Javier Saviola

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Javier Saviola

At his oficial presentation as S.L. Benfica player at Estádio da Luz
Personal information
Full name	Javier Pedro Saviola
Date of birth	December 11, 1981 (1981-12-11) (age 27)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Benfica
Number	30
Senior career1
Years	Club	Apps (Gls)2
1998–2001	River Plate	086 (44)
2001–2007	FC Barcelona	123 (49)
2004–2005	→ AS Monaco (loan)	036 0(12)
2005–2006	→ Sevilla FC (loan)	043 0(14)
2007–2009	Real Madrid	0 28 0(5)
2009–	Benfica	0 3 0 (3)
National team3
2001	Argentina U20	007 (11)
2000–	Argentina	044 (12)
Honours Competitor for  Argentina Olympic Games Men's football Gold 2004 Athens Team
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:22, 30 June 2009 (UTC). 2 Appearances (Goals). 3 National team caps and goals correct as of 15:59, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

Javier Pedro Saviola (born 11 December 1981 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine professional footballer who currently plays for S.L. Benfica, usually as a striker.

Known for his speed and ability to score from almost any position, he is also an Argentine international, and was named, as the youngest player, to Pelé's FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living footballers. Saviola also holds Spanish nationality.

[edit] Club career

[edit] River Plate

Nicknamed El Conejo (rabbit), Saviola made his debut for Club Atlético River Plate at the age of 16, and went on to be a prolific goalscorer for the club. He helped River to the 1999 Apertura and 2000 Clausura championships, and earned the 1999 South American Footballer of the Year award. Still only 18, he gained a reputation as a good prospect.

[edit] FC Barcelona

In 2001, aged 19, Saviola moved abroad to play for FC Barcelona in a £15 million transfer^[1]He obtained Spanish citizenship shortly after, thereby not being restricted by the Spanish league maximum on the number of non-European Union citizens allowed in each club. Under coach Louis van Gaal, he scored 17 goals in his first season, finishing third best scorer in the league.

Saviola with Barcelona

His second year at the club did not start well, as he only scored two goals in the first half of the season. When van Gaal was fired and Radomir Antić became new Barcelona manager, Saviola went on to score eleven goals in the latter half of the campaign. At the start of the following, Frank Rijkaard was appointed as new manager, and Saviola scored 14 goals in the league alone, but was deemed surplus at the club, as was longtime offensive partner Patrick Kluivert.

Saviola was sent on loan the following year, moving to AS Monaco in the French first division championship in the summer 2004. As he did not fit into Rijkaard's plans, Saviola was again loaned out in the summer of 2005, this time to Spanish club Sevilla FC, in order to replace Júlio Baptista, on the move to Real Madrid. At Sevilla, Saviola won his first title in Europe, when the club won the 2006 UEFA Cup - he also scored nine times in the league, good enough for fifth.

Saviola returned to Barcelona for the 2006-07 season, playing in 18 league games (six as a starter) and scoring five goals. He benefitted greatly from injuries to teammates, most notably Samuel Eto'o, and added five in as much games in that season's domestic cup, notably an hat-trick against Deportivo Alavés (3-2 win at home, 5-2 aggregate^[2]).

[edit] Real Madrid

On 10 July 2007, Real Madrid signed Saviola after his Barcelona contract expired, on a three-year deal. ^[3] Although on a financially lucrative contract, he endured a difficult time at Madrid. he was mainly restricted to cup matches and sporadic appearances (mainly as a substitute) in the league and the Champions League. The arrival of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar limited his opportunities even more, and Saviola finished his Real Madrid spell with five goals in 28 overall appearances.

[edit] SL Benfica

On 26 June 2009, Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Real Madrid agreed on a €5 million deal that would see Saviola play in Portugal for the next three years, with an option for one more; a €30 million clause was added. Saviola scored his first goal for the club on a penalty in a friendly match against FC Sion, on Thursday July 16 2009 Saviola scored twice to put his team to the Guadiana tournament trophy finals. Saviola has scored three goals in three games for Benfica so far.

[edit] International career

Saviola starred in the 2001 edition of the World Youth Cup, held in Argentina. He was top scorer and was voted player of the tournament, as the national team won the competition. With 11 goals in seven games, he became the record goal-scorer in World Youth Cups history. His vintage performance earned himself many offers from European clubs but, surprisingly, he failed to get a call up of the Argentina national football team to take part in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Two years later, Saviola played in the 2004 Olympic Games and won the Olympic gold medal. Under coach Marcelo Bielsa, Saviola was given few playing opportunities for Argentina, but after Bielsa's resignation in 2004, new coach José Pekerman, who also coached the player at youth level, gave him more playing time with the A's.

Saviola was called up to represent Argentina at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Luciano Figueroa and winger Luciano Galletti were also in contention for a place on the roster, but Saviola's excellent form for Sevilla secured his place in the squad. He made his presence felt at the tournament, as he scored a goal against Côte d'Ivoire in Argentina's opening game, and made two assists in the 6-0 victory against Serbia and Montenegro.

[edit] Club statistics

[edit] Honours and awards

[edit] Club

River Plate

• Argentine League: 1999A, 2000C

Sevilla

• UEFA Cup: 2005-06

Real Madrid

• Spanish League: 2007-08
• Spanish Supercup: 2008

[edit] International

Argentina

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2001
• Olympic Games: 2004

[edit] Individual

• Argentine League: Top scorer 1999A
• South American Footballer of the Year: 1999
• Player of the Year of Argentina: 1999
• FIFA U-20 World Cup: Top scorer 2001
• FIFA U-20 World Cup: MVP 2001

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• BDFutbol profile
• Guardian statistics
• NationalFootballTeams data

Argentina squads v • d • e Argentina squad – 2004 Olympic Gold Medalists 1 Caballero • 2 Ayala • 3 Heinze • 4 Fernández • 5 K. Gonzalez • 6 Coloccini • 7 Saviola • 8 Mascherano • 9 Figueroa • 10 Tévez • 11 Delgado • 12 Rosales • 13 Rodríguez • 14 Medina • 15 D'Alessandro • 16 L. González • 17 M. González • 18 Lux • Coach: Bielsa v • d • e Argentina squad – Copa América 2004 Runners-up 1 Abbondanzieri • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Quiroga • 5 Mascherano • 6 Heinze • 7 Saviola • 8 Zanetti • 9 Figueroa • 10 D'Alessandro • 11 Tévez • 12 Cavallero • 13 Placente • 14 Rodriguez • 15 Fernández • 16 L.González • 17 M.González • 18 K.González • 19 Delgado • 20 Medina • 21 Rosales • 22 Coloccini • Coach: Bielsa v • d • e Argentina squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-up 1 Franco • 2 Samuel • 3 Sorín • 4 Zanetti • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Tévez • 8 Riquelme • 9 Saviola • 10 Aimar • 11 Delgado • 12 Lux • 13 G.J. Rodríguez • 14 Milito • 15 Placente • 16 Coloccini • 17 Bernardi • 18 Santana • 19 Maxi Rodríguez • 20 Demichelis • 21 Figueroa • 22 Galletti • 23 Caballero • Coach: Pekerman v • d • e Argentina squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Abbondanzieri • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Coloccini • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Saviola • 8 Mascherano • 9 Crespo • 10 Riquelme • 11 Tévez • 12 Franco • 13 Scaloni • 14 Palacio • 15 Milito • 16 Aimar • 17 Cufré • 18 Rodríguez • 19 Messi • 20 Cruz • 21 Burdisso • 22 González • 23 Ustari • Coach: Pekerman