Igor Lichnovsky

Igor Lichnovsky Osorio (born 7 March 1994) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Liga MX club América and the Chile national team.

Club career

Universidad de Chile

Born in Peñaflor near Santiago to an Austrian father of German and Slovak descent, Lichnovsky joined Club Universidad de Chile at the age of 8. On 20 November 2011 he first appeared in the Primera División, 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.

Lichnovsky scored his first goal as a professional on 29 April 2012, contributing to a 5–0 derby home win over Colo-Colo.

Porto

Lichnovsky's good performances for both Universidad and the Chilean national youth teams attracted interest from English club Chelsea. 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.

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. On 22 January of the following year he was loaned to Sporting de Gijón until June, making his La Liga debut on 17 February by featuring the entire 1–3 home loss against FC Barcelona.

On 2 August 2016, Lichnovsky returned to Spain, joining Segunda División team Real Valladolid on another loan. He scored his only goal in the country on 3 September when he opened a 2–1 home victory over Girona FC in the third minute.

Mexico

On 21 June 2017, Lichnovsky moved to the third continent of his career by joining Club Necaxa. He made his Liga MX debut on 24 July in a 2–0 win at C.D. Veracruz, 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. He scored his first goal in Mexican football the following 31 March, to secure a 2–2 draw away to C.F. Monterrey.

Al Shabab

On 10 October 2020, Lichnovsky signed with Al Shabab FC of the Saudi Professional League.

International career

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.

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. He did not make his second appearance until 27 March 2018, in a goalless exhibition away to Denmark.

Manager Reinaldo Rueda called Lichnovsky up for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. 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.