Diego Buonanotte

Diego Buonanotte

Personal information
Full name	Diego Mario Buonanotte Rende
Date of birth	19 April 1988 (1988-04-19)
Place of birth	Teodelina, Santa Fe, Argentina
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current club	Málaga
Number	20
Youth career
2001–2006	River Plate
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006-2011	River Plate	118	(26)
2011–	Málaga	6	(1)
National team
2008	Argentina U23
Honours Competitor for Argentina Men's Football Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Buonanotte and the second or maternal family name is Rende.

Diego Mario Buonanotte Rende (born 19 April 1988), is an Argentine footballer who plays for Málaga CF, as a attacking midfielder or winger.

Club career

River Plate

The 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) short attacking midfielder made his debut as a 17-year old on 9 April 2006, in the 3–1 win against Instituto. On 7 October 2007, only one week after his first game, he scored his first goal at senior level. Buonanotte was picked by coach Daniel Passarella to start in the derby against Boca Juniors. River Plate won 2–0, with Buonanotte playing a key role in the victory. He was named by World Soccer Magazine as one of the '50 most exciting teenagers in the world game'. Buonanotte was part of the 2008 Apertura winning team.

Málaga

On 21 January 2011 Buonanotte signed a five-year contract with Málaga CF, but he was loaned to River Plate until July 2011. He scored his first goal for Málaga in 21 December 2011 in a 2−2 home draw against Getafe CF in the Copa del Rey (winning 3−2 on aggregate.)

International career

Buonanotte was selected by Sergio Batista to be one of the 18 players to represent Argentina in the 2008 Olympics. He only played in the third group-stage game against Serbia, scoring from a long-range free-kick. He won the gold medal with his national team at that tournament.

Personal life

Car crash

In December 2009, Buonanotte was involved in a near fatal car crash after he lost control of his car on an Argentine freeway. He was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries while three friends who were traveling with him in the car died at the scene of the crash. The footballer was driving his father's Peugeot 307 back from a night out when he veered off the 65th highway and collided with a tree. The accident occurred about 15 km outside Clementina, Santa Fe. Another car carrying more friends of Buonanotte also arrived on the scene of the accident afterwards eager to find out what had happened. The footballer is said to have been conscious when he was pulled from the wreckage but had sustained serious injuries.

Eduardo Allegrini, director of the hospital where Buonanotte was taken after the crash, said "(Buonanotte) has fractured his right humerus, right clavicle and has bruised his right lung". Allegrini clarified that the River player's condition was stable but he remained in intensive care under observation. Guillermo Fernández, a firefighter who helped pull Buonanotte from the crash site said: "Diego told us he lost control of the car".

Back to the pitch

It was initially thought that Buonanotte's convalescence would require up to seven months for complete recovery, but he was able to return to the pitch on 17 April 2010, when he replaced Diego Barrado in the second half of a match against Godoy Cruz. River won 2-1 at home. On 30 April, he scored for the first time since his accident, clinching a 2-1 victory against Vélez Sársfield at the Monumental.

Achievements

Club	Country	Years
River Plate	Argentina	2006 - 2011
Málaga CF	Spain	2011

Club

River Plate

• Primera División: 1

2008 Clausura

National team

Argentina U23

• Summer Olympics Gold Medal: 1

2008

External links

• Málaga official profile
• Argentine Primera statistics at Futbol XXI (Spanish)
• Transfermarkt profile
• Diego Buonanotte – FIFA competition record