Sebastián Coates facts for kids
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Coates with Uruguay in 2015
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sebastián Coates Nion | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 7 October 1990 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Nacional | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2009 | Nacional | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Nacional | 59 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Liverpool | 13 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | → Nacional (loan) | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | → Sunderland (loan) | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Sunderland | 16 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | → Sporting CP (loan) | 46 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2024 | Sporting CP | 216 | (19) | |||||||||||||
| 2024– | Nacional | 33 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Uruguay U17 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Uruguay U20 | 17 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | Uruguay U23 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2023 | Uruguay | 51 | (2) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:34, 7 July 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2023 |
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Sebastián Coates Nion (born on October 7, 1990) is a professional footballer from Uruguay. He plays as a centre-back, which is a defensive position, for the Uruguayan club Nacional.
Sebastián started his football journey at Nacional in 2009. He quickly became a regular player for the team. In 2011, he moved to the English club Liverpool. During his time there, he also played on loan for Nacional again and for Sunderland.
He then joined Sunderland permanently in 2015. In January 2016, he moved to Sporting CP in Portugal, first on loan and then permanently in February 2017. At Sporting, Coates became a very important player and even captained the team. He helped the club win many trophies, including their first league title in 19 years during the 2020–21 season.
Coates made his first appearance for the Uruguay national team at the 2011 Copa América. He was chosen as the Young Player of the Tournament as Uruguay won the final. He also played for his country at the 2012 Olympics and in the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018, and 2022. He also played in the Copa América in 2015 and 2019.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Sebastián Coates was born in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. His family on his father's side has roots in Scotland. However, his family does not speak English.
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Nacional
Coates joined Nacional when he was 11 years old. He moved up through all the different age groups, often being the captain of his team. In 2009, at 18, he signed a professional contract and began playing for Nacional's main team.
His first game was against Bella Vista. After this game, he was named the "man of the match" by a newspaper in Uruguay called El País. After that, he played in almost every game for Nacional, unless he was suspended or away on national team duty.
Time at Liverpool
In August 2011, the English club Liverpool showed a lot of interest in Coates. He was allowed to have a medical check-up on August 26. The next day, he watched Liverpool play against Bolton Wanderers.
On August 30, after getting a work permit, Liverpool announced they had signed Coates. He joined them on a "long-term contract" for a fee reported to be around £7 million.
On September 18, Coates made his first appearance for Liverpool. He came on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur. He made his first start for the club on September 21 in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion. Liverpool won that game and went on to win the tournament, giving Coates his first medal with the club.
On March 21, 2012, he scored his first goal for Liverpool. It was a spectacular scissor kick from outside the penalty box against Queens Park Rangers.
In August 2013, Coates got a knee injury while playing for Uruguay in a friendly game against Japan. This injury kept him from playing for most of the 2013–14 season. Later that season, he returned to Nacional on loan. This helped him get back in shape to play for Uruguay in the World Cup.
Playing for Sunderland
On September 1, 2014, Coates was loaned to another Premier League team, Sunderland, for the season. He joined his fellow Uruguayan manager, Gus Poyet. He played his first game for Sunderland on September 23 in a League Cup match.
His first league game on loan was on December 3 against Manchester City. After a tough start, Coates became more involved in the team when Dick Advocaat became the new manager. He played in every game during Sunderland's five-game unbeaten run. This helped them avoid being relegated from the league.
On July 1, 2015, Sunderland announced they had signed Coates permanently. He signed a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £2 million.
Success at Sporting CP
On January 28, 2016, Coates joined Sporting CP in Portugal on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut on February 8 in a game against Rio Ave. He played 13 matches that season as Sporting finished second in the league. On May 10, his loan was extended for another season.
On the first day of the 2016–17 season, Coates scored his first goal for Sporting. It was a header from a corner kick, helping his team win 2–0 against Marítimo.
He officially joined Sporting permanently on February 2, 2017.
In the Taça da Liga (League Cup) final on January 26, 2019, Coates missed his penalty kick. However, Sporting still won the shootout against FC Porto 3–1, winning their second straight League Cup title. Four months later, in the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup) final on May 25, Sporting and Porto again went to a penalty shootout. Coates scored his kick, helping Sporting win 5–4.
On August 31, 2019, Coates had a difficult game against Rio Ave. He gave away three penalties and was sent off, as Sporting lost 2–3.
Coates was the captain and a key player for Sporting when they won the 2020–21 Primeira Liga title. This was the club's first league title in 19 years. He was praised for leading a strong defense that allowed very few goals. He was even named the Primeira Liga's best player for the 2020-21 season.
On November 30, 2023, Coates played his 343rd match for Sporting CP. This made him the foreign player with the most appearances for the club, passing Ânderson Polga.
International Career
After playing for the Uruguay under-20s, Coates was called up to the senior Uruguay squad. This was for a World Cup qualification playoff match in 2009, but he did not play in that game.
He made his full international debut against Chile in the 2011 Copa América group stage. He played the entire 90 minutes of the 1–1 draw. He played in the rest of the tournament, except for one game due to suspension. Coates won the award for the Best Young Player as Uruguay went on to win the competition.
He was chosen by coach Óscar Tabárez to play for the Uruguay Olympic football team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He played every minute of their games, but Uruguay did not make it past the group stage. At the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, he played in two games as Uruguay finished in fourth place.
Even though Coates missed most of a Premier League season due to injury, he recovered in time to be selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. He made one appearance in the tournament, playing briefly as a substitute in a 2–1 win against England. The next year, at the 2015 Copa América in Chile, Coates played in Uruguay's final group match. Uruguay was later knocked out in the quarter-finals.
In May 2018, he was named in Uruguay's 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Coates scored his second goal for Uruguay in a friendly match against South Korea on March 28, 2023.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nacional | 2008–09 | Uruguayan Primera División | 11 | 3 | — | — | 5 | 1 | — | 16 | 4 | |||
| 2009–10 | Uruguayan Primera División | 36 | 2 | — | — | 8 | 1 | — | 44 | 3 | ||||
| 2010–11 | Uruguayan Primera División | 27 | 1 | — | — | 5 | 0 | — | 32 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 74 | 6 | — | — | 18 | 2 | — | 92 | 8 | |||||
| Liverpool | 2011–12 | Premier League | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| Total | 12 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 24 | 2 | |||
| Nacional (loan) | 2013–14 | Uruguayan Primera División | 6 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Sunderland (loan) | 2014–15 | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Sunderland | 2015–16 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Total | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | ||||
| Sporting CP (loan) | 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 13 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 43 | 3 | ||
| Sporting CP | 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 34 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | — | 54 | 5 | |
| 2018–19 | Primeira Liga | 31 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | 49 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 6 | |
| 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 33 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 40 | 7 | ||
| 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 5 | |
| 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 2 | — | 44 | 3 | ||
| 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 29 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 44 | 6 | ||
| Total | 262 | 22 | 25 | 6 | 24 | 2 | 56 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 369 | 37 | ||
| Nacional | 2024 | Uruguayan Primera División | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 17 | 3 | ||
| 2025 | Uruguayan Primera División | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 2 | ||
| Total | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 5 | |||
| Career total | 413 | 33 | 33 | 6 | 32 | 2 | 85 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 566 | 52 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2011 | 7 | 0 |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 51 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 10 November 2016 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Ecuador |
1–0 | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 28 March 2023 | Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea |  South Korea |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Honours and Awards
Sebastián Coates has won many awards and trophies throughout his career:
With Nacional
- Uruguayan Primera División: 2009, 2011
With Liverpool
- Football League Cup: 2011–12
With Sporting CP
- Primeira Liga (Portuguese League): 2020–21, 2023–24
- Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup): 2018–19
- Taça da Liga (Portuguese League Cup): 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (Portuguese Super Cup): 2021
With Uruguay National Team
Individual Awards
- Copa América Best Young Player: 2011
- SJPF Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2016, 2017
- LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year: 2020–21
- Sporting CP Player of the Year: 2020
- Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2020–21, 2023–24
- Primeira Liga Player of the Month: April 2021
See also
In Spanish: Sebastián Coates para niños
