over Greece in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.[9] Mejía also appeared in the following match against Ivory Coast on 19 June 2014, coming on as a substitute in the seventy-ninth minute, and seeing out a 2–1 victory in Brazil's capital, Brasília.[10] In Colombia's third – and last – game of the Group Stage, they played against Japan. Mejía started at a defensive midfielder role alongside Fredy Guarín, playing the entire eighty-minute game. Colombia won 1–4.[11] Mejía's last game of the 2014 World Cup came against Uruguay in the Round of 16 in the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro on 28 June. Colombia won 2–0,[12] and progressed to the Quarter-finals, playing against the hosts, Brazil, losing 2–1.[13]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Atlético Nacional | 2012 | Categoría Primera A | 27 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 48 | 0 | ||||
| 2014 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |||
| Atlético Nacional (loan) | 2015 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |||
| Total | 122 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 184 | 0 | |||
| Monterrey | 2014–15 | Liga MX | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||||
| León | 2016–17 | Liga MX | 23 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 26 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |||||||
| 2018–19 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |||||||
| Total | 74 | 0 | 12 | 1 | — | 86 | 1 | ||||||
| Career total | 196 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 270 | 1 | |||
Atlético Nacional