Ezequiel Lavezzi

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Ezequiel Lavezzi
Ezequiel Lavezzi.jpg
Personal information
Full name Ezequiel Iván Lavezzi
Date of birth 3 May 1985 (1985-05-03) (age 26)
Place of birth Villa Gobernador Gálvez, Argentina
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Napoli
Number 22
Youth career
1995–2003 Boca Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2004 Estudiantes 39 (17)
2004–2005 Genoa 0 (0)
2004–2005 → San Lorenzo (loan) 29 (9)
2005–2007 San Lorenzo 55 (16)
2007– Napoli 146 (35)
National team‡
2005 Argentina U-20 7 (1)
2008 Argentina U-23 10 (6)
2007– Argentina 16 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 February 2012.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 July 2011

Ezequiel Iván Lavezzi (Italian pronunciation: [laˈvɛttsi]; born 3 May 1985) is an Argentine football striker who currently plays for Italian Serie A club Napoli and the Argentine national team.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Estudiantes (BA)

The media, as they tend to do to many promising young Argentine players who appear in Italy, have been quick to dub Lavezzi the "New Maradona".[1][2] Lavezzi himself, however, plays this down, instead comparing himself to another young Argentine player, Carlos Tévez.

As a youngster, Lavezzi had a very keen interest in football and supported his local side Rosario Central; he would later get their badge tattooed on his back.

From a very young age, the footballing talent of Lavezzi was recognised, as he played in the youth squads of Rosario Central. After being rejected in Boca Juniors. Lavezzi moved to the youth side of Estudiantes (BA) in 2003, where over one season, he played 39 games and scored 17 goals.[3]

[edit] San Lorenzo

Known as el Pocho or the Chubby One, he was bought by Italian side Genoa in 2004 for €1 million,[3] but was loaned out straight-away to Argentina side San Lorenzo.[4] Here at the age of 19, he competed in the Apertura 2004 tournament scoring six goals in total over the course of the season; which saw him finish as 4th top scorer.

Lavezzi's most notable contributions included a spectacular effort against River Plate at the El Monumental. He scored in the 69th minute to give San Lorenzo a famous victory and seriously damage River's title challenge. This gained him the nickname la Bestia ("the Beast") from the Argentine media.[3]

Although it was planned for Lavezzi to return back to Genoa after a season on loan, there were problems: while Lavezzi was playing in Argentina, Genoa were involved in an alleged match-fixing scandal which saw them relegated down to Serie C1, the third level of Italian football. Due to financial constraints, the promising forward was sold to San Lorenzo for €1.2 million.[5]

On his return to San Lorenzo for the Apertura 2005 season, he managed to help the club up into the top half of the table, and with eight goals, he finished as the overall fourth top scorer. His last act as a San Lorenzo player was to help them to the Clausura 2007 title, beating out Boca Juniors by six points.

[edit] Napoli

Napoli had recently achieved promotion back to Serie A, after finishing as runners-up the previous season in Serie B. Looking to strengthen their squad for a return to the top level, Napoli signed Lavezzi on a five-year contract on 5 July 2007.[6] The transfer deal was worth around €6 million and he was presented before the fans and given the #7 shirt for his first season.

Lavezzi soon made an impact for the club by scoring a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory over Pisa in the Coppa Italia at the Stadio San Paolo; this was the first hat-trick by a Napoli player in 14 years.[7] The first league goal Lavezzi scored for Napoli came during a 5–0 victory against Udinese on 2 September 2007. After the match, he was described in reports as "inspirational,"[8] with the media proclaiming, "Napoli's star is born."[8] The Neapolitan club hadn't won a league match by such a large margin since 1988, when Diego Maradona was at the club.[9]

He completed the 2007–08 season with eight goals in 35 games. He quickly became a focal point of the fans' affection with his quick feet and sharpness around the box. In the 2008–09 season, he scored seven goals in 30 games. In the season 2009/2010 he scored 8 goals in 30 games but he had not played around 10 games because of injuries. Lavezzi stayed at Napoli for the 2010-11 season but was handed the number 22 jersey after he gifted his number seven to recently signed Edinson Cavani as a welcome gesture. In the same season he scored two goals in the Europa League, against IF Elfsborg and Liverpool respectively, scored six and assisted a further 12 in the Serie A (the best of which was a great scoop over Christian Abbiati in the home game against AC Milan) and also scored a goal in the Coppa Italia against Bologna.

On 21st February 2012, he scored his first two Champions League goals; they came in a 3-1 first leg victory over Chelsea in the Round of 16.[10] The following Sunday, 26 February, Lavezzi scored the only goal of the game as Napoli defeated Inter and climbed up to fifth place in the Serie A standings.[11]

[edit] International career

Lavezzi made his international debut for the Argentine national team team against Chile on 18 April 2007.

In 2008 Lavezzi was selected to the Argentina Olympic football team which represented Argentina at the 2008 Olympics, during the Olympic games he scored two goals, one against Australia on 10 August 2008, and a penalty against Serbia on 13 August 2008. Lavezzi also appeared in the final minutes of extra time against Nigeria, in a game Argentina won 1–0.

Lavezzi's club form was not enough to see him included in Diego Maradona's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad. On the 17th of November 2010, Argentina faced Brazil in a friendly match in Qatar, in which Argentina won by a goal from Lionel Messi in the injury time after a superb one-two play with Lavezzi. He has become a regular member under Sergio Batista. He scored the goal in the friendly match against Albania played on 21 June 2011. The match ended 4-0 in favor of Argentina. Lavezzi was replaced by Sergio Agüero in the 65th minute of the match. He was named in Argentina's Copa America Squad by Sergio Batista .

[edit] Club statistics

Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Estudiantes (BA) 2003–04 39 17 6 - - - - - - 39 17 6
Total 39 17 6 - - - - - - 39 17 6
San Lorenzo 2004–05 29 8 3 - - - 8 0 1 37 8 4
2005–06 22 9 4 - - - - - - 22 9 4
2006–07 33 8 4 - - - 5 1 1 38 9 5
Total 84 25 11 - - - 13 1 2 97 26 13
Napoli 2007–08 35 8 8 5 3 1 - - - 40 11 9
2008–09 30 7 8 1 0 0 3 1 0 34 8 8
2009–10 30 8 6 1 1 0 - - - 31 9 6
2010–11 31 6 12 1 1 0 9 2 3 41 9 15
2011–12 20 6 3 2 0 0 7 2 3 29 8 6
Total 146 35 37 10 5 1 18 4 6 175 45 44
Career total 267 78 48 10 5 1 28 5 8 311 88 63

[edit] International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. June 20, 2011 Buenos Aires, Argentina  Albania 1–0 4–0 Friendly
2. November 11, 2011 Buenos Aires, Argentina  Bolivia 1–1 1–1 2014 World Cup qualification

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

San Lorenzo

S.S.C. Napoli

[edit] International

Argentina

[edit] References

  1. ^ Channel4.com
  2. ^ Guardian.co.uk
  3. ^ a b c CalcioNapoliNews.it
  4. ^ Clarin.com
  5. ^ IlGiornale.it
  6. ^ "Ezequiel Lavezzi al Napoli" (in Italian). SSC Napoli. 7 July 2007. http://www.sscnapoli.it/client/render.aspx?root=707&fwd=520&content=0. Retrieved 19 August 2010. 
  7. ^ Extra-Football.com
  8. ^ a b Channel4.com
  9. ^ Napoli 1988–89
  10. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2104517/Napoli-3-Chelsea-1-Andre-Villas-Boas-brink.html
  11. ^ http://www.goal.com/en-us/match/64091/napoli-vs-inter/report

[edit] External links

S.S.C. Napoli – current squad
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