Igor Lichnovsky Osorio (born 7 March 1994) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays for Liga MX club Tigres UANL and the Chile national team as a central defender.
![]() Lichnovsky in 2012 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Igor Lichnovsky Osorio | ||
Date of birth | (1994-03-07) 7 March 1994 (age 28)[1] | ||
Place of birth | Peñaflor, Chile | ||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | UANL | ||
Number | 2 | ||
Youth career | |||
2002–2011 | Universidad Chile | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2011–2014 | Universidad Chile | 41 | (4) |
2014–2015 | Porto B | 41 | (3) |
2015–2017 | Porto | 0 | (0) |
2016 | → Sporting Gijón (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2016–2017 | → Valladolid (loan) | 18 | (1) |
2017–2018 | Necaxa | 34 | (0) |
2018–2020 | Cruz Azul | 62 | (2) |
2020–2022 | Al Shabab | 41 | (3) |
2022– | UANL | 26 | (1) |
National team‡ | |||
2011 | Chile U17 | 1 | (0) |
2013 | Chile U20 | 11 | (1) |
2014– | Chile | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:17, 19 September 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 September 2019 |
Born in Peñaflor near Santiago to an Austrian father of German and Slovak descent,[2][3][4] Lichnovsky joined Club Universidad de Chile at the age of 8. On 20 November 2011 he first appeared in the Campeonato Nacional, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 home draw against Club Deportivo Universidad Católica for the Clausura in which he was also voted as Player of the match.[5]
Lichnovsky scored his first goal as a professional on 29 April 2012, contributing to a 5–0 derby home win over Colo-Colo.[6]
Lichnovsky's good performances for both Universidad and the Chilean national youth teams attracted interest from English club Chelsea.[7] However, nothing came of it, and in late June 2014 he signed a four-year contract with FC Porto from Portugal, being initially assigned to the B team.[8]
Lichnovsky played his first competitive match on 17 October 2015, in a 2–0 win at Varzim S.C. in the third round of the Taça de Portugal.[9] On 22 January of the following year he was loaned to Sporting de Gijón until June,[10] making his La Liga debut on 17 February by featuring the entire 1–3 home loss against FC Barcelona.[11]
Lichnovsky returned to Spain on 2 August 2016, joining Segunda División team Real Valladolid on another loan,[12] and scored his first goal in the country on 3 September when he opened a 2–1 home victory over Girona FC in the third minute.[13]
On 21 June 2017, Lichnovsky moved to the third continent of his career by joining Club Necaxa.[14] He made his Liga MX debut on 24 July in a 2–0 win at Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz,[15] and was ever-present over the season for the team from Aguascalientes City.
Lichnovsky transferred to Cruz Azul of the same league in May 2018.[16] He scored his first goal in Mexican football the following 31 March, to secure a 2–2 draw away to CF Monterrey.[17]
On 10 October 2020, Lichnovsky signed with Al Shabab FC of the Saudi Professional League.[18]
Lichnovsky was capped by Chile at under-17 and under-20 levels. He participated with the latter in the 2013 South American Youth Championship, helping his team qualify to the 2013 FIFA World Cup in Turkey whilst acting as captain in both tournaments.[19][20]
Lichnovsky made his debut with the full side on 14 November 2014, playing the entire 5–0 friendly win with Venezuela at the Estadio CAP in Talcahuano.[21][22] He did not make his second appearance until 27 March 2018, in a goalless exhibition away to Denmark.[23]
Manager Reinaldo Rueda called Lichnovsky up for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil.[24] He played one match as a substitute for his competitive debut for the fourth-place finishers, as a 55th-minute replacement for Gary Medel in a 1–0 group loss against Uruguay in the Maracanã Stadium.[25]
Universidad de Chile
Necaxa
Cruz Azul
Tigres UANL – current squad | |
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Chile squad – 2019 Copa América fourth place | ||
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