Jonathan Rafael Faña Frías (born 11 April 1987) is a Dominican former professional footballer who played as a forward.[1]

Jonathan Faña
Faña with the Puerto Rico Islanders in 2010
Personal information
Full name Jonathan Rafael Faña Frías
Date of birth (1987-04-11) April 11, 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Moca, Dominican Republic
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Moca
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Moca 20 (16)
2006–2010 W Connection 100 (35)
2010–2012 Puerto Rico Islanders 95 (30)
2012 Bauger 12 (4)
2013 Alianza 35 (13)
2014 San Antonio Scorpions 1 (0)
2014 Moca 5 (4)
2015 Bauger 18 (17)
2016 Cibao 4 (6)
2016 Árabe Unido 6 (0)
2017 Moca 3 (4)
2018 Atlético Pantoja 1 (1)
2019 Club Atlético San Francisco [es]
Total 287 (121)
International career
2006–2022 Dominican Republic 47 (24)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 December 2016

Faña is the all-time international top goalscorer of the Dominican Republic national football team with 24 goals.

Club career

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Faña began his career with Moca FC in the Dominican Republic, leading the Liga Mayor with 16 goals during the 2004/05 season.[2]

He moved to TT Pro League power W Connection in 2006. Faña quickly established himself at the club and by 2007 was a regular starter, scoring 9 league goals during his first season as a regular starter and playing primarily as a left-sided attacking midfielder. During the 2008 TT Pro League campaign Faña led W Connection with 10 goals.

The 2009 season was Faña's most successful as he impressed at both the local league as well as in CONCACAF competitions. He led W Connection to the 2009 CFU Club Championship helping defeat Puerto Rico Islanders 2–1 in the final on May 17, 2009 and claiming a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League 2009-10.[3] Faña scored both Connection goals in the final and ended as the competition's top scorer with six goals. During the CONCACAF Champions League Faña appeared in seven matches scoring five goals, which included a hat trick on September 24, 2009 in a 3–0 road victory over Guatemalan side CSD Comunicaciones.[4] As a result of his play in the Champions League Faña began to receive interest from Central and North American clubs, including Guatemalan club Xelajú MC.[5]

Faña also helped W Connection capture the inaugural Trinidad and Tobago Goal Shield scoring twice in a 3–0 victory in the June 26, 2009 final versus Defence Force. Faña also finished as the competition's top scorer with five goals. During the 2009 TT Pro League Faña scored 10 goals and including Champions League, CFU Cup, and Goal Shield matches he ended the 2009 campaign with 26 goals in all competitions.

In February 2010 Faña was sent on loan to the Puerto Rico Islanders on a one-year deal with an option to buy when the 2010 USSF D2 Pro League season was over.[6] After the missing the first few months of the season through injury, Faña made his debut for the Islanders on June 26, 2010 as a substitute in a 3–0 loss to the Rochester Rhinos.[7] He remained with Puerto Rico for the 2011 season and was named Player of the Year by the club's fans.[8]

Puerto Rico re-signed Faña for the 2012 season on November 9, 2011.[9] After the Islanders organization went on hiatus in order to restructure,[10] Faña signed with Dominican club Bauger FC in 2012, finishing the season as one of the league's top scorers[11] and steering the club to a third-place finish in the league.[12] After spending a season in his homeland, Faña signed for Alianza F.C. of the Salvadoran Primera División.[citation needed]

On 11 December 2013, it was announced that Faña was returning to the North American Soccer League by signing for the San Antonio Scorpions.[13]

International career

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Faña debuted for the Dominican Republic national football team in 2006. He has scored 16 goals in 24 appearances with the national team, and appeared in Caribbean Nations Cup qualifying matches.[14] On March 24, 2013 Faña scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 victory over Haiti, the Dominican Republic's first-ever victory over their neighboring country.[15]

International goals

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As of match played 8 June 2016. Dominican Republic score listed first, score column indicates score after each Faña goal.[16]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 29 September 2006 Lionel Roberts Park, Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands 1   Bermuda 1–3 1–3 2007 Caribbean Cup
2 1 October 2006 Lionel Roberts Park, Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands 2   U.S. Virgin Islands 2–1 6–1 2007 Caribbean Cup
3 3–1
4 4–1
5 6–1
6 8 July 2011 Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic 10   Anguilla 2–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 10 July 2011 Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic 11   Anguilla 4–0 4–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 11 October 2011 André Kamperveen Stadion, Paramaribo, Suriname 15   Suriname 1–0 3–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 27 September 2012 Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados 19   Dominica 1–1 2–1 2012 Caribbean Cup qualification
10 2–1
11 23 October 2012 Stade René Serge Nabajoth, Les Abymes, Guadeloupe 20   Guadeloupe 1–0 2–0 2012 Caribbean Cup qualification
12 2–0
13 27 October 2012 Stade René Serge Nabajoth, Les Abymes, Guadeloupe 22   Puerto Rico 1–0 3–1 2012 Caribbean Cup qualification
14 2–0
15 7 December 2012 Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda 23   Antigua and Barbuda 2–1 2–1 2012 Caribbean Cup
16 24 March 2013 Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic 26   Haiti 2–0 3–1 Friendly
17 7 September 2014 Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda 32   Anguilla 4–0 10–0 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification
18 8–0
19 8 October 2014 Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, Trinidad & Tobago 33   Trinidad and Tobago 1–6 1–6 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification
20 12 October 2014 Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, Trinidad & Tobago 35   Saint Lucia 1–0 3–2 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification
21 12 October 2014 Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda 39   Bermuda 1–0 1–0 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification
22 7 June 2016 Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 40   French Guiana 1–1 2–1 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification
23 2–1
24 28 August 2016 Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic 41   Puerto Rico 2–0 5-0 Friendly

Honours

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W Connection
Puerto Rico Islanders
Moca FC
Bauger FC
Cibao FC
Atlético Pantoja
Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Jonathan Faña :: Jonathan Rafael Faña Farías :: Árabe Unido". Footballzz.co.uk.
  2. ^ 2004–05 Liga Mayor leading scorer
  3. ^ 2009 CFU Club Championship Archived August 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Corado, José (24 September 2009). "Pesadilla crema" (in Spanish). elperiodico.com.gt. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Interest from Xelajú MC" (in Spanish). guatefutbol.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Frias heading to Puerto Rico Islanders". Soca Warriors Online - Trinidad and Tobago Football. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  7. ^ "USSF Division-2 Pro League". Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  8. ^ "Fana Named Islanders Fan Player of the Year | North American Soccer League". Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  9. ^ "Fana Returns to the Islanders | North American Soccer League". Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  10. ^ "Islanders Committed to the Future". Puerto Rico Islanders. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  11. ^ "Moca y Bauger FC ganan y mantienen sus invictos". listin.com. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  12. ^ "Dominican Republic 2012/13". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  13. ^ "Scorpions Complete Major Double Swoop: Sign Barrera and Fana for 2014 Season". San Antonio Scorpions. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ 2007 Digicel Caribbean Cup
  15. ^ "3–1 : Triunfo histórico de la selección absoluta de RD sobre Haití en la Copa Quisqueya". Balompie Dominicano. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  16. ^ Jonathan Faña at Soccerway
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