Johan Alberto Venegas Ulloa (born 27 November 1988) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays for Escorpiones and the Costa Rica national team.
Club career
Venegas started his career at Santos de Guápiles and had a short loan spell at Barrio México in 2011. He joined Puntarenas in 2012, and had a big season with the club scoring 12 goals in 37 appearances. This led to a move to top club Alajuelense in 2013. In his first year for Alajuelense Vanegas quickly established himself as a starter on the club making 34 appearances and scoring 4 goals. The following season, he continued his fine form and ended the season with a career high 13 goals in 38 matches.
In July 2015, Venegas joined Major League Soccer team Montreal Impact, after impressing the Canadian club during the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League. During his time with Montreal, Venegas appeared in 32 league matches and scored two goals. He also made seven appearances during the Playoffs, scoring one goal.
On 13 December 2016, Venegas was traded to Minnesota United FC in exchange for Chris Duvall.
After spending the 2017 season with Minnesota, the club announced that Venegas would be loaned to Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa for 2018. His contract with Minnesota ended following the 2018 season.
On 26 December 2020, Venegas was announced as Alajuelense's new signing.
International career
Venegas made his debut for the Costa Rica national team in the September 2014 Copa Centroamericana opening match against Nicaragua, in which he scored the third goal. He was again on target in his second game against Panama, netting Costa Rica's 100th goal in all Copa Centroamerica tournaments in the process.
In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Career statistics
- As of match played 1 December 2022
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 2014 | 6 | 3 |
| 2015 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 14 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 84 | 11 | |
- As of match played 14 November 2019
- Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Venegas goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 2014 | RFK Stadium, Washington, United States | 1 | Nicaragua | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2015 Copa Centroamericana |
| 2 | 7 September 2014 | Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States | 2 | Panama | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2015 Copa Centroamericana |
| 3 | 13 November 2014 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | 6 | Uruguay | 3–3 | 3–3 | Friendly |
| 4 | 11 June 2015 | Estadio Reino de León, León, Spain | 10 | Spain | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 5 | 29 March 2016 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica | 22 | Jamaica | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 11 June 2016 | NRG Stadium, Houston, United States | 25 | Colombia | 1–0 | 3–2 | Copa América Centenario |
| 7 | 15 November 2016 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica | 30 | United States | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 15 January 2017 | Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City, Panama | 32 | Belize | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2017 Copa Centroamericana |
| 9 | 10 October 2017 | Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City, Panama | 42 | Panama | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 3 June 2018 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica | 45 | Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 11 | 14 November 2019 | Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao | 53 | Curaçao | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A |
Honours
Alajuelense
Saprissa
Costa Rica
Individual
- CONCACAF League Golden Ball: 2019
- CONCACAF League Golden Boot: 2019, 2020
