Mariano Andrés Pernía Molina is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left back.
After starting professionally with Independiente, he moved to Spain in the early 2000s, going on to represent three teams in the country – most notably Getafe and Atlético Madrid, scoring ten La Liga goals in one sole season with the former – amassing Spanish top flight totals of 171 matches and 16 goals over seven seasons.
Pernía's excellent form throughout 2005–06 made him a contender for international selection with both Argentina and Spain. Although born in Argentina, he was granted Spanish citizenship in May 2006.
Initially, national team boss Luis Aragonés opted not to pick Pernía for the Spanish team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup – his reasoning was entirely legal and explained under current FIFA rules on squad selection. Asier del Horno was supposed to be first-choice leftback for the competition, but an ankle injury sustained in the build-up to the tournament saw Pernía controversially called up as his last-minute replacement after a personal call from the coach. In the last friendly before the tournament in Germany he made his debut against Croatia, and scored from a free-kick on 7 June 2006 in a match played in Geneva.
Surprisingly, Pernía came from third-choice to starter, and appeared in the final stages in group wins against Ukraine and Tunisia, and also in their round-of-16 loss to France.
