Biography:

OSWALDO JAVIER SANCHEZ IBARRA was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco on September 21st, 1973. Since he was very young, great expectations arose around him, due to the fact that he proved to be a skilled soccer player. In his early years, the activity he was more interested in was playing with a ball his father kept at home. Oswaldo had a happy childhood; and since that time he always wanted to help his mother and siblings since his father was constantly out of town due to his work. That situation gave Oswaldo the drive he needed to reach his goals, and therefore he started working as a “bag boy” at a local department store. He has been part of three FIFA World Cups, in France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002, and Germany 2006, although on the bench as back-up goalkeeper for the first two. He stole the spotlight in the 2003 Gold Cup, holding every opponent scoreless, and he was named the tournament's MVP and best goalkeeper. Argentine Coach Ricardo la Volpe called up Sánchez once again on April 2, 2006, to be the starting goalkeeper for the Mexican National Team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. While Oswaldo was preparing for the 2006 World Cup, his father died of a heart attack on June 7, aged 56. Oswaldo flew home to Guadalajara, but returned to Germany in time for the team's first game against Iran, which they won by a score of 3-1. He was also considered number 4 in the most gorgeous soccer players for Germany 2006. In 2007, he was called up once again by new coach Hugo Sanchez to play for Mexico in the Gold Cup and Copa América 2007. Oswaldo was selected to represent Mexico in recent friendlies against Ghana and China, his 1st call-ups since the Copa América 2007. You can see more of Oswaldo on Verdad y Fama on LATV.